Here's a question that gains fresh relevance, says a Free Press article based on documents it got: "How can a city that’s broke afford pricey lawyers and consultants?"
Contracts approved for consultants and lawyers advising emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s team as it restructures city government and prepares for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy have skyrocketed to at least $62 million, with some firms getting more than $10-million increases, according to records reviewed by the Free Press.
The documents, obtained with a Freedom of Information Act request, show an increase of as much as $45 million for consulting and legal work above the initial contracts that were signed in recent months.
Orr's spokesman defends the spending in a comment to reporters Matt Helms and Joe Guillen:
“They have expertise in a whole host of areas that we need for the restructuring and in bankruptcy court. We’re literally trying to do five decades of restructuring in 12 months.”
Recipients of higher contracts include a Birmingham restructuring consultant, Conway MacKenzie. Its billing ceiling started at $4.2 million and now is $19.3 million, the paper reports in its lead article atop the front page. That's a hike of 359 percent.
Related coverage: Undisclosed Bankruptcy Contracts Sidestep Openness Pledge, Sept. 29
Jones Day, a Washington law firm where Orr worked until becoming emergency manager in March, originally had a $3.3-million deal. It now may receive up to $18 million, Guillen and Helms write.
