A special Michigan legislative committee will consider Governor Rick Snyder's proposal to allocate state funds as part of Detroit's plan to get out of bankruptcy court, Reuters reported yesterday. Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger (R) said that the newly created bipartisan House Committee on Detroit's Recovery and Michigan's Future will take up a legislative package. Detroit's plan for dealing with $18 billion of debt and exiting the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history depends on money pledged to ease the impact on retired city workers and avoid a sale of city art work to raise money for creditors. The $816 million funding package includes $350 million in state money that Snyder has asked lawmakers to approve. Philanthropic foundations and the Detroit Institute of Arts pledged the rest of the money. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes on Monday approved a document that will be sent to the city's thousands of creditors for them to vote on the debt adjustment plan. The approved final version of the disclosure statement allows Michigan to make a single upfront payment of about $195 million instead of $350 million spread over 20 years.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/06/usa-detroit-bankruptcy-legisl…
In related news, the first six months of Detroit's historic bankruptcy case cost the city $36 million in fees and expenses for a team of lawyers and consultants, according to a quarterly report filed late Tuesday by a federal court-appointed fee examiner, Reuters reported yesterday. About $22 million of that amount represented the tab for professional services in the latest quarter covering October through December. Costs will likely mushroom for the next reporting period of January through March, which included the city's filing and subsequent revision of a plan to adjust $18 billion of debt and exit the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history that was filed on July 18.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/07/usa-detroit-bankruptcy-fees-i…