Detroit's emergency manager warned on Friday that a complex package of nearly $1 billion in possible aid for the bankrupt city could unravel unless city employees and retirees approve a pension deal, the Associated Press reported on Friday. Kevyn Orr said that $195 million in upfront state money still has to be approved by state senators — possibly next week — and he worries city workers and retirees voting on a related deal to cut their pensions by up to 4.5 percent will make a "protest vote" or be influenced by creditors such as bond insurers trying to undermine the agreement with "misinformation." The state funds, the equivalent of $350 million spread over 20 years, would be joined with $466 million in commitments from 12 foundations and the Detroit Institute of Arts to shore up the city's two retirement systems while the city-owned art museum and its assets would be transferred to a private nonprofit. Roughly 30,000 retirees and city employees are in the midst of a two-month–long vote on the pension and art deal.
