Easily the two most emotional issues in Detroit's bankruptcy filing are cuts to the pensions and the possible sale of DIA art.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Rhodes is exploring a way to address those hot-button issues.
Dan Howes and Robert Snell of the Detroit News report that the judge is looking at a way to get regional and national foundations to create a fund to protect the art by helping support retiree pensions.The reporters cite "multiple sources."
The figure for the fund could be around $500 million, the News reports.
The News reports:
The plan likely would be unprecedented, if the foundations — facilitated by the mediators appointed by (Judge Gerald) Rosen — combine to create a private fund designed to do two things: help the city honor pension commitments to its public-sector retirees; and protect the DIA and its valuable pieces from liquidation. The collection is conservatively estimated to be worth at least several billion dollars.
The paper also reported:
Multiple sources interviewed by The News said the situation is fluid. In exchange for a creating a fund that could be anywhere from $300 million to $500 million or more, the DIA and its assets likely would be conveyed to a nonprofit charitable trust to ensure they never are imperiled again. -- A.L.
