The city's emergency manager, Lou Schimmel, said the cuts are necessary to keep the city from municipal bankruptcy.
More from Chad Livengood of the Detroit News:
A state board Monday approved the Pontiac emergency manager’s plan to suspend health insurance coverage for nearly 1,000 city retirees for two years and give them $400 more a month in their pension checks in lieu of the benefit. Emergency Manager Louis Schimmel had threatened the specter of Pontiac plunging into bankruptcy if the state’s Emergency Loan Board didn’t approve the plan to cut the $6 million expense.
Retired firefighters and police officers will not be affected by the plan.
Back in April, Schimmel said cutting retiree healthcare would "structurally fix the city financially."
Schimmel is expected to end his term as Pontiac's emergency manager at the end of this month.
