Another Reason To Let Detroit Go (lease, condo, bankruptcy)

[actinic]

More ammunition for Snyder to pull the plug ...

Column: Snyder has no partner in Detroit | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

'Given a choice between cooperating on a revival strategy and pandering to the city's worst nature, they will always choose to obstruct, blame, dodge and generally act the fool.

Take Snyder's latest attempt to help the city, an offer to lease Belle Isle, fix it up, and operate it as a state park. It's a major gift. The deal takes an expense off Detroit's books and pumps resources into polishing a fading jewel, and the island remains available for use by Detroiters at little or no charge.

But instead of welcoming the helping hand, Detroit's leaders bit it. Again. Council members JoAnn Watson and Kwame Kenyatta are circulating a flier for a "Hands Off Our Island!" rally for Wednesday.

If it were just this wacko wing of the council that was protesting, there'd be little harm. But a majority of the council voted last week to oppose the proposal. And Mayor Dave Bing joined in with a rant dripping with the same divisive rhetoric that Detroiters should be bone weary of by now.'

[313Weather]

Let Detroit go through a Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

[Huckleberry3911948]

czars of the entitlement world. 460 million federal money already down a rat hole.
the island was a great idea.
cut em loose.
detroit your rights will never be found by putting your hands in somebody elses pockets u must stand on your own and solve your own problems.

[magellan]

How is the State/Snyder going to pay for this? It can hardly maintain the inventory of State parks it already has?

What Snyder should do is return some of the revenue sharing cuts that have basically gutted a lot of our local municipalities. Then fix the roads. Then upgrade the existing state parks. Then worry about opening new state parks.

[actinic]

Originally Posted by magellan

How is the State/Snyder going to pay for this? It can hardly maintain the inventory of State parks it already has?

One less responsibility for Detroit means one less way to run up future deficits so in a way the state saves money by running it better. Who knows, maybe a part of it can be privately developed ... condo's, high rises, casinos.

Arguably the state shouldn't be maintaining certain parks anyway. The visitor counts on some of them simply don't justify the cost.

[ForStarters]

It's really getting to be absurd. Detroit cannot handle it. The state is not much better off and I have no faith they can manage anything properly either. When a city or a state reaches this point. They have two options: raise taxes, or cut spending, or both. Selling bonds, borrowing more, or seeking bailouts are not viable options. They should have been charging for access to Belle Isle a long time ago so that it could remain maintained and solvent. At this point, it is time to auction it off, perhaps with some conditions, such that it will remain open as a park. The governments are not able to manage these kinds of public assets any longer. The governments need to go into survival mode and focus on critical functions/core services. Any money that is left over should go into shoring up other problems that make investing in the city attractive to new residents and businesses

[KayAnn246]

It's sad for the everyday hardworking public service employees and kids affected by this. I ran into a Detroit public school teacher since he works part time as a builder. He explained that they cut the teachers salaries by 10% and want to do another 10% while laying off half the teacher. In turn there are 40-50 students packed in one class room. It's overwhelming for the teachers that don't get laid off because they can't give those kids the attention and education they need. Then the parents become angry, move from the city because of lack of education putting the city more in the whole because of lack of taxes to generate revenue. The city turns around and raises taxes again and lays off more police, firefighters, teacher etc. it's a sad cycle that hurts innocent people.

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by Singlelady10

It's sad for the everyday hardworking public service employees and kids affected by this. I ran into a Detroit public school teacher since he works part time as a builder. He explained that they cut the teachers salaries by 10% and want to do another 10% while laying off half the teacher. In turn there are 40-50 students packed in one class room. It's overwhelming for the teachers that don't get laid off because they can't give those kids the attention and education they need. Then the parents become angry, move from the city because of lack of education putting the city more in the whole because of lack of taxes to generate revenue. The city turns around and raises taxes again and lays off more police, firefighters, teacher etc. it's a sad cycle that hurts innocent people.

You know, that overcrowding in classrooms is BS. In the 30's, 40's ,50's classrooms had as many as 72 students in a classroom. The difference? Discipline. Kids couldn't act like a holes and get away with it. Novel. Now,it's managing the herd.

Who's the HNIC nowadays in Detroit? Keep acting like the one that coined that phrase in the 70's and you now see why Detroit is the slum it has become run by bafoons. You followed his tact and look at you now? That clown ran every business possible out of town. You cut your nose off to spite your face.

The ones that run it deserve their fate. I only feel sorry for those poor souls who try every day to better themselves, work hard and do the right thing with no means to escape. Detroit is the poster child for social hatred run amok.

Your citizens deserve better. Christ, you have someone who can off load the park and you perceive it as racial and offensive. Bury Detroit and be done with it.

[Retroit]

I'm not in favor of a state takeover of Belle Isle. As ForStarters said, they should have instituted an entrance fee long ago. The island can easily be self-funding and possibly even bring in a profit.

...Ooops, "profit" is a bad word in a Socialist city. Sorry.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

It's really getting to be absurd. Detroit cannot handle it. The state is not much better off and I have no faith they can manage anything properly either. When a city or a state reaches this point. They have two options: raise taxes, or cut spending, or both. Selling bonds, borrowing more, or seeking bailouts are not viable options. They should have been charging for access to Belle Isle a long time ago so that it could remain maintained and solvent. At this point, it is time to auction it off, perhaps with some conditions, such that it will remain open as a park. The governments are not able to manage these kinds of public assets any longer. The governments need to go into survival mode and focus on critical functions/core services. Any money that is left over should go into shoring up other problems that make investing in the city attractive to new residents and businesses

The only thing city leaders can truly do is make the downtown more attractive to businesses to try to build the tax base. It would have been about 100 times easier if the city had never been let go as far as it was, but that's all in the past now. Throw in the recession, which has brought economic investment everywhere to a virtual stand-still, and you have a bad formula.

If this was a 90s economy the city would be growing much faster and there would likely be some kind of tax base to work with.