{"id":16174,"date":"2014-06-20T16:16:56","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T08:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=16174"},"modified":"2014-06-20T16:16:56","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T08:16:56","slug":"culmination-of-detroits-grand-bargain-close-retiree-approval-still-key-to-bankruptcy-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/06\/20\/culmination-of-detroits-grand-bargain-close-retiree-approval-still-key-to-bankruptcy-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"Culmination of Detroit\u2019s \u2018Grand Bargain\u2019 close; retiree approval still key to bankruptcy exit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Western<\/a>
Western part of the abandoned Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit, Michigan. Photo by Albert duce \/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DETROIT\u2014An effort by deep-pocketed philanthropists to save the bankrupt city of Detroit\u2019s art treasures began with a chance meeting last year and nears a culmination Friday when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder authorizes millions in state help.<\/p>\n

But all parties excited about the bill signing know that work could be for naught if the city\u2019s pensioners and workers, who are nearing a deadline for a historic vote on Detroit\u2019s plan to get out of bankruptcy, reject what has been dubbed the Grand Bargain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is really not in our hands,\u201d said Rip Rapson, president of the Kresge Foundation, which has pledged $100 million toward the plan. \u201cWe fully understand that the pensioners have to make very hard decisions as to whether this is something they can support.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s contribution of $195 million, along with $366 million from foundations and a $100 million pledge from the Detroit Institute of Arts, would replace hundreds of millions being cut from retiree pensions, while stopping bond insurers and other creditors from forcing the sell-off of city-owned art such as Van Gogh\u2019s \u201cSelf Portrait.\u201d The money would come over 20 years, placing the value at about $816 million.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, the artwork will go into a charitable trust.<\/p>\n

Retirees and city workers have until July 11 to vote on the proposal, which is included in state-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr\u2019s plan for Detroit\u2019s restructuring. The city filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in history last summer, and a trial on the restructuring is set for August. Orr has said he hopes to have Detroit out of bankruptcy by the end of this summer.<\/p>\n

In May, Orr said early ballots showed workers and retirees supporting the plan by about 2 to 1. His spokesman, Bill Nowling, said Thursday that they cannot release detailed numbers, but \u201care encouraged by the voting activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retiree Mary Highgate, who plans to return her ballot July 1, believes Orr\u2019s plan will proceed regardless of the vote result.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody I know is voting \u2018no\u2019 because we don\u2019t trust them,\u201d said Highgate, 69. \u201cI\u2019m voting No! No! No!\u201d<\/p>\n

The financial contributions from the foundations, state and museum also mean little to her because Highgate doubts that concern for retirees is the true motivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll they care about is the art,\u201d she said. \u201cDo you really think they care about the little people? Have they ever?\u201d<\/p>\n

The philanthropic support may never have played into the proceedings if Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan President Mariam Noland had not bumped into Detroit federal Judge Gerald Rosen last year at a downtown deli.<\/p>\n

Rosen, appointed by bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to head mediation efforts, told Noland about his task.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd she said, probably as a throwaway line, \u2018Let me know if there\u2019s anything we can do to help,\u201d\u2018 Rosen said.<\/p>\n

Rosen said he gave Noland details of his plan. \u201cWithin three weeks we had 13 foundation leaders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The group included Kresge, the Kellogg Foundation and the New York-based Ford Foundation, which pledged $125 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cSerendipity was in our favour,\u201d Ford Foundation President Darren Walker said. \u201cThis is unprecedented in the history of American philanthropy that this number of major institutions would be galvanized to help solve the challenges of a once-great American city.\u201d<\/p>\n

By comparison, foundations gave $550 million\u2014nationally\u2014between 2008 and 2012 to programs and causes related to America\u2019s economic crisis, said Lawrence T. McGill, vice-president for research at the New York-based Foundation Center, which oversees philanthropy research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hugely significant and different from the kind of giving we usually see on a kind of one-time basis,\u201d McGill said. \u201cFoundations have missions and they stick to their missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The overall well-being of the city could not be dismissed, Rapson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever we could do to support the speedy resolution of the bankruptcy we needed to take seriously,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For the Skillman Foundation, whose mission is to improve lives of Detroit\u2019s children and families, a deal billed as protecting art and pensions couldn\u2019t be justified as a compelling investment\u2014initially.<\/p>\n

Bankruptcy mediators later approached Skillman with a new proposal. Now, Skillman\u2019s $3.5 million contribution spread over 20 years would help soften cuts to health care for the 7,372 retirees living in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cDetroit and its retirees suffer from the same kind of urban ills that other major cities suffer from: retirees raising their own children, grandchildren and, in some cases, great-grandchildren,\u201d said Tonya Allen, Skillman\u2019s chief executive. \u201cWe made a contribution that would help families support their children.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DETROIT\u2014An effort by deep-pocketed philanthropists to save the bankrupt city of Detroit\u2019s art treasures began with a chance meeting last …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":16175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-headline","mauthors-corey-williams","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}