Some Foundations Pledge $330 Million Toward Detroit’s Pensions, Art Museum

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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