it can appear 12% bigger and 30% brighter, it reached the full extent on monday but will shine full and bright. more news online, you know where to find it for all the headlines, breaking news and video on demand. slice the >> we're now in the middle of the trial that will slice the pie.

>> detroit's emergency manager, kevin, orr wants $7 billion in debt relief and $1.5 billion in city services. on the current plan some retired city works could see cuts to their pensions. >> everyone who works and one of our benefits . we worked hard and made plans accordingly. >> within the city blueprint plan is the grand bargain. the bargain would let detroit accept $800 million over the next two decades from the state, non-profits and donors from the detroit institute of art. it would help to reduce pension cuts and transfer the city art.

some don't like the bargain because the art work is worth billions and could be sold. >> part of the problem is whether it's pensioners or any other creditors the pot is so only big to go around. you'll see creditors potentially trying to grab whatever they can to satisfy debts owed to them. >> reporter: how to fix city services is in the recovery plan. detroit announced a new water deal asking surrounding counties to join the great lakes water authority. >> the mayor of detroit and the county executive wayne county, the county executive of oakland county and county executive of macomb county have all come together and agreed on a solution. >> rate increases would be capped at 4% over the next decades and includes

$4.5 million to help people pay bills. water became a symbol of the crisis this summer as the city shut off water to people who hadn't paid their bills. >> they want to be forgiven for their debt, okay, and when they pay their debt, it's going to be pennies on the dollar. but we don't get the same break that they get. >> reporter: detroit is swamped in $18 billion of red ink. it's tax base has been eroded over the years as industry left and so did people. population is now down to 700,000 from 2 million at its peak. the city and the country is watching court because this bankruptcy ruling will set precedence. how can ailing cities deal with financial trouble. can workers and pensioning protected as the court decides winners and losers. >> the bankruptcy hearings and the future of detroit this time on inside story, there's already the outline of a final

settlement but a federal judge will hammer out many of the final details in a new financial arrangement for the city. what does that deal look like? does it deliver fairness to those detroit owes money? work ability going forward and at the same time provide an environment for a we buil rebuilt city. we're joined by melissa jacobi, a bankrupt cy professor. stephen ivy. and from detroit tonya allen, president and ceo of the skill man foundation. welcome to you all. professor jacobi, let me start with you. this has been called the last best chance for a comeback for detroit. given the outlines that have emerged, we know much of what the final deal will look like.

does that fit the bill? >> well, they've made remarkable progress in the last year. the speed by which this has developed has been incredible, and many, many settlements have been reached more than anyone thought possible. there may need to be ultimately some changes to the plan to pass muster, but i think a lot of work is underway. it's not enough just to make the promises but show that you can deliver on them. that's going to be a key question. >> when you talk about the speed, is the speed remarkable because of the size of this bankruptcy? the united states has not seen anything like this . this. >> this is the largest municipal bankruptcy in history. a municipality that has to deal with its citizens and all this debt issue, this is a first. >> stephen ivy, is this the last

best chance for a comeback? >> yes, although one thing i would point out about the plan that some people cit criticize. maybe this plan was put together too quickly. a lot of very, very difficult questions to answer. many of which do in the have clear precedence. this is something that the creditors have a herring, that it's neither fair. >> does that get straightened out in the federal bankruptcy court? >> well, that's what they're working on. i mean, detroit--the feasibility requirement relates to is this going to result in what they call a chapter 18 scenario where detroit falls back into bankruptcy in a few years: the judge is looking at--not only do the cuts to the debt go deep

enough, but have they been put together in an intelligent way. does the city have a good plan for how the state fiscally stable goes forward. >> stephen i heard what you mean when you said you thought you went ahead too quickly, but isn't there an interest in getting this done in a brisk manner? detroit sits in limbo, and the lives of 700,000 people have a question mark hanging over them. the longer this takes to settle. >> absolutely, . >> tonya, from the skill man foundation, the philanthrope

philanthropic has had a lot to say since kevin orr came to town. what is the bottom line for an organization like yours? >> well, i think the bottom line is that yes, the bankruptcy has moved quickly, but we also believe that the solutions have been in the works for many years. so the non-profit sector and the philanthropic sector has been studying what's been going on in detroit for quite a bit of time. we've put in place strategies and coalitions that could help us move out of bankruptcy when we had the right opportunity. we feel well positioned for a comeback, and the come back is not solely about the bankruptcy. it's about the relationship and the resiliency of detroiters. >> now what is being called the grand gag, some of the people heading into court to testify during this proceeding are saying it's not so grand, and they include the insurers and the people who hold some of the

