Alabama?s most-populated county voted Wednesday to file for bankruptcy in the largest municipal bankruptcy ever in United States history, according to reports.
The Jefferson County Commission voted 4-1 to file for an estimated $4.1 billion bankruptcy, The Birmingham News reported. The commission decided to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection due to the county?s $3.14 billion sewer debt.
Continue ReadingThe move comes just a month after the Pennsylvania city of Harrisburg filed for municipal bankruptcy due to massive debt. Harrisburg is the state?s capital.
Municipality bankruptcy is extremely unusual, experts say, and Jefferson County?s filing ranks at the top of the list. Other high-profile Chapter 9 filings include two in California: Orange County?s 1994 filing with about $2 billion in debt and Vallejo?s 2008 filing with about $100 million in debt. Bridgeport, Conn., filed in 1991 with more than $100 million in debt, but the state had the bankruptcy dismissed.
Jefferson County ? home to Alabama?s largest city, Birmingham ? has been close to bankruptcy since 2008, the Birmingham News wrote. Although the county had reached an agreement with creditors such as JPMorgan Chase in September to reduce the debt, Reuters reported, the deal?s terms were never finalized. The county had first agreed to repay $2.05 billion to creditors, but that figure recently jumped to $2.19 billion and helped spark the Wednesday vote, Reuters wrote.
Commissioner Jimmie Stephens said the county ?has, in effect, been in bankruptcy for three years,? according to The Associated Press.
bernie madoff school closings anna chapman matt barnes kim kardashian ghost hunters honda generator
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.