Michigan

Officials at the Livonia Public Schools in Wayne County are considering privatizing the district's custodial staff, bus drivers, and food service workers in an effort to offset an expected deficit of nearly $15 million in this year's $140 million budget.

CHICAGO — With a pledge by Michigan backing up the debt, below-investment-grade Detroit yesterday captured interest rates ranging from 2.47% to 5.375% on $250 million of distributable state aid limited-tax general obligation bonds.

CHICAGO — Detroit will enter the market Thursday with $250 million of state aid limited-tax general obligation bonds that the city will use to erase a chunk of its accumulated deficit.

CHICAGO — Michigan would abolish its 10 bond-issuing authorities and consolidate them into the newly created Michigan Finance Authority under an executive order issued by Gov. Jennifer Granholm last week.

CHICAGO — Voters across Michigan approved a series of school bond proposals in Tuesday’s election, while splitting on controversial tax increases proposed by two struggling cities in Oakland County.

More than a third of Detroit’s residential lots are either vacant or contain abandoned buildings, but more than 90% of the remaining occupied parcels are in good or fair condition, according to a massive new report on the city’s housing stock that was released last week.

The Michigan Department of Transportation says a report released this week confirms the need for a proposed $2.3 billion, bond-financed bridge spanning the busy trade route between Detroit and Canada.

Troy and Bloomfield Township voters in a special election next week will consider ballot initiatives to raise property taxes to avoid cuts. Officials say the new revenue is needed to cover expected declines in property tax revenue over the next several years.

CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm yesterday unveiled a $47 billion all-funds fiscal 2011 budget that eliminates a $1.8 billion shortfall in part by imposing a tax on services and cutting state employee retirement and health care benefits.

Over the past three years, 38 of Michigan’s counties have returned their roads to gravel because they lacked the money needed to maintain their paved infrastructure — and this year nearly half of the state’s counties will be faced with making the same decision, the County Road Association of Michigan warned last week.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm Friday signed off on legislation allowing Detroit — and all Michigan cities — to issue up to $250 million of fiscal stabilization bonds to help eliminate deficits and pay off short-term obligations.

CHICAGO — Michigan would join a growing number of states allowing local governments to issue bonds to finance loans to residential and commercial homeowners for energy-efficiency upgrades under a bill being considered by a state House committee.

CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm Wednesday night delivered her eighth and final state of the state address, saying 2009 was a dividing line after a “a decade of hell.”

CHICAGO — The Michigan Department of Transportation last week significantly cut its five-year construction plan, warning the state faces the loss of $2.4 billion in federal aid through 2014 because it lacks matching dollars.

CHICAGO — Triple-A rated University of Michigan will enter the market today with $163 million of general revenue Build America Bonds.

CHICAGO — Standard & Poor’s has upgraded 10 local borrowers that have issued debt through the Michigan Transportation Fund — boosting most of them to top AAA marks— primarily due to high debt-service coverage.

CHICAGO — As the largest buyer of qualified school construction bonds, Guggenheim Partners LLC has purchased a piece of nearly every QSCB issue since the federal stimulus act launched the new type of tax-credit bond earlier this year.

CHICAGO — Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she will consider revamping Michigan’s tax structure next year as the state finishes what she called one of the worst years in its history.

A plan to build a light-rail system along one of Detroit's thoroughfares advanced with the passage of the federal government's 2010 omnibus spending bill.

Detroit Public Schools today is expected to price roughly $325 million of federal stimulus bonds that will finance a capital campaign that city leaders hope will help rebuild both the struggling district's buildings and its reputation.