This is the reply we received:

"My administration negotiated with the City's labor unions in good faith. The union leadership knew all along that the Tentative Agreements must be approved by the State. Once we were informed by the State that the Tentative Agreements did not provide enough savings, I entered into a Consent Agreement with the support of City Council to prevent the appointment of an Emergency Manager. The City Employment Terms (CETs) that were later imposed provided the City with additional savings beyond those provided within the previously negotiated Tentative Agreements. My Administration looks forward to working with the City's labor unions to do whatever is necessary to fiscally stabilize our City and move our City forward.”

The thing is, if even most of those cost-saving and revenue-genereating measures proposed by the unions really were quickly and fully implemented by the administration, under the watchful eye of the state, why is it that we are still staring at a potential shortfall (as of right now, anyway) of $122 million come the end of this current fiscal year next June?

You don't need to be a CPA to see that something doesn't add up.

News Hits is written by Curt Guyette. Contact the column at 313-202-8004 or NewsHits@metrotimes.com

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