Play Detroit Emergency Manager: What Would You Cut?

By Christy Strawser
CBS Detroit Managing Editor
Facing down a massive budget deficit that's only getting worse, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is expected to make dire announcements about the budget situation at 6 p.m. Wednesday, in a speech that will be carried live on WWJ 950.

The mayor may say thousands of layoffs are necessary to balance the budget -- even temporarily. A report from accounting firm Ernst & Young this week found that even laying off 2,200 people would only stave off insolvency in Detroit until July.

Many think Bing may announce a major restructuring or privatization of some of the city's essential services, like lighting and bus transportation.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson says the mayor should announce the need for an emergency financial manager to take over and nullify union contracts, slash and burn departments.

"They have tremendous power," Brooks Patterson said about the emergency manager. 

Everyone has an opinion about Detroit's finances, where the city went wrong and what it needs to do to right itself. So here's your chance to sound off. If you were the emergency manager of Detroit, where would you cut?

*All numbers are from the approved 2011-2010 Detroit budget. See it here.