Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he’s leaving substantial financial reserves for the city as he prepares to step down.
Detroit has racked up 11 consecutive years of balanced budgets since it exited bankruptcy in 2014. The surplus for the latest fiscal year is $105 million, and Duggan is leaving the city with almost $550 million in reserves.
Duggan said many people worried about Detroit facing a “pension cliff” because the city’s post-bankruptcy plan of adjustment gave it a ten-year reprieve from making pension and debt payments.
But Duggan said that hasn’t happened so far. “We've been making our pension payments for two years. But because [City] Council set aside hundreds of millions of dollars in the retiree protection fund, we were prepared for it,” he said.
Duggan is leaving office after three terms to run for Michigan governor as an independent candidate. Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield is set to replace him next month.
Sheffield said getting to this financial position took collaboration, tough decisions, and a shared commitment to Detroit’s long term financial stability.
“And as the mayor-elect, the next mayor, I can assure you that it is my goal to that to ensure that we have four more years of balanced budgets and surpluses as well,” she said.
“My focus will always be clear: protecting Detroit's financial stability, continuing to build our reserves, and making strategic investments that strengthen our neighborhoods, improve essential services, and support long term growth.”
