Bond restructurings, negotiated settlements with bondholders and bond insurers, and tough talk with unionized workers are on the agenda as Detroit's emergency financial manager tries to meet a self-imposed, six-week deadline to decide whether the city can get through its financial crisis without a bankruptcy filing, Reuters reported yesterday. Kevyn Orr, in his first report to the state of Michigan since Governor Rick Snyder appointed him, laid out last week a bracing picture of steps he may need to take to address the city's troubles. Orr's spokesman, Bill Nowling, said that the emergency manager expects to decide soon whether talks with the affected parties will get the job done. "It's safe to say we will have a good idea of whether we can reach an out-of-court restructuring with our bondholders, pensioners, retirees and city employees within six weeks," Nowling said. Detroit's debt is one of Orr's top targets because payments on the $2.9 billion of general fund debt - including $1.45 billion of pension obligation certificates and associated interest rate swap contracts - accounts for about 19 percent of the city's general fund budget, Orr reported to the state.
