Update 5:39 pm:
The mayor’s plan includes $360 million in savings over the next year and a half. But some city council members say they’re skeptical.
"There’s not much here that we haven’t already heard before," Councilman Ken Cockrel said. He and others say the savings appear overly optimistic.
Mayor Bing disagrees.
"Add up the numbers," he said. "The numbers don’t lie."
The mayor plans to present his proposal to a state review team next week. That review team could recommend an emergency manager take over the city finances. Meanwhile, his administration continues to negotiate with city unions. Bing says the unions have until the end of the month to agree to concessions, or steeper cuts and layoffs are inevitable.
1:01 pm:
The Associated Press reports that Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has declared the city's financial crisis is easing, and the city is "no longer at risk of running out of cash by April as previously expected."
Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett is following this story and will have more for us later.
More from the Associated Press:
Mayor Dave Bing on Thursday released a financial and operational restructuring plan update. It highlights cost savings from 1,000 imminent layoffs, overdue payments from the Detroit Public Schools district and a corporate tax increase that Bing says will mitigate a cash shortfall. Bing planned to present the update Thursday afternoon to the Detroit City Council, which has scheduled discussion time for the plan. A review team is looking into Detroit's finances - a step in a process that could lead to Michigan taking over the city's government. Its recommendations will be forwarded to Gov. Rick Snyder.
Last November, Mayor Bing cited a financial audit that showed the city might run out of money this April.
