Caitlin Devitt

Michigan continues to climb out of its devastating 10-year recession and could see its unemployment rate fall to 7.4% by the end of 2014, economists and state fiscal officials said Wednesday at the Legislature’s twice-annual revenue estimating conference.

CHICAGO — Washtenaw County was forced to cover a May 1 debt-service payment for a small Michigan township that doesn't have enough money to meet its obligation on a failed special-assessment development.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich last week reiterated his plan to continue to cut aid to local governments despite a recent climb in state tax collections.

Democrats last week appointed former state treasurer and public finance banker Kevin Boyce to the Ohio House of Representatives.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last Thursday met with top Canadian officials to talk about a proposed $4 billion, publicly funded trade bridge spanning the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, according to local reports.

The Michigan Senate last week passed a package of bills that would repeal the personal property tax, but the controversial measure faces a more uncertain fate in the House, which likely won’t even consider the bills until the fall.

CHICAGO ­— Buoyed by strong revenue collections heading into a new fiscal year, Ohio will issue $303 million of general obligation bonds in a competitive sale set for next Wednesday to raise money for school projects.

CHICAGO — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing Thursday tapped Jack Martin to be the city's new chief financial officer and oversee its urgent efforts to stabilize finances and avoid bankruptcy.

In a closely watched vote, residents of Allen Park, Mich., defeated a bond referendum that would have allowed the struggling Detroit suburb to make debt payments on a controversial failed film studio development.

Detroit Public Schools will enter the market with a $142 million bond issue that will allow the troubled district to get out of an agreement with Assured Guaranty Inc. that for years has cramped its ability to borrow.

Ohio has collected $350 million more than expected for the first 10 months of fiscal 2012, officials said this week.

A federal bankruptcy court last week approved a deal allowing the Flint-based McLaren Health Care Corp. to buy Cheboygan Memorial Hospital, a troubled facility located in northern Michigan.

A move to eliminate Michigan’s personal property tax would likely drive up real property taxes, a coalition of public school leaders warned last week.

Moody’s Investors Service last week affirmed its A1 rating on the Parkview Health System and revised the outlook to stable from negative, noting the system’s improved operating performance.

CHICAGO — Lancaster Pollard & Co., an Ohio-based boutique investment banking firm that specializes in health care, senior living, and affordable housing transactions, has hired Craig Jones,a senior-living finance veteran to help the firm begin to expand its taxable business.

Taking the first step toward a possible state takeover, Michigan officials said they were launching an investigation into the "critical and alarming financial situation" of the Pontiac School District.

CHICAGO — As the nonprofit health care world keenly awaits the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the new federal health care law, credit analysts warn that a ruling striking down the individual mandate while maintaining the rest of the law would deliver a blow to the already-suffering sector.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to A3 from A2 Kettering Health Network’s $408 million of outstanding bonds.

The Ohio House Finance and Appropriation Committee this week will hold the first in a series of meetings on the state’s school funding formula.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing Friday announced his two appointments to the nine-member financial review board that will oversee the city’s finances as part of the new consent decree with the state.