Although not unexpected, there was still sadness when I heard that Detroit has declared bankruptcy. If I feels strongly that Detroit can turn around after bankruptcy, I would feel much better. But there is no light at the end of the tunnel even if the legal proceedings go Detroit's way. The best Detroit can hope for coming out of this is get rid of large amount of debt and decrease its pension obligations significantly. It still would not bring in the revenue the city needs. I mean, all the auto makers are raking in good profits this year but it has not done anything for the city itself. So what happens with next downturn in the auto industry? It is still a catch 22: business won't come to the city without great improvement in services but if there is no business to provide taxes, services won't improve. Dave Bing was a successful businessman but even he couldn't do anything for the city. What will happen after bankruptcy?
I know they are trying to get rid of abandoned houses, moving people out of certain areas of the city and trying to start urban farms. I don't know if any of these things would help. I can't say I have any ideas that would work but I am throwing one out there. Can they let border cities absorbs some of the neighborhoods near the border? For example can Livonia, Farmington and Plymouth absorb areas of west Detroit? Southfield, Warren absorb areas north of 8 Mile Rd. Grosse pointe absorbs and St. Clair Shores absorb some of the east side of Detroit. I understand the areas around the River is doing much better. Renaissance Center, the GM building, Comerica Park, Ford field etc. are already is decent shape. Just start from those areas and rebuild outward gradually and let the fringes be absorbed by the suburbs. So the city will be much smaller and the taxes from businesses downtown will sustain the smaller city. Maybe business will go to northwest Detroit if Livonia police is servicing the area so the response time is not 1hour. I know the suburbs would not like this at all, particularly those that have to absorb parts of Detroit. But even if the suburbs are doing well now, if Detroit goes down eventually the entire southeast Michigan will deteriorate. In fact I believe the entire state needs to contribute to Detroit's revival. I don't think a state can be great without a major city.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
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It's too bad that it had to come to this. But the writing was on the wall. The one thing I take from this is that the Governor brought in an Emergency Financial Manager to avoid bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteSo by bringing in the EFM, it really didn't do much. There might have been a better way to go about this if bankruptcy was inevitable. Maybe there should have been a committee in Lansing that would go over the books and come up with various scenarios to save the city. And after working on the scenarios recommend bankruptcy.
Instead, the EFM was brought in and all that happened was backlash between the already paranoid people and the governor. I don't know if these bridges could be mended while the governor is in office.
You are right about the catch 22 and I don't know if anyone has the answers.
I don't see any boarder cities taking over. There's still this stigma of crossing over 8 Mile and there's a lot of baggage. Plus, Oakland county is the only county that has money. Wayne county is in horrible shape and Macomb isn't in much better shape.
I don't even see how they'll be able to move people so that there aren't pockets all over the place. Do you give them a financial incentive? Where would the money come from? What if a person refuses to leave? Are they left to fend for themselves?
My own opinion is that they have to decrease crime so that people will want to move into the city and even go to the city and do things.
So that means putting more police in the streets. Maybe they should look into getting rid of the police department and have the county or state police run things.
They also need to attract younger people to live there as well. Plus the taxes need to be lower to help these people out.
Just a few thoughts that come to mind. It's not an easy fix and one I am glad I'm not in charge of!
-LBOAYM
I agree with putting more police on the streets. One hour response time for an emergency is just unacceptable. I also agree with getting rid of the city police dept. and use county police for the city. This idea is unlikely to have any chance of becoming reality though. I assume there is not a lot crime at Comerica Park, Joe Louis Arena and Ford Field for games, right? So it is possible to put up a big police presence in a small area. There is just not enough resources for the entire city 24/7.
ReplyDeleteSo I would create economic zones like in China but only in blocks at a time. Say in a one mile square where there is no property tax for one year. There will be also a police substation right in that neighborhood along with graffiti removal crew. Hopefully this will attract people from other parts of the city and suburbs to come to live and start a business. If one area succeeds then will move on to another 1 mile square. I am sure that if the police can defend a baseball stadium they can defend one square mile.
I know there will not be bailout from the feds. But it would not be too much to ask the feds to give tax break for any business that move into such an economic zone. I know this is a long shot but what do they have to lose?