Detroit Finances
Detroit’s Financial Advisory Board met for the fourth time yesterday.The nine-member board has significant powers over the city’s budget under Detroit’s consent agreement with the state. Sarah Cwiek reports:
City officials told the board that the sweeping restructuring of city operations is largely going ahead as planned. The first major step—a 10-percent pay cut for nearly all city union employees—will go into effect within days. But Detroit City Council member Gary Brown warned that a Council fiscal analysis shows the city still running a significant deficit. Brown says the Council wants to address that debt through budget amendments as soon as possible. Detroit’s Chief Financial Officer, Jack Martin, says Mayor Bing’s office plans to submit budget amendments to Council by the end of September.
Palisades Update
Workers at the Palisades nuclear plant have found the source of a leak that caused the plant to shut down over the weekend. “The leak is inside the building that holds the nuclear reactor. The heat generated by the reactor is restrained in part by 45 control rods. A Palisades spokesman says the source of the leak is at least one of those control rods, which they will replace. He says they don’t know why the rod is leaking. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sent a special inspector to oversee the repairs. It’s unclear how long they will take,” Lindsey Smith reports.
MI Fireworks
An ad hoc state House workgroup will review Michigan’s new fireworks law and could recommend some changes. “The law allows licensed retailers to sell high-powered fireworks.The law also forbids local governments from banning fireworks on the day before, the day of, and the day after a national holiday. State Representative Harold Haugh is the author of the law and co-chairs the workgroup. Haugh says he’s open to tweaks in the law, but considers it a success, by and large. At least one state lawmaker has called for allowing local governments to ban selling or shooting high-powered fireworks," Rick Pluta reports.
