Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes brought the idea of a regional water authority for Detroit back to life yesterday, ordering the city and three counties to mediate over the issue, Reuters reported yesterday. The order by Judge Rhodes comes after Detroit said in a court filing earlier this week that it had dropped the concept of a Great Lakes Water Authority from its plan to adjust $18 billion of debt and other obligations and exit from the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Detroit provides water and sewer services to millions of customers in its home county of Wayne and neighboring Oakland and Macomb counties. The proposal pushed by Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr to lease the city's water and sewer departments to a regional authority for a hefty annual fee and using that money for unrelated purposes drew objections by officials in Macomb and Oakland counties.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/usa-detroit-bankruptcy-idUSL2…
For further analysis and to hear a keynote speech by Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, make sure to attend next week’s Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C.! The speech will also be live-streamed on the ABI website.