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Municipal Bankruptcy
The state of Pennsylvania has released Pittsburgh from the terms of Act 47, signaling a new era of fiscal security for the city, and a sign of home for the "Rust Belt."
Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Blog post
A case study of Vallejo shows how the city is continuing revitalization efforts without the powerful tools provided by its former redevelopment agency.
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has launched a new campaign "to help cities confront an epidemic of insolvency and restore the capacity for local governments to provide basic services and plan for the future."
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Stockton, California symbolized the worst effects of the Great Recession on local governments—not to mention, to some, California's decline.
Governing
Blog post
One of the scariest things about Detroit's bankruptcy proceedings is that the fiscal choices that city made has been repeated in many other cities.
With a 5-0 emotional vote by the city council on Thursday night, the Jurupa Valley City Council reluctantly initiated the process of disincorporation, which would result in the three-year-old city being governed by Riverside County.
The Press-Enterprise
Before Detroit's bankruptcy, Stockton held the ominous title of largest city in the U.S. to go bankrupt. Unlike Detroit, it was largely tied to the foreclosure crisis. Home prices have jumped 30% in the last year. What caused the turnaround?
The Sacramento Bee
All four are in Riverside County (east of LA). Reduced vehicle license fees, shifting funds from cities to prisons and a huge state budget deficit created the perfect storm to drain expected revenues. Hope was placed in a bill to fix it.
Bloomberg News
Yesterday, Detroit became the largest municipality in U.S. history to declare bankruptcy. Such an action is unprecedented, so the path forward is murky. Yet one word seems to signify what lies ahead over the next year: battles.
Detroit Free Press
After months of speculation, and decades of mismanagement and population decline, Detroit has filed for bankruptcy. The milestone is the culmination of a turbulent half-century for the city. But some see it as a chance for a new start.
Looking to get out from under one of the primary factors for financial distress - pension obligations - city leaders across the United States are viewing bankruptcy as "a valuable tool in a city’s financial toolbox," reports Liz Farmer.
Governing
San Bernardino was the third city in California to file for bankruptcy last year. Within the past year it has descended from a model of crime reduction to a crime-plagued city.
The New York Times
In the wake of three municipal bankruptcies in California this year, Moody's Investor Services is placing thirty cities on credit review. These are not poor ones either, but in the heart of Silicon Valley and other wealthy Bay Area cities.
San Francisco Chronicle
As the fear of more local government bankruptcies rises, William Fulton argues that sprawling development patterns play a key role in leading cities to run in the red.
CNN
Chris McKenzie, Executive Director of the California League of Cities, discusses the specter of bankruptcy and the structural difficulties cities face in addressing their fiscal deficits. The San Bernardino bankruptcy does not mean the worst is over.
The Planning Report
As the third California city in a month files for bankruptcy protection, fears of a domino effect worry many. While bankruptcy may seem like an enticing solution, officials that have gone through it caution about the downside.
Los Angeles Times
Stockton, a city of 300,000 in California's ailing Central Valley, may become the largest city in the U.S. to declare bankruptcy. Agreements with public employee unions and major bond creditors may be all that stand in the way of default.
The New York Times - U.S.
Budget-troubled Jefferson County, Alabama -- once thought to be on the brink of the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history -- is moving forward with plans to clean up its finances.
Reuters
