Next American City says that Indianapolis and Detroit were pretty much
in the same boat 30 years ago... but they aren't anymore. Indianapolis
has prospered while Detroit has, well, struggled. One reason the two
cities forked and went different directions may be attributed to
Detroit's lack of public-private partnerships. Now that attitudes and
Detroit leadership may be changing, are PPPs the way to go?
Excerpt:
The mood toward public-private partnerships in Michigan does seem to
be changing. The state held its inaugural PPP summit in September 2008.
Attendees at the Detroit meeting included representatives from the
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 and private-equity
firm Macquarie Capital. And at the end of last year, Michigan set up
its first office of public-private partnerships.
With the country in recession, property taxes declining, and
increased stresses on public-sector programming, PPPs are going to
become that much more important, says Tammy Carnrike, COO of the
Detroit Regional Chamber, an organization devoted to developing
southeast Michigan’s economy. So far, the state has benefited from
deals advanced by local municipalities, many related to the development
of alternative energies. These include an additional 1,054 acres of
land for the Michigan Department of National Resources, the result of
an agreement between the Conservation Fund and Wisconsin-based utility
We Energies; Mascoma Corporation’s construction of an ethanol plant;
and an initiative to replace fluorescent lights in the Escanaba State
Office Building with energy-saving LED lamps.
Read the entire article
here.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.