DETROIT \u2014 An emergency manager assigned to lead this city back from the brink of financial ruin has taken his first detailed look at Detroit\u2019s woes, and the picture of debt and disarray he paints may be bleaker even than earlier grim portrayals.<\/p>\n
In a report to be presented to Michigan\u2019s treasurer on Monday, Kevyn D. Orr, the emergency manager appointed in March to take over operations here, described long-term obligations of at least $15 billion, unsustainable cash flow shortages and miserably low credit ratings that make it difficult to borrow.<\/p>\n
And in the face of those fiscal troubles, Mr. Orr, a longtime bankruptcy lawyer, portrayed city operations in Detroit as in need of significant repair, including overhauls of the city\u2019s Police Department and Fire Department, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one should underestimate the severity of the financial crisis,\u201d Mr. Orr said in a statement issued by his office on Sunday. \u201cThe path Detroit has followed for more than 40 years is unsustainable and only a complete restructuring of the city\u2019s finances and operations will allow Detroit to regain its footing and return to a path of prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The account from Mr. Orr, 45 days into his time in Detroit, is required under a Michigan law that dictates the state\u2019s oversight of cities that appear headed for financial collapse. But Mr. Orr\u2019s findings, painfully detailing the city\u2019s problems over more than 40 pages, also seem likely to become a new focal point for debate for some in Detroit who have questioned the seriousness of the city\u2019s troubles and the need for state intervention at a level rarely seen for a city of its size.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not as bad as what they\u2019re trying to make it out to be,\u201d Edward L. McNeil, a local official for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said on Sunday. Mr. McNeil had not viewed a copy of Mr. Orr\u2019s report, which was not made public until late Sunday, but he said he had grown accustomed to overly negative assessments of Detroit by the state and its representatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of this was a cooked deal for them to take control of the city and take the assets,\u201d Mr. McNeil said. \u201cThis has been a sham.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his filing for the state, Mr. Orr made clear that the city must fundamentally restructure its financial liabilities. Noting that retirees from the city now outnumber current workers by more than two to one, Mr. Orr said pension and health care costs must be addressed.<\/p>\n
Mr. Orr found that the Detroit Police Department, led by five chiefs over the last five years, suffers from \u201cextremely low\u201d efficiency, effectiveness and morale, and said its equipment and technology were out of date. The Fire Department has 52 facilities across the city, but as many as 12 may be essentially out of service on any given day, Mr. Orr said, because of \u201cstaffing and equipment constraints.\u201d Meanwhile, he said, at least 60,000 parcels of land across the city are vacant, as are 78,000 buildings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city\u2019s operations have become dysfunctional and wasteful after years of budgetary restrictions, mismanagement, crippling operational practices and, in some cases, indifference or corruption,\u201d he wrote. \u201cOutdated policies, work practices, procedures and systems must be improved consistent with best practices of 21st-century government.\u201d <\/p>\n