debt paper of the city from the past. >> absolutely. and i understand the challenges for those on creditors, and they want equal share, but i think it's not about equal share. it's about share sacrifice, and ultimately when i think about the core mission of municipality, and what makes a difference in terms of the bankruptcy, it's the municipality responsibility is to its citizens not to its creditors. we need to make sure that it's equal shared sacrifice across the board and our citizens have felt that many years as well as our retirees. when you have creditors who make such risky loans, that's unfortunate but it's part of doing business, you're going to face risk. >> professor jacobi one of the provisions of the outlined plan

is that the city be able to spend $1.5 billion fixing itself you have while it lives under the terms of this bankruptcy. why is that important for the city like detroit. >> well, for municipality there are going to be two elements going forward. one is serving the debt. but the other is the core mission, a city exists to serve it's citizens. the recorded is pretty clear of the work that needs to be done. that's a very important part of the process, that the court is going to be looking at. >> tonya allen, what are the kinds of things that detroit needs to spend money on? this would be to the tune of $150 million a year. >> well, we need to spend money on a couple of things. one is blight remediation and removal. because it's our community, quite honestly, are not safe as a result of that. we often talk with children and parents and residents who live

in neighborhoods who tell us very clearly it's difficult and it's very scary to walk to and from school, or to do any kind of business in a community when you go past vacant buildings. second, because of the bankruptcy proceedings we've been able to get a stronger police department in the city of detroit. we've seen crime decrease, and that's a big part of making detroit a viable and attractive place. i think there are other things that we definitely have to take on like education and transportation, which may not be a part of the bankruptcy agreement and negotiations, but they will be--they will be more achievable if we get some of our basic core services down like public safety, like blight remove and remediation and basic services like trash pick up and lighting of streets. these are things, quite

honestly, some detroiters have not enjoyed for many years. us addressing those things create a more viable environment for us to address other tough issues. >> we're going to take a short break now. when we come back we're going to talk about water as detroit struggles to provide basic city services to its residents. the water department has been shutting of off the valves. there is a new deal that may be coming up. that's next on "inside story." stay with us. >> a new episode of the ground breaking series, edge of eighteen >> just because your pregnant don't mean your life's ended. >> intense pressure... >> i don't know if this whole dance thing will work out. >> tough realities... >> we chicago ch-iraq, because we have more killings... >> life changing moments... >> shut the camera.... >> from oscar winning director, alex gibney, a hard hitting look at the real issues facing american teens. the incredible journey continues... on the edge of eighteen only on all jazeera america

>> saturday >> prop 8, really made us think about this process of coming out. >> meet the committed couples >> gay marriages, straight marriages... have the same challenges. >> it's all about having the same options as everybody else. >> that fought for equality >> saying "i do" changed everything. >>every saturday, join us for exclusive, revealing and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. "talk to al jazeera" saturday 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> you're watching "inside story" on al jazeera america. the federal trial on detroit's bankruptcy has entered it's second week. at the same time a settlement has been reached between water customers and local governments. hundreds and thousands of households were cut off from water municipal supply for non-payment. the city

ies have greed on a new agreement. six board members. two from detroit, one each from the neighboring counties, and one appointed by the governor. rate increases will require five votes, and those increases will be limited to 4% a year over the next ten years. detroit maintains control over the infrastructure in the city limits. detroit operates 3,400 miles of watermains. 3,000 miles of sewer pipes, and 27,000 fire hydrants. we're now joined by the creative director of the detroit water brigade. after advocating for people who have had their water shut off in their thousands, does this deal get us closer to where you felt we needed to be? >> not at all. term water affordability plan is being used as a hot word or a

hot button for something that is a larger problem. we asked as a stilet years ago the people's water board, there was a lot of organizations that came together to put together a plan that would be income based and serve the people, the residents who would be using the water service, and this new regional plan has absolutely nothing to do with the resident themselves. that is a huge problem. >> but from what i understand once the city has lost so many residents and was sort of stuck with still maintaining the infrastructure for the big old detroit costs went up even though revenues went down. how do you bridge that gap and serve the people with water? >> i think it starts with the people. it starts with their interest. it starts with understanding what they need and coming together and working together collectively as a community. that's not happening.

a lot of leaders in the city are brea pretty much imposing decisions on the residents, and that will create a problem later on. without cooperation on both sides where is this going? you're going to call services and help from the outside to come in, which is fine, but let it be in collaboration with those who are already here who want to see things done and who have great ideas. it's going to create a power struggle, as it already has. >> along with the stories of people who have their service shut off even though they weren't the residents running up the bills, a lot of people who lost their water during this whole crisis were people who hadn't paid their bills. they were not very good at collecting the revenue that it was owed. how do you solve that problem? >> again, you have to start from the top and work your way down. when you have a system that is charging property and not people

