Updated: Tuesday, 3:50 p.m. -- Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr issued a statement, saying: “This is another significant step forward as we work towards securing Detroit’s long-term financial viability. I thank the Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association for its willingness to compromise, and I encourage all other parties to reach resolutions with the City in a timely fashion. We are securing support for the Plan of Adjustment – the time to resolve our differences is now.”
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After a lot of painful wrangling, and lots and lots of uncertainty, the retired Detroit police and firefighters won't see a cut in pensions under a deal in the bankruptcy proceedings.
The Detroit News reports that Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association board unanimously approved the proposal from the city that calls for no cuts in pensions but a smaller annual cost-of-living increase.
The News writes:
Retirees would be expected to approve the so-called “grand bargain” of $816 million pledged toward their pensions by 12 private foundations, the state of Michigan and donors of the Detroit Institute of Arts. In exchange for the money, the DIA’s assets would be shielded from a fire sale to satisfy creditors.
The proposed deal is the third reached in recent days as Detroit and creditors continue intense negotiations that could bring a quick end to the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. An even bigger deal could be announced as early as today with the Detroit Police & Fire pension fund.
Meanwhile, Taryn Asher of Fox 2 reports hundreds of Detroit police officers and firefighters say they plan to retire immediately if they are forced to take a greater wage cut.
Matt Gnatek, a Detroit police officer and a pension board member, tells FOX 2's Taryn Asher as many as 500 public safety members are ready to leave the job tomorrow. "Good luck finding someone to do this job for 14 dollars an hour," he says.
Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr's spokesperson, Bill Nowling, tells Asher the talk of mass retirement is a "scare tactic." If a mass retirement happens, he says, a plan is in place and enough police will still patrol the city. Details of that plan were not given.
