A package of bills to help Detroit and other cities struggling to keep their streets lighted hit a major roadblock today in the state Senate. Democratic supporters say there was a deal in place, and they had enough votes to move the legislation.
"We would be getting rid of, or suspending, a scheduled roll-back that would cost the city of Detroit nine million dollars over every calendar year that that is allowed to happen," said Senator Bert Johnson (D-Detroit), the bill's sponsor. "Money that, most assuredly, the Majority Leader and Republicans across the state have indicated that they want to see Detroit have, and that there is a specific use for that money.”
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) says he wanted more Detroit senators to support the bill.
“It would be presumptuous for us to say ‘let’s come in and fix your problem, even though you don’t agree with the solution,’" he said. "So if you have a better solution, come to us and tell us what it is, because we’ve been working on this one for three months and we have heard zero other solutions.”
