APNewsBreak: Atlantic City emergency manager to earn $135K

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Atlantic City, awash in debt and choking on high taxes, has a state-appointed emergency manager who'll be paid $135,000 a year to, among other things, oversee the mayor, who makes $103,000.

The goal: To save money.

In response to an open public records request from The Associated Press, the state's Community Affairs Department said Wednesday that corporate finance expert Kevin Lavin will make $135,000 a year as an employee of the department's Division of Local Government Services.

But the Community Affairs Department said Kevyn Orr, who is special counsel to Lavin, is not a department employee and could not say what he will earn. Orr was the emergency manager who helped Detroit through its municipal bankruptcy, for which he was paid $275,000 a year.

"The two Kevins," as they call themselves, will study Atlantic City's finances and recommend debt reduction measures to Gov. Chris Christie. The emergency order Christie used to appoint them on Jan. 22 leaves the door open for a possible bankruptcy filing for Atlantic City.

That possibility has led two leading Wall Street debt ratings firms to drastically downgrade Atlantic City's credit rating.

The two men began work on Wednesday in Atlantic City, touring the city "meeting and talking with stakeholders," said Chris Filiciello, a spokesman for Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian. The mayor, who makes $103,000 a year, has set up an office for the pair inside City Hall.

Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, could not immediately say for which branch of state government Orr works, or what his salary is.

"We expect that information will be available shortly," he told the AP.

Lavin worked at FTI Consulting, advising troubled companies on financial turnarounds.

Orr helped Chrysler through its 2009 Chapter 11 restructuring, and was Detroit's emergency manager from March 2013 through Dec. 2014, helping it eliminate $7 billion in debt.

Atlantic City has $397 million in debt.

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Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC