Detroit's grim financial reality is setting in, finally, writes Daniel Howes in The Detroit News.
In a series of sobering events Monday, the State Tax Commission voted to investigate whether the city is over-taxing property owners, presumably in a bid for more revenue. And a consultant retained by the Bing administration proposed to cut dramatically the City Council's budget, reduce its 115-member staff by 78 positions and bust council members to part-time status.
The moves are just the beginning of revolutionary change ahead for city government in the era of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, bolstered by the withering scrutiny of professionals paid to unpack Detroit's Byzantine financials and operations and make them public.
This will not be pretty.
Detroit is a shimmering example of how not to run a big city tracing a generations-long slide of depopulation, declining revenue and political dysfunction. It taxes too much, spends too much, and makes too many promises to employees and retirees that it cannot afford to keep, especially now.
