Some Foundations Pledge $330 Million Toward Detroit's Pensions, Art Museum
Pensions could cost up to $3.5 billion alone
Detroit is still working on a bankruptcy plan, but some local and national foundations have stepped in to try to cover the costs of Detroit's underfunded pension liabilities, which may be up to $3.5 billion, and the city's art museum.
From USA Today:
The mediator in Detroit's federal bankruptcy case announced Monday that local and national foundations have pledged $330 million toward an effort to shore up Detroit's ailing pensions funds and to protect artwork at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
U.S. Chief District Judge Gerald Rosen's statement made clear that the pledges do not by themselves mean that pensions and DIA art are now beyond the reach of creditors. Rather, the commitments are intended and expected to play a part in what Rosen's statement called "an overall balanced settlement of disputes in the bankruptcy."
The non-profits range from the Ford Foundation to the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the deal won't be in effect until the rest of the city's bankruptcy problems are settled. Rosen's ruling on Detroit's bankruptcy didn't extend any special privileges for the city's massive pension liabilities
Related: Selling Off Its Art Would Show Detroit Cared About Its Future, and Its Art
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