Caitlin Devitt

Critics and supporters last week debated a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes in North Dakota. If approved, it would make the state the only one in the nation to repeal such taxes.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded the town of Port Huron in eastern Michigan to A-plus from AA-minus, affecting $24 million of general obligation bonds.

CHICAGO - The two-banker public finance team that covered the Michigan market for Mesirow Financial Inc. has joined Chicago-based Hutchinson Shockey Erley & Co. after Mesirow's closure of its Michigan office a few months ago.

CHICAGO - As problems of local governments garner national attention, Michigan's cities and towns continue to face significant stress, with half expecting more pressure next year, but some are starting to see slight improvement, according to a new report by the University of Michigan.

CHICAGO - In a closely watched first vote, a Michigan Senate subcommittee Thursday voted down legislation advancing a high-profile plan to build a publicly financed bridge between Detroit and Canada.

CHICAGO - The chair of a Senate subcommittee in Michigan Wednesday abruptly put off a key vote on a $4 billion, partly bond-funded bridge linking Detroit and Canada.

CHICAGO - Ohio State University is coming to market this week with at least $300 million of taxable general receipts bonds that feature 100-year maturities, marking the first time a public university has floated century bonds.

Michigan could see an unexpected surplus of nearly $300 million for fiscal 2011, which ended Sept. 30.

Moody’s Investors Service last week withdrew its Ba3 rating on Methodist Hospital after it failed to provide sufficient financial information.

State aid to Indiana University could fall to below 10% over the next decade if current trends continue, president Michael McRobbie said at his annual state of the university address.

Indianapolis-based law firm Baker & Daniels LLP and Minnesota-based Faegre & Benson LLP completed their merger last week and announced that the combined firm will become known as Faegre Baker Daniels starting next January.

CHICAGO - A weak real estate market continues to plague the long-troubled senior living sector, though providers have enjoyed some stabilization in the last year, Standard & Poor's said in a new report.

CHICAGO - The U.S. Department of Transportation revoked a $1.5 million grant to Ohio after a group of Democratic congressmen from the state said Gov. John Kasich was wrongly using the money to hire a firm to advise the state on privatizing the Ohio Turnpike.

Ohio auditor Dave Yost last week put Akron on a fiscal caution status, marking the first time the state has used the new criteria.

Moody’s Investors Service last week downgraded Lansing to A1 from Aa2, warning that the Michigan capital faces significant declines in property valuation and has a history of operating deficits.

Indiana collected $31 million more than projected last month and $164 million more than it collected during the same period last year, according to the state’s budget office.

CHICAGO - A close look at Flint, Mich.'s long-standing fiscal problems provides a glimpse into the challenges facing many of America's older industrial cities, according to a case study released last week by Michigan public finance scholars.

CHICAGO - The president of Cook County, Ill., fired the county's comptroller Wednesday, fallout from a $90 million accounting error that inflated the general fund and partly prompted a Moody's Investors Service's downgrade.

A possible state-ordered takeover of Flint advanced last week when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed a financial review team to examine the troubled city’s finances.

The board of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, the third-largest hospital system in the country, last week adopted a budget of $828 million.