According to a report
authored by a state review team, Michigan’s largest county is facing a
financial emergency. Governor Rick Snyder is the lone official who has the
power to officially declare a state of emergency in the county, and in
compliance with state law he must make his determination within 10 days of
receiving the review team’s report.
Although the Governor
has the ability to appoint an emergency manager to oversee the operations of
the county in an attempt to fix the $52 million structural deficit, it seems more
likely that a consent agreement will be made between the state and the county. The
review, which was requested by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, issued
their final report on the County’s financial situation less than three weeks
after coming into existence.
The report shows that
Wayne County’s last four fiscal years have had large discrepancies between
revenue and expenditures with vastly underestimated expenses. The largest
underestimate came in the form of a $23.7 million shortfall while the smallest
gap between estimated and realized expenditures was $16.7 million.
While healthcare
makes up the largest percentage of long-term debt for the county, at a whopping
40 percent, the most visible show of the financial distress in the county comes
in the partially erected jail; which saw its construction halted due to large
amounts of over-spending on the project. Although the County is in a financial
emergency, Mr. Evans stated that bankruptcy is not a guarantee.