Here is an interesting clip from MLive about the debate over Flint’s dire finances. Michigan has a receivership program that has been used a number of times so municipalities cannot just file bankruptcy in federal court without going through the state. The article poses the sensible, if painful and difficult, questions of concessions on salaries and benefits compared with outright layoffs (in a city with 25% private sector unemployment) as well as collaboration with other municipalities on providing services (we applaud that approach). We also note the exaggeration of county Commissioner Curtis, who said “cities across the country are going into Chapter 9 and getting relief from the contracts…” Of the 89,000 municipalities in the U.S. there’s Vallejo, California and Prichard, Alabama. Las Vegas monorail mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article last week (you may need a subscription to access this) is in Chapter 11 which is the part of the bankruptcy code for corporate filings. There have been a number of Chapter 9 filings by hospital districts, as well as numerous, small land-development-based special districts. Then there’s Connector 2000 in South Carolina. Harrisburg, PA has been discussed and of course, Jefferson County, Alabama sewer system, but there has been more chatter on the wires since the Journal. Connector 2000, the Harrisburg incinerator and the monorail have each been problem credits for some time, apart from the recession and credit market meltdown.
