State Officials To Meet In Detroit On Consent Deal

DETROIT (WWJ) - State officials are expected to present Detroit City Council members with details of a proposed consent agreement regarding city finances.

Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said that Governor Rick Snyder and Treasury Andy Dillon want to meet Tuesday with council members about "information on a proposed consent agreement."

Speaking at Monday's Pancakes & Politics breakfast moderated by WWJ-TV's Carol Cain, Gov. Snyder said time is running out for the state and city to reach an agreement and avoid a state-appointed emergency manager.

Snyder said March 27 is the deadline for the state review team looking into Detroit's financial mess to issue its report.

"Again, I am going to keep proposing a consent agreement. I'm going to be more vocal about a consent agreement. I'm going to be more vocal about what that agreement should say," he said. "Because I hope people will come together and just say let's do this and get it done and go - without an emergency manager."

The Mayor's office released a statement late Monday afternoon address the consent agreement:

• The Mayor feels a consent agreement must be structured, "so the City can keep running the City," as Gov. Snyder said earlier today. The City's restructuring should be a collaborative effort between the City and State with core authority to carry out the agreement remains with the City.

Snyder said although an emergency manager is still a possibility - he would consider that a "failure."

Snyder said a consent agreement would mean the city agreeing with the state about a path to move forward "for which people will be held accountable."

With that in mind, Snyder said he has no problem with continuing to let Detroiters run Detroit.

"That's the right answer. It's let's have it so the city can keep running the city, but with more support and more focus on financial responsibly and then implementation," said Snyder.

WWJ's Vickie Thomas reports that Detroit City Council members were expected to have a copy of the agreement delivered to their offices Tuesday morning.

Detroit faces cash flow problems and a nearly $200 million budget deficit.

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Snyder's comments came before a sold-out crowd at the first edition of Michigan Chronicle's 2012 Pancakes & Politics panel discussion at the Detroit Athletic Club. If you missed it, you can watch a recap on Sunday, March 19, during a special edition of "Michigan Matters" airing 11 a.m. on WWJ-TV/CBS Detroit. Learn more about Pancakes & Politics on the Michigan Matters page.