Detroit…
Detroit & Public Act 4

FTA:
State intervention should come in the form of consultation and assistance, not takeover, said Greg Bowens, spokesman for the group Stand Up for Democracy, which headed the petition drive to put the issue before voters.

Bowens said the new law was designed to place the burden of addressing a financial crisis on public employees like teachers, police officers and firefighters, rather than asking for shared sacrifice, especially from those who hold municipal debt. Unmanageable debt is the single biggest contributor to the financial crises in local government, Bowens said, but lenders and bondholders have little incentive to restructure debt when they believe an emergency manager will balance the books through employee concessions.