Life in "Progress" City

From the motor city of Detroit, who hasn't had a conservative in city government since the American revolution.......

The city's finances are so shaky that officials repeatedly borrow money to cover day-to-day bills, rarely go after deadbeats and have sat on millions of dollars in property tax overpayments for years, according to two recent audits.

Mayor Dave Bing has warned the city is courting receivership unless he makes drastic changes, but two little-noticed audits offer startling glimpses of how quickly the city is burning through cash, losing revenue and failing to implement seemingly routine controls of spending.

Detroit, which faces a $300 million deficit, remains "one of the weakest (financially) in the nation" and "significant economic conditions continue to cast doubt on the city's future operation," outside auditors wrote last month in a 227-page audit of the 2007-08 finances.

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Until recently, workers in the city's Treasury Division weren't even sure how many bank accounts the city had and sat on at least $3.2 million in property tax overpayments, according to a November report by the city's auditor general, Loren Monroe.

Treasury workers only told taxpayers they had overpaid if they asked, a practice Monroe slammed as bad government.

"It's blatantly unfair. Even if you overpay on a credit card, the credit card company credits your account," said Ted Phillips, executive director of the United Community Housing Coalition, an advocacy group. "Even the worst of the worst give you a credit for your future bill. It's crazy."

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