that has to be thetress. who are you charging? how much of their income is involved? i agree totally that one of the members of your panel spoke earlier that 24 plan was just thrown together. it's like, let's hurry up and do something and call it a water affordability plan. there is a lot of appeasement going on and not solutions happening. that is going to cause future problems. >> in this recently announced plan are people who have been cut off going to get their service back, is there an arrangement for people not to get their service shut off? >> that is a very good point. again, the residents were not necessarily involved in the decision-making process. so the shut offs have continued. they're still shutting people off as we speak right now. and where are we going with this process as a whole? if we don't at least make sure that people have water, have the

ability to provide water for themselves so they can continue on in this fight for the rebuilding of detroit, then where are we going with that? the water is still being shut off. there is no real plan. real feasible solution to how we're going to stop this, and how are we going to make sure that the people who live in the city of detroit, everyone has access to water. there is no plan for that. there is a plan on how to get the banks their money. there is a plan to do that. there is a plan to take care of debt, but there is no plan really structured to say how are we going to make sure those who live in this city can live here comfortbly and provided water. >> atpeace mikita. thank you for joining us. >> we'll continue to look at detroit's bankruptcy and talk about what a smaller, solvent city looks like. stay with pups real...

news...

>> welcome back to "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. detroit, bankruptcy and the future this time on the program. still with us, melissa jacobi , law professor. stephen ivy, and from detroit, taunya allen, president and ceo of the skill man foundation. stephen, should detroit have been asked to, made to sell off more of its assets in order to satisfy creditors? >> detroit, under municipal bankruptcy detroit cannotting forced to sell off assets. i think the wall street creditors, the bond companies have concerns about their treatment relative to other creditors who have similar claim to being repaid.

that's a lot of what the wrangling going on in court is about. >> maybe forced was a bad word, but they look at the pile of assets detroit owns and they say hey there is money in those assets, and you say you can't afford to pay us. >> on us. >> yes, there is this wall street-main street narrative used to characterize the bankruptcy controversy, but the wall street creditors are not saying take money away from pensioners and give it to us, they're saying you have not done enough. are you sure you can't raise taxes a little bit, and that art, it might be a good idea to sell off some of the art and pay us and give us a higher rate of recovery. it's not something that i think myself would lead to a better future for detroit, but this is a problem with bankruptcy. there are certain legal requirements that have to be

wit with respected. >> was it important oh to hold onto the museum not necessarily for the battles of today but for detroiters in 2020 and 2030. >> detroit has given up tons of its assets. we've been selling off assets and leasing assets for many years trying to meet our budget obligations on an annual basis. what we have to do is look forwards thetur towards the future, not just the current financial state of our city. what will make us prosperous place and what will keep us attractive. what are the assets that create the kind of commerce and economic growth we want in the city. we need that art not just to be a world class city, but we need that art to expose children and residents.

that's part of a cultured environment and a civil society. we believe all citizens deserve regardless of their municipality can afford it or not. >> once miami was facing insolvency, it merged into its surrounding county. in the says of city of minneapolis, it allowed the use of suburbs and city. is this a possibility with a place like detroit? >> no, this is never a possibility with detroit, and i think historically in a regionalization --it's been a

tough sale particularly in here i don't think the suburbs looking at detroit's history of corruption, mismanagement and deep fiscal problems are going to want to merge politically speaking with detroit. >> was there some rationality and some appeal? because it has happened in other places . >> no, i don't think necessarily creating a bigger government would be a solution for this situation. detroit needs to learn to take responsibility, and it wants to. there are a lot of very imagetive ambitious leaders, and they think they can do. that's why another merging with the suburbs is a controversy

that doesn't need to be broached at this case . >> are people convinced they need a healthy detroit for health and prosperity as well? >> i think they're becoming convinced. if i could speak about regionalization. state policies and practices are designed to pre-event regionalization. we have yet to get the efficiencies, and it would be an interesting idea for droid. we can't forget that the detroit region has been racially polarized community for a long time. so it's not just about whether or not suburbs view detroit as a corrupt place or not, quite honestly we have corruption in our suburbs as well. but our fate is connected, and you're beginning to see many of the bush ban communities begin

to suffer from some of the same kinds of challenges that detroit has resulted from as a result of sprawl. so you see--and when you look at the opinion base that detroit had at one point become the third largest economic region in our area versus the first where you would see in a core urban area that people have started to notice, no, we have to strengthen strengthen that winner core if we want our region to be prosper detroit. >> thank you for joining me. this brings us to the end of this edition of "inside story." we want to hear what you think about thi the issues raised on this and any

issues in this show. thank you for joining us. from washington, i'm ray suarez. >> on "america tonight," on the line. the wary warrior tries to grow support for his bid to cut down islamic state fighters. can the president persuade the u.s. congress that he does have a plan now? against a growing terror threat? and how will mr. obama's own words undercut his attempt to lead the fight. also tonight, down on the farm, a new twist for animal rights activists. sheila macvicar is in iowa, and we're in