Bing's 5-year plan to cut deficit unveiled
Darren A. Nichols / / The Detroit News
Quote:
Detroit — Mayor Dave Bing's plan to shrink the city's deficit relies heavily on extracting more concessions from unions on health care and pensions that some labor leaders say could be a tough sell.
Bing delivered his five-year deficit elimination plan to the City Council on Wednesday. It's a key component to averting the appointment of an emergency manager, the mayor has said. But at least one union leader said workers have no intention of reopening contracts before they expire next spring.
Quote:
In the plan, Bing intends to transform the $155 million deficit into an $89 million surplus by 2016. It calls for streamlining operations, transferring assets, cutting pensions, changing health care and increasing revenue from casinos. It would whittle the city's deficit to $64.6 million by 2014 and produce a $7.3 million surplus by 2015.
Quote:
The plan does not call for shedding employees through layoffs but by efficiencies in operations, city officials said. It relies heavily on changes in pensions and medical benefits.
The city seeks the following savings: $87 million from cutting pensions, $18 million from increasing co-pays and changing health plans, and another $10 million to $14 million from implementing those changes to retirees.
The plan also calls for transferring control of the problem-plagued Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport to Wayne County to save $820,000, and saving $37 million in transportation costs once the city's light rail project along Woodward Avenue is completed in 2016.
