Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has agreed with a five-member review team that the city of Hamtramck is in the midst of a financial emergency, according to a statement released on Monday.
The independent review team released a report on May 23 following a request from Hamtramck city officials.
Snyder agreed with the review team's findings, citing a $3.3 million deficit in the city's General Fund. The city has also delayed making monthly pension payments to the state's Municipal Employees Retirement System in order to manage cash flow.
Hamtramck’s chief administrative officer or Council now has seven days to request a hearing. Under PA 436 of 2012, the city will be faced with four choices for how to deal with the fiscal crisis: a consent agreement; an emergency manager; a neutral evaluation process; or Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
"Gov. Snyder's letter came as no surprise -- you'll remember that it was City Council that requested the financial review, and that in fact City Council has formally voted to request an Emergency Manager," Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewksi said in an email to The Huffington Post.
"Now Council does have the option of a hearing, and I don't know whether it will vote to proceed with that or whether the body will want to forgo the hearing. What I do know is that the elected officials and the city administration is eager to move forward with whatever will put the city on a firm financial path, in the interest of all our residents."
Hamtramck previously underwent a period of state receivership from 2000 to 2007. The small city is within Detroit's borders, where an emergency manager was instated earlier this year.
