State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Detroit May Be Out from Under State Oversight, But Its Problems Are Far From Over

Governing: Less than five years after it declared what was then the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, Detroit emerged from state financial oversight on Monday. But the milestone is largely a symbolic one: The Motor City is still deeply troubled.

There's no question that Detroit has improved. The city has reported balanced budgets in each of the past three years, a big turnaround from the years leading up to its $18 billion bankruptcy. But a big part of that success is because it was able to unload $7 billion of its liabilities during the bankruptcy process. That deal also gave the city temporary pension payment relief, meaning its current budgets don’t include the full cost of the city’s retirement obligations.

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