Detroit filed for bankruptcy today as a final effort to bail the city out of its $18.5 billion worth of debt.
Detroit is the largest city in the United States to ever file for bankruptcy, according to USA Today. After filing the petition in federal court today, it will take 30 to 90 days for them to determine if Detroit is eligible for chapter nine bankruptcy protection.
Detroit’s debt of $18.5 billion has built up over a long period of time. Since 2000, Detroit’s population has dropped 26 percent. Also, unemployment rates are up to 18.6 percent. The city could only collect 68 percent of its property taxes in 2011, and, in turn, the city services have been neglected; it takes nearly an hour for a response to a 911 call, and less than 10 percent of the city’s crimes get solved, The Washington Post reports.
Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, addressed the situation, saying, “This is a difficult step, but the only viable option to address a problem that has been six decades in the making… I authorize this necessary step as a last resort to return this great City to financial and civic health for its residents and taxpayers.”