Gov. Rick Snyder says EFM decision for Detroit may come next week

Michigan governor: Financial issues on-going in Detroit since 1950

DETROIT – Gov. Rick Snyder says he's at least a week away from deciding if Detroit needs an emergency manager to confront its $327 million budget deficit and $14 billion long-term debt.

He held a news conference Thursday to discuss the Detroit Financial Review Team report which was released Tuesday.

The team's report stated the city is under a financial emergency.

During the press conference, Snyder said he wouldn't announce any decisions on an emergency manager. He only discussed the report.

Snyder said he didn't want to spend time blaming others for the cause of the problem. He said financial issues have been on-going in the city since 1950, when Detroit started to see a population decline.

Detroit had 1.8 million people in the 1950 U.S. Census and about 700,000 in 2010. Snyder says new growth holds the key to Detroit's recovery.

Since 2004, Detroit has had a negative balance in the general fund, he said.

Watch: How would Detroit EFM affect mayoral race ?

Snyder disagreed with how accounting is handled in the city. Detroit has been listing money borrowed as revenue, a bad practice according to Snyder.

While showing a chart, he said 30 percent of city revenue is needed to pay down legacy liabilities on the current path.

Read more: Detroit review team finds 'financial emergency' in city

"This isn't just about balancing the books, it's about improving services for citizens in Detroit," said Snyder. "We need to grow the city of Detroit and it's going to be really hard."

Snyder has 30 days to make a decision and announce a plan moving forward. That plan could include the appointment of an emergency financial manager in Detroit.

He said will make his decision as soon as next week, however the process may take several weeks after that.

If an EFM is chosen, the name of the candidate may not be known until March. Sources say he has been interviewing top candidates for the past six weeks.