Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan said today that he will in fact appoint an emergency financial manager for the city of Detroit. He said he has a candidate in mind but did not name that candidate.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said yesterday that the governor would announce his decision today without saying what that decision would be.

The emergency financial manager will be in charge of Detroit’s budget for 18 months according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

Detroit faces $14 billion in long-term bond debt and retiree pension and health care benefits. The measures prescribed by the emergency manager to deal with the city’s problems is certain to be harsh, and include cuts to city services that residents likely consider critical. If that happens, even more of Detroit’s residents will abandon the sinking ship, making recovery chances even more remote.

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