Caitlin Devitt

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday that it is closely watching several key events throughout 2013, including five scheduled debt-service payments, for any impact on the city's already junk-level credit rating.

As Detroit embarks on a massive restructuring of its long-term debt, the city's decisions over the years to wrap nearly all its bonds with insurance may prove as much a benefit to the city as to its bondholders.

The Ohio House last week approved a $61.5 billion, two-year, general fund budget that leaves out Gov. John Kasich's plan to expand Medicaid under the new federal health care law.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed a financial review team to examine the finances of the city of Hamtramck after a preliminary review found a serious financial condition.

Indianapolis Museum of Art comes to market this week with $37 million of refunding bonds that are part of the museum's overhaul of its debt management policy.

The city of Flint this week announced it will pull out of the Detroit water system, a move that will hit the bottom line of one of Detroit's strongest assets.

Indiana is on track to enjoy a "stable but slow" recovery, with revenues seeing a steady uptick through 2015, state fiscal officials said in a revenue forecast report released Tuesday.

After years of struggling with $13 million of bonds for a failed development, voters in Sylvan Township approved a ballot measure to more than quadruple their township tax rate, then threw all elected officials connected to the original bond issue out of office.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded to BB-plus from BBB-minus $30 million of revenue bonds issued for Beatrice Community Hospital.

Moody's Investors Service last week downgraded to A1 from Aa3 its rating on Michigan Technological University, affecting just under $80 million of outstanding debt.

Indianapolis Controller Jeff Spaulding is leaving the city for a new position at the Friedman Foundation for Education Choice.

Michigan law firm Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone PLC has named long-time Detroit based public finance attorney Michael McGee as its new CEO.

Construction could start as early as 2015 on a long-planned, largely bond-financed $3.5 billion trade bridge between Detroit and Windsor, the busiest trade route in the U.S.

Detroit's CFO said the $380M structural deficit that remains unsolved in Mayor Dave Bing's proposed $1 billion 2014 budget is actually good news because the deficit is "increasing at a decreasing rate."

The Ohio Treasurer and eight legislators are pushing a new bill that would require political subdivisions, including the state, to post more information on outstanding bonds when asking voters to approve new borrowing.

Indianapolis comes to market Tuesday with $42 million of lease revenue bonds that mark the final piece of a financing for a massive new $734 million public safety net hospital located in downtown Indianapolis.

A lawsuit challenging the appointment of new Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has been dropped.

Michigan budget director John Nixon said the positive ratings actions from rating agencies last week were the "culmination of two years' work."

The city of Fort Wayne, Ind. said it would be able to reduce future sewer rate increases as a result of saving $3 million in a late-2012 refunding of $29 million of sewer debt.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission Monday tapped Citi as the senior manager on $1.5 billion of bonds backed by a new pledge of Ohio Turnpike revenues.