Detroit Mayor Dave Bing on Sunday left the door open for a federal bailout after the city’s bankruptcy filing, saying the nation’s response would “set a benchmark” for aiding other struggling cities.
Asked directly whether Detroit would seek a federal bailout, Mr. Bing said “not yet.”
“I think it’s very difficult right now to ask directly for support,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“I have gotten great support from this administration. I’ve got great support from a lot of the different departments within the administration,” Mr Bing said of the Obama administration. “They have been helpful, but now that we’ve done our bankruptcy filing, I think we’ve got to take a step back and see what’s next. There’s a lot of conversation, a lot of planning, a lot of negotiations that will go into fixing our city.”
More than 100 urban U.S. cities “are having the same problems we’re having,” Mr. Bing said. “We may be one of the first. We are the largest. But we absolutely will not be the last. And so we have got to set a benchmark in terms how to fix our cities.”
Mr. Bing said Detroit first needs to develop a plan to invest any money it would receive. He said he would be more specific in the coming weeks about his discussions with the federal government. “I’m not sure exactly what to ask for. I mean, money is going help, no doubt about that, but how much?”
Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, appearing on other Sunday news programs, also left the door open for federal bailout money. “If the federal government wants to do that, that’s their option,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” But he added, “I don’t view that as the right answer.”
Still, Mr. Snyder said the federal government could play a role in rebuilding the city, citing an upcoming $100 million program between the city, state and federal governments to remove blighted structures in Detroit