Judge Approves Plan for Detroit to Fix Street Lights

About 40 percent of the lights in the city don't work

Detroit's plan is to use $12.5 million in annual utility tax revenue to back $153 million of bonds that will be issued by the Public Lighting Authority through a Michigan agency to finance improvements to the city's dilapidated public lighting infrastructure.

Kevyn Orr, the city's emergency manager who filed the historic bankruptcy in July, has said one of his top priorities is to improve Detroit city services. About 40 percent of street lights in the city do not work.

The authority also plans to secure a short-term $60 million loan before the bonds are sold.

Some Detroit bond holders, bond insurers, unions and retirees objected to the transaction, arguing that the deal will leave the city with less cash to pay its creditors.