Update 2:28 p.m.
Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett spoke with Mayor Dane Walling this afternoon. She asked Walling to give us a snapshot of where the city's finances are at now.
"The city of Flint has ongoing challenges with long-term operating deficits and also recurring questions about month to month cash availability," he said.
"The fact is, in recent months we've made continued positive progress.
The deficits in the audit will be approximately $12 million all funds combined. That's significantly down from the upwards of $20 million projections that had been done recently.
The cash flow is much stronger than it was prior to receiving the support of the state for the fiscal stabilization bond.
We're healthier than we were, so we're moving in the right direction, but we continue to have audited operating fund deficits, and to address the longer term challenges with post employment benefits and liabilities there," said Walling.
Hulett asked Walling about his message to voters about the job he's doing in Flint and about the timing of the state review (Walling is up for re-election, and the review will be completed right before voters head to the polls). Walling said he thinks voters understand the complications he faces as the Mayor of Flint, and he looks forward to the results of the state review team.
1:49 p.m.
The city of Flint has been facing financial trouble for some time. Now state officials want an official review of the city's finances.
Governor Synder has appointed an eight member panel to review the city's bottom line. The financial review is the first step in a process created under the state's emergency manager law. Governor Snyder has said he hopes an emergency manager is not needed in Flint.
Kristin Longley of the Flint Journal reports that Governor Snyder is calling for a quick review:
Snyder wants the team to report back to him in half the time allowed under the law. Review teams are given 60 days, but Snyder has asked Flint's financial review team to report its findings within 30 days, Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said. "He does want it sooner," she said. "That was on the recommendation from the state treasurer."
Here are the eight members appointed to review Flint's finances (from the Flint Journal):
- Laura Argyle, VP of finance and CFO for the Midland Center for the Arts
- Gene Dennis, former president and CEO of Universal Systems
- Darnell Earley, Saginaw City Manager
- Robert L. Emerson, former state budget director
- Roger Fraser, Deputy State Treasurer
- Fred Headen, Director of the Michigan Dept. of Treasury’s Local Gov't Services Bureau
- Doug Ringler, Director of the Office of Internal Audit Services in the Department of Technology, Management and Budget
- Brom Stibitz, senior policy adviser in the Michigan Department of Treasury
