The Detroit City Council yesterday approved a resolution echoing the call for congressional hearings on the increasing use of municipal bankruptcy filings across the nation and whether Detroit is misusing the process to slash retiree pensions and healthcare coverage, the Detroit News reported today. The resolution, introduced by member JoAnn Watson, was crafted in support of a request by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) for the hearings to evaluate local and national ramifications after Detroit filed to pursue the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. History. The council’s unanimous vote in favor of the measure comes a day after Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette officially joined Detroit’s bankruptcy case in an effort to protect pensioners from having their retirement benefits cut in the chapter 9 debt restructuring. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes has not yet determined whether Detroit is eligible for bankruptcy protection from its creditors, who are owed an estimated $18.5 billion.
