CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Rick Sndyer will present Detroit officials Tuesday morning with an informal proposed consent agreement that would allow the nearly broke city to avoid a full state takeover.
The governor’s office is set to present the agreement to the Detroit City Council before its regular Tuesday meeting, city officials said.
The agreement would set out a path for Detroit to overcome its fiscal crisis and avoid running out of cash by May as projected.
A consent agreement is an alternative to a state takeover and appointment of an emergency manager.
A state team has been reviewing Detroit’s finances since late December. It was expected to recommend to Snyder by the end of the month whether to appoint an emergency manager, craft a consent agreement or do nothing.
The review team has a meeting set for Tuesday afternoon where it will also consider Snyder’s proposed agreement.
The Republican governor’s move is not to be considered a formal recommendation for the city, a state spokesman said.
“Consent agreement language will be shared with the City Council tomorrow,” spokesman Terry Stanton said.
As of Monday, Mayor Dave Bing had not yet been formally notified of the consent agreement but has had discussions with Michigan officials about its contents, city officials said.
“The city’s restructuring should be a collaborative effort between the city and the state with core authority to carry out the agreement remains with the city,” Bing’s chief of staff, Kirk Lewis, said in a statement issued late Monday.
In his state of the city address last week, Bing said he and Snyder recently agreed that a consent decree would be the best option. It allows local elected officials to remain in charge but broadens their power and requires the city to meet various criteria and benchmarks to avoid a takeover.
In a Monday morning speech at the Detroit Athletic Club, Snyder said he would prefer a consent decree but did not rule out appointing an emergency manager, according to local reports.
“You have to have somebody on the other side to agree,” he was quoted as saying. “Let’s have it so the city can keep running the city. We’re running out of time.”
