Should city launch Detroit Dollars?

City officials plan to launch local currency

DETROIT – Plans are underway for Detroit to print its own currency.

Bucharest Grill in downtown Detroit launched Detroit Dollars and they became popular to the restaurant's customers. Officials are meeting to decide whether or not printing a Detroit currency would be a good idea on a broader scale.

Places like the Park Bar and Motor City Pub printed Detroit Cheers Dollars, similar to Detroit Dollars, but people liked them so much, they wouldn't spend them.

Local currencies are being used across the country. Places such as Traverse City and Britain are being used as models. Local businesses would offer discounts to customers who use Detroit Dollars and the financial reverberation would begin.

A former Michigan economic director says Detroit loses about $1.7 billion a year in retail sales, so the idea is to create a currency that stays in Detroit and circulates in Detroit keeps the money in the city and expands the local economy in order to help the city get healthier.

The money would be printed by a non profit and a bank or credit union would need to get involved to hold the currency. Their are no final plans yet, but the idea of Detroit currency is in the works.