Wayne County government seems to sinking further into debt.
Detroit News reporter Steve Pardo writes that it's less than two months into the new budget year, and already it appears the accumulated debt for the county will surpass the estimated $220 million deficit.
Does that mean the county could join the ranks of Detroit and have an emergency manager?
Possibly.
The county has already hit three of 19 triggers -- or danger signs -- in state law, Pardo writes:
Under state law, any one of 19 criteria or actions by local or state officials can start a preliminary state financial review of a municipal government. The process eventually can lead to a gubernatorial declaration of “financial stress,” forcing a locality to choose among four state oversight options including arbitration, the negotiation of a consent decree or an emergency manager.
-- A.L.
