DETROIT (WXYZ) — The coronavirus pandemic continues to hit the Detroit’s bank account hard.
Mayor Mike Duggan will announce Tuesday night, a plan to offset millions in lost revenue due to the outbreak. He’s said that plan will affect the city’s 9,000 employees.
The address is planned for 7 p.m. The mayor was clear that tough sacrifices will need to be made in light of this pandemic — an estimated $300 million lost over the next year and a half, as main sources of income for the city like gaming and income tax, have been seriously trimmed in wake of this health crisis.
"These are hard things to do. The last time the city wouldn't face up to it -- we ended up with Kevyn Orr. That's not gonna happen again. We're going to solve these financial problems ourselves," said Mayor Duggan.
"These are hard things to do. The last time the city wouldn't face up to it, and we ended up with Kevyn Orr. That's not going to happen again. We're going to face up to these financial problems and solve them ourselves," says @MayorMikeDuggan @wxyzdetroit pic.twitter.com/rKRjHucZJq
— Jenn Schanz (@JennSchanzWXYZ) April 14, 2020
Just six years out of bankruptcy, and the city of Detroit is facing another major money challenge.
Like the entire of Michigan, many industries in the city of Detroit have come to a staggering halt. In an effort to try and contain the spread of this virus, in-person business has largely stopped, casinos are closed, and thousands of Detroiters are working from home, or not at all.
A quarter of the state’s entire workforce has filed for unemployment. And the financial reality of this crisis hitting Michigan’s largest city hard.
“We are looking at a deficit of $100 million in this fiscal year that ends at the end of June," said Duggan. "While looking at $200 million in the next year, which city council needs to adopt a budget on in the next few weeks."
Mayor Duggan says cuts will be necessary, though he’s confident city services will remain.
“It's going to affect all 9,000 of our employees."
There’s been a large push to support local businesses, like ordering takeout — and we’ve reported on state and national efforts to help Detrotiers get through this crisis — which some experts say has been a tougher blow to the economy than the 2008 recession.
But will those efforts be enough? Again, details on how the mayor plans to deal with this major deficit expected at 7 p.m.
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