(Reuters) - The state of Michigan and its biggest city, Detroit, announced on Thursday a deal on several milestones the cash-strapped city must achieve in the next month to win $30 million.

The city, which has been criticized by state officials for slow progress on financial reforms, needs the money that was generated by a bond sale to avoid running out of cash by the end of the year.

The deal between Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon and Mayor Dave Bing's administration requires city council approval of contracts with legal and other advisers and the completion of a review of the city's cashiering by Tuesday. Meeting those milestones would result in the release of $10 million to the city.

Another $20 million would be released on December 14 if Detroit executes a series of contracts concerning audits, outsourcing and restructuring, among other matters.

Projections presented by city officials to Detroit's oversight board on Monday showed the city's weekly cash flow at just $4.1 million in mid-December before dropping to a negative $4.8 million at the end of the year.

Cities, counties and states across the United States are slowly seeing a revenue uptick after years of dwindling funds in the wake of the country's deep recession. Detroit's financial troubles are particularly severe due to a steep fall in population, high unemployment and a drop in state funding.

Detroit's financial advisory board was created under a consent agreement that allowed Detroit to avoid the appointment of an emergency manager to run the city while giving the state some oversight and allowing the mayor to disregard collective bargaining agreements with unions.

The Michigan Finance Authority sold $129 million of bonds for Detroit in August, completing a debt sale aimed at raising $137 million for the city. While Detroit received some of that money, Michigan Treasury officials tied the release of another $30 million this year to Detroit's progress on reforms.

"The milestone agreement reached between the state and my administration enables all of the key stakeholders to be on the same page as it relates to the progress of the city's restructuring plan," Bing said in a statement on Thursday. Continued...