DETROIT, MI -- Mayor Mike Duggan on Wednesday announced the appointment a deputy mayor to oversee the city's economic policy, naming Carol O’Cleireacain, a former New York City budget director, to take on the new position as Detroit approaches a potential exit from bankruptcy.

O’Cleireacain has also been New Jersey's deputy treasurer and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

She'll be tasked with leading the city’s efforts to find new sources of revenue, overseeing aspects of emerging from bankruptcy and the restructuring of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department under a new agreement with suburban communities to create a regional Great Lakes Water Authority.

The mayor's office didn't immediately disclose her salary. O’Cleireacain's title will be deputy mayor for economic policy, planning and strategy.

Deputy Mayor Ike McKinnon will keep his position.

While testifying in Detroit's bankruptcy case, Duggan expressed confidence in the city's debt adjustment plan to address $18 billion in long-term obligations to thousands of creditors, but he also voiced concerns over the stability of future funding sources like state revenue sharing, which has consistently declined in recent years.



"Our ability to live within the Plan of Adjustment once it is approved can't rely solely on traditional revenue sources because they can fluctuate based on conditions we can't control," Duggan said in the Wednesday announcement.

“I’ve charged Dr. O’Cleireacain with identifying new funding sources to help insulate ourselves against these unknowns so the city can provide a consistent level of service.”

"... “Between her and (Detroit CFO) John Hill, we will have one of the best government finance teams in the country leading our city post-bankruptcy.”