A State of Emergency: Metro Detroiters Your IMMEDIATE Help is Needed (Warren: maintenance, bus)

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by belleislerunner

For starters - if the city has no revenue (and everyone here is against raising property taxes and income taxes even higher) please state where you would cut the 50 million.

Truthfully, I don't think I'm qualified to answer that question. I want to give Mayor Bing the benefit of the doubt- that the things he is saying will NEED be cut is actually correct and that there is not room somewhere else in the budget.

While I am against overspending as much as everyone else, there has to be a level-headed approach to slashing services. If you take away essential bus routes, and 2,500 people get fired from their jobs and end up back on welfare and stamps, which let's suppose will cost the state $10 million, was it worth the $7 million that was saved? No, clearly that makes no sense. If you cut the fire department and an entire city block burns down like happened last summer, the city forever loses all the property taxes it was getting from those homeowners. If you close Hart Plaza, and 2 hotels and 3 restaurants go bankrupt, the city loses all those taxes as well. It gets to the point where it becomes nonsensical, and eventually, certain cuts actually make a budget a deficit worse for the following year where it will be forced to cut even more, and so on and so forth.

[belleislerunner]

I agree with you - many of the cuts (e.g. Belle Isle, Hart Plaza, People Mover) would be detrimental. My point was just I would rather trust 8 people with the purse strings (as opposed to one). Snyder's been in office a few months and has done drastic changes. Bing (City Council) are all the same party yet never seem to accomplish anything. I would guess those closings are more scare tactics from Bing's office. What really has Bing accomplished since being elected Mayor? I can't think of anything...

[Shinhiryuu]

Sounds like i got less of a reason to go to Belle Island now... If the people drinking 40oz and walking in the middle of the road didnt deter me, the closing of the zoo to pet deer will .

i honestly hope they cut in the areas needed then put it in active money flow spots. example, if they make this 50 mil cut, i hope they put it towards property tax gaps and give us a break from our homes ( esp in IV) where half price would save me 4k and allow me to spread it on business around the city, eating out, concerts (the or hestra would love more cliental). it may seem like we're just moving 50k debt from one place to anothrr but it gets money pumping

[ForStarters]

In hopes of providing some balance to my original post, the Detroit City Council has countered Mayor Bing's public outcry yesterday by stating that the Mayor is "playing politics" by issuing threats of severe service cuts. Essentially, the Council is asserting that the Mayor's projections represent a worst case scenario, and that the Mayor could make the $50 million in cuts without affecting core services, mainly by cutting down on overtime hours. However, Councilman James Tate offered that there was no more room for cuts in the city's budget, indicating that the Mayor's warnings should be taken seriously.

Personally, I don't know who is "playing politics." Whether it's the Mayor or the Council doesn't really matter to me. The bottom line is, slashing core services like fire, police, transit, and venues like Hart Plaza is irresponsible. Both the Mayor and Council need to find another way; there is too much progress at stake for the city to start moving backwards.

If you are so inclined to believe that it is actually Mayor Bing and not City Council who should be reconsidering what kind of cuts should be made to the budget, here's the Mayor's contact information:

Mayor Dave Bing

City of Detroit
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Detroit, MI 48226

FAX
(313)224-3400

E-MAIL
scheduling@detroitmi.gov

Related News Article:

Detroit City Council says Bing is playing politics with layoff and closure threats | MLive.com

[zthatzmanz28]

There goes my summer vacation!

I was hoping city council had adapted the ways of civilized and sane folks---appearently they are still in the backroom singing another chorus of WE SHALL OVERCOME and alter everyone's reality..

Bing is truly ALONE!!

[canudigit]

It's pretty apparent that Charles Pugh is trying to climb the political ladder by attempting (unsuccessfully, IMHO) to make Mayor Bing out to be a hapless, floundering fool, all to the city's detriment, because I see it played out in the local media at least once a week, if not more. Geez, Detroit finally has an apparently honest, earnest, mayor that actually seems to care more about the city than his own interests, and someone wants to ruin it for his own gain.

ForStarters, if I thought an email, letter, or any other form of communication from me would help, I would be on it. In fact, I would drive to Detroit and picket or something if it would do any good. However, living in rural Monroe County as I do, would they even take me seriously at all if I were to address an email to Mr. Pugh, or would I be wasting my time? We do use the amenities that they are threatening to cut a couple of times a year, and it makes me sick to think that Detroit has finally gained some impetus and some jerk wants to take it away and then some, but ultimately I'm not a taxpaying citizen of Detroit, so why would they care what I think?

[Retroit]

I feel the same way about Pugh as canudigit. He's becoming a true politician, trying to make Bing the bad guy. What a pity, I expected more from a TV anchor.

As for cutting "essential" services, I will agree with you, ForStarters, up to a point. I think the bus services were only going to be cut on Sunday (I may be wrong). As for police and firefighters, it only makes sense that as population decreases, their numbers should as well. If the people of Detroit would not commit so many crimes and arsons, they could cut the forces in half. Maybe they can bring back the Bucket Brigade and let the people put out their own fires.

[us66]

Originally Posted by Retroit

If the people of Detroit would not commit so many crimes and arsons, they could cut the forces in half. Maybe they can bring back the Bucket Brigade and let the people put out their own fires.

Brings to mind the old rhyme:
"Detroit, Detroit, Detroit's on fire! We don't need no water, let the mayor put it out!"

[tigerfan3]

It should be illegal for any city or state to go into deficit spending. Raise taxes or cut spending!

[Shinhiryuu]

Originally Posted by tigerfan3

It should be illegal for any city or state to go into deficit spending. Raise taxes or cut spending!

No dont raise taxes! Dont mention that here, they might really do it! Ahhh!!!