The Wayne County Commission gave the green light to a consent agreement with the state as part of a plan to fix the county’s financial emergency. Thursday was the deadline to pass a resolution selecting one of four options: a consent agreement, an emergency manager, neutral evaluation, or Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The vote was 12-2-1. The commissioners who voted against the agreement were Jewel Ware and Ray Basham. The abstention was entered by Ilona Varga.
County Executive Warren Evans had asked the commission for the consent agreement. It gives the county officials more power to set terms of employment. County Executive Evans emphasizes that they prefer making agreements with unions. Wayne County has a $52 million structural deficit. Property tax revenue in the county has declined by more than $156 million since 2007 and total expenditures increased by more than $50 million, according to the preliminary review. The employee pension plans are extremely underfunded.