Detroit's creditors and residents this week are expected to get their first official glimpse of the road out of bankruptcy, although fights and tinkering over many of its most contentious elements likely will continue, the Associated Press reported today. As early as today, state-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr could file his proposal for restructuring the city's debt to the bankruptcy court. The plan of adjustment, due by March 1, is a blueprint of sorts for Detroit, which is undergoing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. "The numbers may change dramatically after this plan is filed," said Wayne State University law professor Laura Bartell. "They'll keep amending it until they feel they've reached what they need." The restructuring plan, a 99-page draft of which The Associated Press obtained last month, reflects that complexity. It calls for retirees and pensioners to receive $4.3 billion in payments and bondholders about $1.1 billion during the next 40 years. That would leave a surplus of nearly $336 million for the bankrupt city, which has an estimated debt of at least $18 billion.
