Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said on Wednesday that a review process on Detroit and a decision on whether the city's shaky financial condition warrants a state-appointed manager could be completed in as soon as three weeks.
The Republican governor said he expects to receive a report from a review team he appointed on Dec. 18 in two to four weeks and that his analysis of the report would take another one to two weeks.
"My reputation is not one to be sitting on things versus making decisions," Snyder told reporters at a General Motors Co event at its global powertrain engineering headquarters.
The report could recommend an emergency financial manager who would control Detroit's checkbook and who could decide to take the city to U.S. bankruptcy court unless the state blocks the move. A Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy filing for Detroit would be the biggest ever in the United States.
The city has been operating under a consent agreement since April 2012 that gave the state some oversight. However, the slow pace of reforms led Snyder to launch a new review of Detroit's finances in December.
The city of about 700,000 has been battered by a steep population decline, years of severe budget deficits and escalating employee costs.
Snyder on Jan. 10 asked the review team, which has a 60-day deadline to complete its work, to take into consideration recent actions by a majority of the nine-member Detroit City Council to approve reform and restructuring-related measures.
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