DETROIT -- Saying he "didn't want to go in this direction," Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced the filing of Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection for the city, and that city leaders and residents "will have to make the best of it."
Detroit is now the largest municipal bankruptcy case in U.S. history.
"It's going to make the citizens better off," Bing said in a news conference "It's a new start for us."
The filing outlined several factors contributing to the city's financial woes, including a long-dwindling tax base, population flight, financial mismanagement and overall decay of a city that once had more than 2 million residents and was the world's hub of auto manufacturing.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the city is renegotiating $18.5 billion in debt. Chapter 9 bankruptcy would seek protection from creditors and unions.
Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr, who was brought in earlier this year, said at the same news conference he was targeting the city to emerge from bankruptcy by late summer or fall of next year.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement: "The fiscal realities confronting Detroit have been ignored for too long. I'm making this tough decision so the people of Detroit will have the basic services they deserve and so we can start to put Detroit on a solid financial footing that will allow it to grow and prosper in the future,""This is a difficult step, but the only viable option to address a problem that has been six decades in the making."
"It's going to make the citizens better off," Bing said in a news conference "It's a new start for us."
The filing outlined several factors contributing to the city's financial woes, including a long-dwindling tax base, population flight, financial mismanagement and overall decay of a city that once had more than 2 million residents and was the world's hub of auto manufacturing.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the city is renegotiating $18.5 billion in debt. Chapter 9 bankruptcy would seek protection from creditors and unions.
Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr, who was brought in earlier this year, said at the same news conference he was targeting the city to emerge from bankruptcy by late summer or fall of next year.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement: "The fiscal realities confronting Detroit have been ignored for too long. I'm making this tough decision so the people of Detroit will have the basic services they deserve and so we can start to put Detroit on a solid financial footing that will allow it to grow and prosper in the future,""This is a difficult step, but the only viable option to address a problem that has been six decades in the making."
