One year after a federal judge approves Detroit's bankruptcy exit plan, progress has been made while looming challenges remain, especially city pensions
The City of Detroit has more than enough cash to pay its daily bills. Thousands of busted streetlights have been replaced. City retirees still receive pension checks, and valuable paintings remain ensconced in the gilded halls of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
That's the good news. But a year after a federal judge approved a cost-cutting and reinvestment plan in the nation's largest-ever municipal bankruptcy case, Detroit's financial future still hangs in the balance.
Among the greatest concerns: a multibillion-dollar pension bill that starts coming due in less than a decade.
The city is on the hook to make a balloon pension payment estimated at more than $100 million in 2024 alone. But if the pension investments do not perform as anticipated, the bill could be significantly higher.
So far, the early returns for the investments since the bankruptcy are falling short. City officials and their watchdogs are already considering paying more into funds much sooner than prescribed by the city's bankruptcy exit plan confirmed only a year ago. It's unclear how Detroit would foot the bill.
Read More..http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/detroit-reborn/2015/11/08/detroit-rising-life-after-bankruptcy/75085252/
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