Detroit's Bankruptcy Is Over, Michigan's Governor Says

Gov. Rick Snyder speaks today flanked by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (left) and emergency manager Kevyn Orr. Snyder said that the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy will end at midnight.

Paul Sancya/AP

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said today that Detroit's bankruptcy, the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, will end at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday.

"The financial emergency in the city of Detroit will be defined as wrapping up today," Snyder said at a news conference in Detroit.

He said paperwork to officially end the bankruptcy would be approved later today. The move comes a month after a federal judge approved a strategy for the city to exit bankruptcy.

Kevyn Orr, the city's emergency manager, said he would step down following today's announcement. Snyder tapped Orr for the job in March 2013 soon after the governor said Detroit was in a financial emergency.

"We look forward, truly, to a better time for the city going forward," Orr said at the news conference. "More importantly it's time for me now to step back and return the city to its regular order."

The city filed for bankruptcy on July 18, 2013, making it the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

As NPR's Scott Neuman reported, the plan put forward by Orr in November "calls for shedding $7 billion in debt, investing more than $1 billion in city services and borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars to implement the overall plan." The city had already reached deals with nearly all its creditors that at first were against the plan.

Once the city exits bankruptcy, Mayor Mike Duggan, to whom Orr handed back in September many of his extraordinary powers over the government, and the Detroit City Council will be able to regain control of governance.