Detroit’s county in financial emergency, state review team says

(Reuters) – Michigan’s Wayne County, home to Detroit, is in a financial emergency due to chronic budget deficits and a big unfunded healthcare liability, a state-appointed review team announced on Tuesday.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has 10 days to officially declare a financial emergency.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans requested the review last month, asking the state for a fiscal emergency declaration and a consent agreement to fix problems.

The review team, appointed on July 2, said the county’s out-of-balance budgets over the last four years and an estimated $1.3 billion unfunded healthcare liability led to its conclusion that a financial emergency exists.

Detroit went through a similar review process that led to the filing of the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy, which the city exited last December after shedding about $7 billion of its $8 billion of debt and obligations.

(Reporting By Karen Pierog; Editing by Christian Plumb, Bernard Orr)