Detroit City Council decides to participate in appeal of financial emergency declaration

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit City Council members have decided they want to participate in an appeals hearing about the city's financial situation in Lansing next Tuesday. 

Council members will discuss and vote on a resolution outlining plans for the hearing and who will speak for the city later today.  

Adam Hollier is Mayor Dave Bing's liaison to council. He clarified that the mayor supports disputing the facts that have been used to establish the financial crisis but he did not know what the mayor's response would be to taking the next step by appealing in Circuit Court.

Acting Detroit Corporation Counsel Edward Keelean this morning is giving the Detroit City Council its options in participating in the hearing before a Deputy State Treasurer to try to prevent a state takeover. 

Keelean says the scope of the hearing is very narrow - as outlined in the March 1, 2013 letter to the City by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder in which the Governor declared Detroit has a financial emergency and that the Governor was moving toward putting an Emergency Financial Manager in place. 

A financial review team found Detroit has a $14 billion dollar long term debt and no viable plan to fix it. 

During the same city council meeting this morning, David Whitaker of the Detroit Research and Analysis Department told council members that council should go to the hearing "otherwise this is a sham process."

Whitaker has been preparing a plan for the hearing that is set for next Tuesday in Lansing. 

Detroit City Council members have also been discussing challenging the possible takeover in Circuit Court.  Hollier could not say whether the mayor supports gong to court to appeal the possible takeover.