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EM's Biggest Task: Tackling Detroit's Pension Obligations

Kevyn Orr's Biggest Task
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Kevyn Orr anwsers a question during a news conference in Detroit, Thursday, March 14, 2013. Gov. Rick Snyder announced that he had chosen Orr, a partner in the Cleveland-based law and restructuring Jones Day firm, as Detroit's emergency manager. Snyder's already declared a financial emergency in Detroit, saying local officials lacked a plan to solve it. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit — Pensions and retiree health care could be on the table during Detroit's restructuring, prompting worry among the city's 30,000 current and former city workers that Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr may try to cut their benefits.

It's a fear rooted in reality because Orr has the power to make drastic changes, and retiree benefits are among the biggest bills for a city that is nearly $15 billion in debt, has a $327 million accumulated general-fund deficit and will be unable to pay nearly $2 billion in debt payments over the next five years.

Read more on Detroit News

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