Kevyn Orr Expected To Be Named Detroit Emergency Financial Manager
DETROIT (WWJ) - It appears an emergency financial manager will be appointed for Detroit. Gov. Rick Snyder will announce his final determination regarding a state team's financial review on Thursday.
WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick said, Wednesday evening, he'd confirmed that Snyder has determined that an emergency financial manager is needed.
"This is a historic decision [for Snyder]," said Skubick. "It's probably the most far-reaching decision of his young political career. I am told that, quote, 'he is ready to be accountable.'"
The announcement will be made Thursday at 2 p.m. in downtown Detroit. Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for coverage.
It's expected that Kevyn Orr -- a University of Michigan graduate and an attorney from Washington, D.C. -- will be that EFM. Orr helped Chrysler work through its bankruptcy situation in 2009.
This news comes just one day since Detroit City Council members visited Lansing to try to convince the state to give them more time to handle the situation themselves.
"Things have been moving very quickly since the yesterday when the city council was up here pleading with the governor not to do what he's about to do," Skubick said. "The governor reviewed the report from the hearing officer, obviously looking at that today and coming to the conclusion that the only way out of this fiscal mess is to send in somebody who can make the touch decision to turn the city around."
Mayor Dave Bing said he did not support the council's appeal and that he would work closely with an EFM, if it came to that. He said businesses are making commitments to the city and he doesn't want anything happening to derail that momentum.
Detroit is billions of dollars in debt and has a budget deficit topping $300 million. It also has long-term debt topping $14 billion and has had trouble in recent months making payroll and paying other bills.
