CHICAGO - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder told local reporters Wednesday that he wants Detroit and its retirees and unions to reach agreement to help advance a legislative deal to appropriate $350 million of state funds toward the city's unfunded pension obligation.
The state funds would be part of a so-called grand bargain that raises $350 million in state funds, $350 million in private foundation money and $100 million from the Detroit institute of Arts. It would mean a total of $850 million applied toward the city's pension liability - estimated by city officials to be $3.5 billion - and would protect Detroit's prized city owned art collection from monetization.
Snyder said he and lawmakers believe an initial deal between the city and its retirees and unions will help pave the way for lawmakers to approve legislation appropriating the funds.
"In many ways, to move forward in terms of what the state needs to do is to see if there is a conclusion or settlements going on between the retirees, the unions and the city itself," Snyder was quoted as saying in the Detroit Free Press. "If there's an agreement, then it would be a much better process to get through the legislative process."
Snyder also said lawmakers should act on a bill - yet to be introduced - before their summer break begins. After May, the process becomes "extremely difficult," Snyder told the Free Press.
The city's plan of debt adjustment, unveiled in February, relies on the $850 million in funding. Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr said at the time that creditors must sign off on the deal quickly or the deal could unravel.
