Detroit EM To Reveal Restructuring Plans Monday

CHICAGO — Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr is set to unveil his highly anticipated restructuring report Monday, his spokesman said Wednesday.

State law requires emergency managers to craft and release a financial report detailing their restructuring plans within a set time of taking over. In Orr’s case, the deadline is May 12, which is 46 days after the state’s new law for distressed local governments, Public Act 436, took effect.

The report will be submitted to the state and posted on the city’s web site early morning on Monday, May 13, according to Orr spokesman Bill Nowling.

It will give the first glimpse into how Orr will treat the city’s long-term obligations, which total nearly $15 billion.

The state appointed Orr, a bankruptcy attorney with the firm Jones Day, to take over the beleaguered city at the end of March. Since then he has delved into the city’s books, dealing largely with operations and an estimated $380 million deficit. The city is in worse shape than he originally thought, he said in an interview with a local television station this week.

“Frankly, from my perspective, if I can accomplish what I need to accomplish without bankruptcy I’d be elated,” he said in the interview. He said a Chapter 9 filing will depend on the position of the city’s creditors, “some of whom might prefer a court order to make them do the things they need to do.”

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