Detroit: Don’t Slash Aid

Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh and president pro tempore Gary Brown said they plan to meet with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder this week to dissuade him from enacting major cuts in local aid from the state.

Snyder’s cuts, proposed as part of his fiscal 2012 budget, would mean Detroit could lose a big chunk of the $176 million it expects to receive this year.

Snyder has also proposed cutting most tax credits tied to renaissance zones, brownfield redevelopments, the film industry, and other areas that officials said would mean big losses and layoffs.

During his state of the city address, Mayor Dave Bing said: “The budget presented has potentially devastating consequences for Detroit.”

“Gov. Snyder is challenging cities to make reforms in order to receive funding from the state of Michigan,” Bing said. “No city in the state has taken such an aggressive approach to such serious structural problems as Detroit. Yet, no city would be hit harder than us.”

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Michigan
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