Michigan governor names bankruptcy attorney to run Detroit

By Steve Neavling

DETROIT (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Thursday named a lawyer with deep expertise in corporate bankruptcy as the emergency financial manager for Detroit, in the biggest state takeover of an American city in more than two decades.

Kevyn Orr, a partner in the Washington law firm Jones Day who is best known for his work on the restructuring of Chrysler after it filed for bankruptcy in 2009, will assume financial management of Detroit, the poorest major city in the United States.

As the emergency manager, he will supplant the authority of Detroit's elected officials, both the mayor and the city council. Orr will have broad powers, including the ability to renegotiate labor contracts, privatize services and sell certain city assets.

The dramatic move culminated a long decline of a city that was once the thriving center of the U.S. auto industry and the birthplace of Motown music, but has seen its fortunes sag and deficit rise. Once the fifth largest American city, Detroit now ranks 18th with 700,000 people.

"Today, I am confirming my determination that a financial emergency exists in Detroit," Snyder said at a press conference, accompanied by Orr and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.

In addition to his work with Chrysler -- for which Orr billed $1 million in fees during the first year of the restructuring of the smallest of the three major U.S. automakers -- Orr has other Michigan ties. He received both graduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan.

He is African-American, which some politicians have said could help him deal with community leaders in a city that is 83 percent black.

The emergency manager will face the huge and controversial task of repairing the finances of a city in crisis. Detroit has run operating deficits for nearly a decade, is starved of cash and facing a crushing burden of debt from commitments such as pensions and health insurance.

More than a third of Detroit residents are officially classified as living in poverty, and it has an unemployment rate of 18.2 percent, far above the U.S. jobless rate of 7.7 percent, according to government figures.

Basic services such as street lights and police protection have broken down, and the city has suffered from mismanagement and political corruption.

A former Detroit mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, who was mayor for seven years until 2008, was convicted this week of two dozen federal charges of corruption and bribery for a scheme to collect kickbacks on city contracts for himself and associates. He could face up to 20 years in prison on some of the charges.

It is rare for such a large American city to come so close to bankruptcy. The best known case was New York City, which was nearly forced into bankruptcy in 1975 after it ran up huge debts. The state of New York appointed an oversight board to guide its finances.

The most recent major city to face such a crisis was Philadelphia in 1991, which was managed by the state of Pennsylvania for a time.

Neither of those cities officially filed for municipal bankruptcy.

Detroit city leaders have long opposed a state takeover, saying they were making progress on improving the financial situation. The mayor, a former professional basketball player and steel executive, last week said it was futile to resist a state takeover and he would try to work with the emergency manager.

A defiant city council has called on residents to fight the move, saying the state is usurping the right of Detroit residents to elect their own leaders.

"We fought for everything we have. How do you stand on the sidelines," Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said on Wednesday in a fiery speech on civil rights at a council meeting.

Detroit could challenge the takeover in state court, but such attempts have failed in Michigan in the past.

Michigan state law grants emergency financial managers broad powers. The manager could ultimately recommend that Detroit file the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

A law passed in December that will take effect on March 28 will boost the powers of the emergency manager, allowing the manager to terminate collective bargaining agreements with the city's 48 unions.

(Reporting by Steve Neavling in Detroit; Additional reporting by Dawson Bell in Lansing, Michigan, and Karen Pierog in Chicago.; Writing by Greg McCune; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Leslie Adler)

(This story corrects spelling of emergency manager's first name to Kevyn, not Kevin in Ithe second paragraph, )

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michigan-expected-announce-takeover-detroit-finances-100424650.html

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