Kevyn Orr, a former bankruptcy attorney and Detroit’s current emergency manager, is anticipated to stay on board with the city after his term as emergency manager is ended in September 2014.
Both the Mayor and the City Counsel President have expressed their willingness to keep the former bankruptcy lawyer as a member of the city’s team. They anticipate Mr. Orr will help them in continuing the restructuring started, implemented through the Detroit’s bankruptcy filing, during his role as emergency manager.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and City Council President Brenda Jones still want to dismiss the city’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, in late September — but the mayor signaled he’s open to keeping Orr around in a new role, according to deposition transcripts obtained by the Free Press.
Duggan testified that it’s “entirely possible” that Orr will stick around after Sept. 27 — the first date the City Council can vote to fire the emergency manager — and that he discussed the prospect with Jones and some council members.
“Certainly Mr. Orr’s background and expertise are probably going to be needed post Sept. 27,” Duggan testified in an Aug. 1 deposition tied to the city’s upcoming bankruptcy trial. “It just would not be in the role of emergency manager.”
Orr, who was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder, controls Detroit’s city government and its Chapter 9 bankruptcy — though by all accounts he has established a strong working relationship with Duggan.
Duggan, Jones and many other city officials are being questioned in advance of the trial to determine whether Orr’s plan to cut Detroit’s debt and deliver services is fair and feasible. The trial starts Aug. 21.
Duggan’s testimony offered clues to how he will exercise his new authority over the water department, which has been criticized for weeks for its aggressive policy to shut off water service to thousands of delinquent customers in the city.
Today Duggan rolled out plans to make it easer to pay overdue water bills.
“I don’t believe we have the right to tell them to terminate it,” Duggan said of the shutoff program in the deposition. “I believe I have the right to remove board members for cause and … rather than remove a bunch of board members, is have them revise the program in a way I think serves the residents of the city.”
Duggan testified that the water department’s poor execution of the shutoff policy convinced Orr to give him authority over the DWSD’s operations.
“I felt that the management of the water department was not serving Detroit appropriately, from all of the water main breaks over the winter, to the sinkholes that developed, to the water shut-off program, and I wanted the ability to deal directly with the water board members to try to change the responsiveness of the department,” Duggan testified.
“Mr. Orr became convinced, given the resulting problems from the water shutoff notice, that I was correct, and he issued the order (last week) allowing me to do that,” Duggan testified.
Asked about the content of the mayor’s deposition, Duggan spokesman John Roach said Wednesday that the mayor would not comment on the bankruptcy proceedings.
Duggan and Jones, who gave separate depositions, testified independently that they are committed to implementing Orr’s sweeping restructuring plan, which would slash more than $7 billion in debt and enable the city to reinvest $1.4 billion over 10 years in services.
Judge Steven Rhodes has signaled that he won’t approve the city’s plan of adjustment if the city’s elected officials don’t demonstrate a willingness and ability to execute the plan after Orr’s departure.
Detroit Free Press: http://www.freep.com/article/20140807/NEWS01/308070034/Detroit-bankruptcy-Mike-Duggan-Brenda-Jones
