A state House committee is trying to decide if taxpayer dollars should be part of the solution to get Detroit out of bankruptcy.
The hearings opened with testimony from Detroit’s emergency manager, who acknowledged he was in Lansing to “beg” for money.
The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta has more.
Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr told the House Committee on Detroit’s Recovery and Michigan’s future that the city’s bankruptcy settlement will collapse without the state’s participation.
He says the city has cut costs, stabilized services, and developed a turnaround plan to make Detroit a better place to live and do business.
“We have an ambitious schedule,” he says. “We have what we think is a reasonable plan, but, to put it bluntly, we need your money.”
Otherwise, he says, the creditors are likely to say “no.” Orr says that would place the masterpieces owned by the Detroit Institute of Arts at risk, and push many of the city’s pensioners -- who live all across the state – to the edge of poverty.