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The mayor of Detroit, Dave Bing, has seemed keen to negotiate a “consent agreement” between the city and the state. This would avoid a takeover, but would still set out exactly how the city must extricate itself from the crisis and manage itself in future. However, the agreement had to be signed and sealed by April 5th; if the deadline was missed, an emergency manager would probably be appointed.
底特律市市長，Dave Bing似乎傾向于通過協商，使市政府與州政府達成“一致協議”。此舉雖然可以避免被接管，但對于底特律城如何自我救贖，從危機中走出，以及如何安排城市的未來仍需做出明確的安排。然而，協議達成的最終期限是四月五日。一旦無法在最終期限內簽屬和生效，任命危機總長來接管城市，將勢在必行。
Aspects of the agreement are controversial, particularly with the city’s labour unions. It would set up a Financial Advisory Board to oversee the city’s restructuring, recommend cuts in services and appoint a chief financial officer (CFO). It imposes tough terms on future union contracts, a chief cause of Detroit’s financial malaise, and insists that all existing contracts, even those recently ratified, can be reopened. The financial advisory board would be appointed by both city and state, and would have to approve new labour agreements before they went to the mayor and city council for ratification. The CFO would be chosen by the mayor from a list of at least three names submitted by the governor. And if, after all this, the city failed to meet the required savings targets, Mr Snyder could still appoint an emergency manager.
協議中的某些部分，尤其是與底特律各公會有關的條款，頗具爭議。協議規定要組建財政指導委員會，監督底特律重建工程；對該削減那些民政服務部門保有建議權；選出一名財務總監。鑒于公會合同是底特律財政頑疾的重要原因，協議中對未來公會合同條款做出了嚴格的規定。并堅持要求，所有仍在生效的合約，即使是在最近已做出修改，也都有重新協商的可能。財政指導委員會成員將由市政府和州政府共同任命，而且新的勞動協議必須在財政指導委員會得以通過后才能交由市長和市政委員會批準。至于財務總監，密西根州長將向底特律市市長推薦至少三人，并交由底特律市長從這些候選人中選出。即使以上條款如實通過，一旦無法達到所要求的財政節約目標，州長先生仍有可能會向底特律指派危機處理員。
The city council’s response to the consent agreement has ranged from resigned to downright hostile. As The Economist went to press early on April 4th, the nine members had delayed voting on it. One even asked,“What is the hurry?” The hurry was the next day’s deadline. Meanwhile, a coalition of unions has gone on the attack. They argue that the agreement was negotiated behind closed doors, rather than openly as the law requires, and want a federal judge to stop the city and state signing it. The judge said late on April 3rd that he will rule on the matter by April 9th: in other words, after the deadline.
市政委員們對此協議的反應是有人逆來順受，有些則嗤之以鼻。截止到四月四日上午本刊即將出版發行之前，九位市政委員推遲就此議案進行投票。一位委員竟脫口問道：“為什么這么急？”著急的原因是四月五日就是截止期。與此同時，底特律公會間已達成聯盟，開始進行反擊。他們提出，協商議案屬于暗箱操作，違反法律所規定公正公開的原則。他們希望聯邦法官阻止市政府和州政府達成協議。而聯邦法官在四月三日晚些時候給出的答復卻是他會在四月九日就此事作出判決。換句話說，過了截止期再說。
Mr Snyder has laid out the state’s case on a new website, “Detroit can’t wait”. It includes a personal commitment from him to ensure that, “in the short term…the streetlights are on at night and trash is picked up”, and,that “buses run on a reliable schedule so people can get to work”. Whether by a consent agreement or an emergency manager, Detroit’s freedom of action is already tightly constrained. The alternative, though, is bankruptcy.
州長先生開通一個叫“底特律不能再拖下去了”的新網站，用于提供有關此事處理的相關消息。他本人也做出了承諾，保證 “短時間內，晚間照明仍能保證，市政清潔仍將繼續。公共交通還將按時運營，以保障人們仍可乘車上下班?！辈还苁且恢聟f議還是危機總長，底特律的命運已不能完全掌握在自己手中，再有何舉動也要看別人的眼色行事。盡管面前還有另一條路，卻是通向破產的深淵。
