By Alan Stamm and Bill McGraw

Detroit's emergency manager and Michigan's governor on Sunday told viewers of three network programs, as well as one in Detroit, why the city has "crossed the Rubicon," as Kevyn Orr put it on "Fox News Sunday."

In separate appearances on that show and on CBS, NBC and WDIV, Rick Snyder and the man he appointed to restructure Detroit finances restated the message points they made after Orr filed a Chapter 9 bankruptcy petition in federal court Thursday.


"That is not necessarily inaccurate," Kevin Orr said when Devin Scillian asked whether Kwame Kilpatrick was responsible for $2 billion of Detroit's debt.

Devin Scillian, host of WDIV's "Flashpoint," shook loose one intriguing new nugget when he told Orr that the station's investigative reporting has found ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was responsible for $2 billion of the city's $18.5 billion in debt.

"That is not necessarily inaccurate," Orr responded, using a lawyerly construction for "yes."

He wouldn't go further, saying he didn't want to spend time looking back.

Orr and the governor again assured retired city workers that monetary portions of their pensions are not in play, for now.

“All we’re talking about in this restructuring is the unfunded component of those pension funds,” Orr told Wallace. “There are going to have to be concessions. Concessions may be different for each fund. And they’re going to be focused on the unfunded component.”

He acknowledged that retired police officers, firefighters and city workers promised a certain retirement benefit will see likely see an “adjustment” in monthly checks eventually. “I’m empathetic about the problem. But we don’t have a choice. . . . This is a question of necessity,” Orr told the Fox host. 

Detroit News: Orr’s consultants have concluded the General Retirement System is $2 billion underfunded and the Police and Fire Retirement System is $1.4 billion short to meet long-term payouts for retirees — figures the two pension funds dispute and will likely try to litigate in bankruptcy court.

Snyder, speaking to Bob Schieffer on CBS' "Face the Nation,"  described the impact on pensioners as a "tragic situation."

Both officials downplay the chance of federal loans or similar help. "I don't expect  one," Snyder replied to Schieffer's question about "a bailout" from Washington, adding that he wouldn't make such a request. "I don't view that as the right answer."   

Orr is in sync with that, obviously. "We have to cure this problem on our own," he responded when Wallace asked whether a municipal debt crisis is similar to the crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina.

"You can't plan for a natural disaster," Orr noted. "This is the result of poor planning or a lack of planning. . . . There has been a myopia, a lack of focus on this problem" by past city leaders.

The emergency manager added: "We’re not expecting the cavalry to come riding in. We dug this hole. There was a level of corruption from 2002-08 that helped to create this problem.. . . Detroit has a responsibility to help itself." 

Here's more of what they said: 

  • Ultimate goal: "This is an opportunity to save Detroit and grow Detroit." -- Rick Snyder on CBS
  • Advice to other cities: "Delay doesn't produce positive outcomes. Deal with problems as they arise." -- Kevyn Orr on Fox