How Prepare in Detroit

[SWMAP]

I see that Mayor Bing is saying that he won't sign the Consent Agreement. I realize that he has until the end of the month to accept. However, I do wonder if things will grind to a halt before he accepts if he waits until later than the end of the month.

If things "grind to a halt" what will happen? My garbage not get picked up? Will Fire and police protections continue? If a water main breaks - what might be expected? Trying to think what could be done to prepare...

[MidTownMs]

I see that Mayor Bing is saying that he won't sign the Consent Agreement. I realize that he has until the end of the month to accept. However, I do wonder if things will grind to a halt before he accepts if he waits until later than the end of the month.

If things "grind to a halt" what will happen? My garbage not get picked up? Will Fire and police protections continue? If a water main breaks - what might be expected? Trying to think what could be done to prepare...

Prepare for what? Ok let's see...the garbage might get picked up on the scheduled day then again it might not, the police may or may not show up...the fire department/EMS may or may not show up and if they do the hydrants may or may not work..if a water main breaks the department of water and sewerage might make it a priority...if you ask me it looks like it will be business as usual no matter what happens.

[Crumbled_pavement]

Prepare for what? Ok let's see...the garbage might get picked up on the scheduled day then again it might not, the police may or may not show up...the fire department/EMS may or may not show up and if they do the hydrants may or may not work..if a water main breaks the department of water and sewerage might make it a priority...if you ask me it looks like it will be business as usual no matter what happens.

As much as I hate to admit it, MidTownMs has a point.

[Dexlin]

Excuse my French, but WTF?

This place is getting ridiculous.

[Brich]

Prepare for a zombie apocalypse and hope for the best. Sucks to be you.

[erikd]

I see that Mayor Bing is saying that he won't sign the Consent Agreement. I realize that he has until the end of the month to accept. However, I do wonder if things will grind to a halt before he accepts if he waits until later than the end of the month.

If things "grind to a halt" what will happen? My garbage not get picked up? Will Fire and police protections continue? If a water main breaks - what might be expected? Trying to think what could be done to prepare...

I wouldn't worry about these "doomsday" scenarios. It's not going to happen like that. Look at the cities where the state has already taken over for examples of what we might see in Detroit. In Benton Harbor, they merged some of the elements of the police and fire departments. In Highland Park, they eliminated the police department, and turned over police responsibilities to the County Sheriffs Department. In Pontiac, they merged the Pontiac Fire Department with the neighboring Waterford Fire Department to form a larger, more cost-effective Fire Department to serve both communities. In all cases, some of the other city departments and services were privatized, turned over, to the county or state, or simply cut, if they were deemed to be non-essential services.

There is no way that the state will allow core city services to "grind to a halt". It simply will not happen.

If/when the state takes over Detroit city government, you can expect to see a lot of changes, but most of it won't have a large impact on core city services.

Here is a short list of what to prepare for:

Prepare for the elimination of redundant/ineffective city departments, like the Health and Human Services departments, which need to be eliminated and replaced by their county and state counterparts. I also expect that the multiple planning departments will be consolidated, and that the city's finance department will be downsized, especially the property tax division, which should be turned over to the county.

Prepare for the reduction or complete elimination of city subsidies for cultural and recreational amenities. This will result less city money for the museums, the zoo, libraries, Chene Park, Hart Plaza, Belle Isle and other city parks, city rec centers, etc. I expect that we will see some of this funding replaced with other revenue sources [[perhaps a new regional funding source for the museums and zoo), while other things may be turned over to semi-private or state control [[perhaps Belle Isle will be turned into a state park, and some others turned over to non-profit conservancies, similar to the model used by the Riverwalk and Campus Martius Park), while others will simply be closed. It is very likely that we will see the closure of a number of city parks, rec centers, libraries, etc.

Prepare for drastic changes to city union contracts and rules. There is little doubt that the city will be eliminating retiree health care and pensions for all new employees going forward. Due to the inability of the city to pay for it's current retiree obligations, I would also expect to see some kind of re-negotiation of existing retiree benefits and pensions, possibly modeled on the Big 3/UAW plan.

Prepare for privatization of some city services. The city has been talking about privatizing the lighting department for quite a while, and it seems likely that this would finally happen under state control. I would also expect that privatization of grass cutting, park maintenance, and garbage service will also be considered.

Prepare for regionalization. The city and suburbs finally agreed to regionalize Cobo, and it has been an improvement by all measures. The facility is running better, the city is saving $15 million per year, the long-planned expansion and upgrade is underway, suburbanites now have representation in management, and the city's fears that regional control would result in the relocation of Cobo have been assuaged. I expect that the state will seriously consider regionalization of DWSD, DDOT, and the CAY City Airport. These are very important core infrastructure systems that are critical to not only the city, but the region and state as a whole. Any type of regionalization plan will be met with stiff opposition, but the future of our region depends on our ability to upgrade and operate these core infrastructure systems, and the city alone simple can not get it done.

[stromberg2]

Spot on, Ericd! Very well thought out.

Stromberg2

[SWMAP]

Charlie LeDuff wrote this today in his article about Detroit's Ghost Mayor:

"The governor threatens to impose an emergency manager if the mayor and city council don’t sign the agreement.

But the mayor and council know the emergency manager law -- Public Act 4 -- will likely be suspended in May until a statewide referendum can be held in November.

With no credible threat of punishment, it is almost certain the city council would reject a plan that would make itself irrelevant.

The governor might then use the only stick left in his bag. Let the city drown.

Already vendors and contractors are not getting paid and the city will run out of cash in a month. That means cops, paramedics and tax collectors won’t get paid. Ambulances won’t get fixed. Parks won’t open.

Under that scenario, you can expect a long, hot, bloody summer. "

[Crumbled_pavement]

Under that scenario, you can expect a long, hot, bloody summer.

So a typical Detroit summer, basically.