Since February, the East Lansing Financial Health Review Team has been scouring the city’s ledgers to find ways to pay its obligations. We talk with team member Eric Scorsone and East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas about how the city is managing its finances.
The city of East Lansing is under significant financial pressure. Decreases in state revenue sharing payments and falling property values triggered by the 2008 recession are straining the city’s coffers.
East Lansing is obliged to pay pension and health benefits to its retirees, but it also wants to rebuild its aging infrastructure. In February, the city commissioned an 11-member panel to scour its ledgers to find the most effective ways to pay its debts and build for the future.
The East Lansing Financial Health Review Team will make its first public presentation this Wednesday evening at the Hannah Community Center in East Lansing.
Current State talks with Dr. Eric Scorsone, director of the MSU Extension Center for Local Government Finance and Policy, and East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas.