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An accumulated deficit of $327 million. Unfunded obligations of nearly $15 billion with almost $2 billion due in the next five years. A District Court that is owed almost $280 million and which collects only 7.7% of what they are owed each year. A nearly $1 billion 2012 deficit masked by long-term borrowing with no foreseeable ability to pay it back. The city’s bond, pension and retiree health care liabilities account for 35 to 42 cents of every dollar the city takes in.

These items and more led to yesterday’s formal declaration by a state financial review team that, yes, Detroit is in a state of financial emergency without a plan to solve it. Not a big surprise to anyone paying attention but one that puts the situation into clear focus.

My analysis after the jump.

Olympic Boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields, before introducing Vice President Joe Biden, spoke to a crowd of Obama/Biden supporters during a campaign stop at Renaissance High School in Detroit on Wednesday, showing her support for President Obama and Vice President Biden. After that, Vice President Biden gave a rousing speech.

Photos and quotes after the jump.

Taking back control

In the wake of the suspension of Public Act 4, Michigan no longer has “Emergency Managers”. We now have, once again, “Emergency FINANCIAL Managers”, men and women with reduced power and a singular focus on financial matters. Several school districts and municipalities around the state have wasted no time in reasserting their power as elected officials.

Many examples and commentary after the jump.

You win some, you lose some Last night the Michigan Court of Appeals stuck down a ruling by Ingham County Judge William Collette barring the Snyder administration from moving forward with a Consent Agreement with the city of Detroit until after a March 29th hearing on violations of the Open Meetings Act. A three-judge appeals panel reversed a ruling by […]

In a comprehensive and sternly-worded letter to Governor Rick Snyder (pdf), Congressmen John Conyers, Jr., Hansen Clarke, and Gary Peters are asking for some answers regarding his administration’s proposed Detroit Consent Agreement. The letter focuses on seven key areas: Failure of State to Provide Any Financial AssistanceGovernor Snyder is asked to explain why, unlike in other struggling cities across the […]

Ouch. That’ll leave a mark. My favorite Michigan judge at the moment, Ingham County Judge William Collette, today issued yet another spanking to the administration of Governor Rick Snyder. The Snyder administration appealed a ruling made an earlier this week barring them from signing a Consent Agreement with Detroit until after a March 29th hearing. That hearing has been postponed […]

Can’t win for losin’… The Snyder administration was handed another in a long list of legal setbacks today as my now-favorite judge, Ingham Country Judge William Collette, smacked them down again. Recall that Judge Collette had already issued a mighty smackdown to the Detroit Emergency Manager Review Team earlier in the month: An Ingham County judge this afternoon ordered all […]

You don’t have to be a jerk about it Last spring when I published exclusive audio of Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris talking about crushing the unions, I was shocked at what he said and, more to the point, how he said it: So, I’ve laid off twenty-five people. I’ve laid off nine police officers. I’ve laid off four […]

A Consent Agreement by any other name is still an Emergency Manager Yesterday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder presented a Consent Agreement to the city of Detroit. You can read the 26-page Consent Agreement HERE (pdf). HuffPo Detroit has a great run-down of the key parts of the Consent Agreement HERE. There’s some surprisingly egregious stuff in there. Whoa. Here’s the […]

Yeeouch. That’ll leave a mark. One of my newest heroes these days, Ingham County Judge William Collette has had just about enough of Governor Sndyer’s Detroit Emergency Manager review team. As I mentioned this afternoon in my Michigan Emergency Manager news round-up, this review team tried to circumvent the Open Meetings Act, which Judge Collette had already found them in […]

It just goes on and on and on and on Lots of news to cover today. Make sure you click through to the jump page if you’re reading this from the front page of Eclectablog. Stand Up For Democracy coalition delivers 226,637 petition signaturesYesterday, the Stand Up For Democracy coalition and Michigan Forward delivered well over the 160,304 signatures needed […]