Jefferson County Alabama Could be Set to File For Largest-Ever Muni Bankruptcy

www.businessinsider.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">Jefferson County Could Decide Thursday Whether To File For Largest-Ever Muni Bankruptcy

As the largest county in Alabama, Jefferson County, home to Birmingham, is a key economic driver for the state. A bankruptcy filing would likely have significant spillover effects on the fiscal health of the county's school districts and municipalities, as well as lead to higher borrowing costs for the state and local governments.

Could this be the beginning of the end – a chain of government bankruptcies? I mean when one government organization figures this is the way out won't more of them pile on?

Ala. county readies for possible record bankruptcy

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's largest county is laying the groundwork for filing what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, over a more than $3 billion debt for its sewer system.

The Jefferson County Commission approved resolutions Tuesday to hire prominent bankruptcy lawyers and to sell bonds later in case money is needed to emerge from bankruptcy.

Jefferson is Alabama's most populous county and seat of Birmingham. It's been trying for three years to avoid filing bankruptcy over debt payments it can no longer afford.

Two of the five commissioners say there's an 80 percent chance the county will file bankruptcy. The vote could come at a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Birmingham.

The commission president, David Carrington, says other possibilities include extending talks with creditors or accepting a settlement offer.

I would imagine this is not all that surprising considering the Mayor of Birmingham, the largest city in the county was arrested in 2008 for corruption in association with the sewer bond issue.

While I understnad this is the Counties issue rather than the city's but it is interesting though that Birmingham politics has been dominated by Democrats for a long time and like Detroit and Chicago and other municipalities like it is broke and basically non-functional. I believe it is fairly obvious that liberal politics is the issue.

There is a huge entitlement culture in Birmingham.

Bankruptcy for everyone! Yay! I just hope this doesn't catch on.

The capitol city of my state, PA, which is Harrisburg, is also having some serious financial issues. Its debt is centered around a trash incinerator which has been bleeding money since its inception. The state government gave the city of Harrisburg an ultimatum to sign stating that they weren't allowed to claim bankruptcy with the threat of withholding funds. There was also some provision about the state kicking out the locally elected officials and sending three people of there choosing to run the city. The city council recently rejected it in a vote so the future of the city is still up in the air. Link is to a thread i started on here describing some of these issues further.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

update: the city has to re-vote on the act 47, submit some kind of economic/budget/debt plan

www.pennlive.com...

Another county bankrupted by illegals like the entire state of CA has been. Alabama is at least trying to kick out the criminal parasites.

I live in a small town in Southern Ohio. The city, actually a corporation, is past being broke. We are under a water advisory. The streets are filled with potholes, some big enough to swallow a minivan. A few days ago a nice local farmer came by and mowed the taller than a man weeds from the roadside, bless his kind heart. It is not known at this time if the schools will open on schedule, there is a rumor residents may have to cough up $4000+ per student. It is sad that America has come to this. the only way I can see out of this is to seize the Federal Reserve and take all of it's assets, along with the Central Banking Cartel. Those bankers have more money than God.

Originally posted by wiandiiiThe capitol city of my state, PA, which is Harrisburg, is also having some serious financial issues. Its debt is centered around a trash incinerator which has been bleeding money since its inception. The state government gave the city of Harrisburg an ultimatum to sign stating that they weren't allowed to claim bankruptcy with the threat of withholding funds. There was also some provision about the state kicking out the locally elected officials and sending three people of there choosing to run the city.

Is this the one with the Mayor who hid from the press and yelled out her office window? Or am I thinking something else? That was a classic.

This is an unfortunate state of affairs for sure - I certainly do not know what the answer is.

The people are ultimately to blame for demanding more and more services all the while demanding less tax liability. Not that the politicians don't mismanage the funds we do give them but we also have to realize that schools and police and fire services don't grow on trees.

Also, look at these cities, states and even now the country – we keep voting in the same string of tax and spenders… What do we expect.

Look at Detroit FFS – 40+ years of Democrats doing the same social engineering and spending -



It’s a broke crap hole with no economy...population running from the high taxes..now they have no one to tax.

This is like people fleeing the liberal New England states and California in droves for places with lower taxes and more freedom.

However, when they get there - like we have seen in Colorado, soon enough the same people who fled the liberal state of California and its failed policies start voting in the same type people who will give them the programs they think they need "for the good of the poor" and therefore the taxes raise and the restrictions on freedom increase "for the sake of teh children and to protect the people from themselves".

The very definition of insanity is, after all, doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different outcome. Yet there it is in black and white for all to see.

The issue I think is primarily when the governments get involved in things that should be private like charity and aid type programs.

You cannot continue take money from one group of people without regard to its impact on their quality of life to give it to another without any expectation he contribute something to improve his own without it having a negative effect on both.

Time and again making the poor and uneducated more comfortable in their situation does little to improve it.

reply to post by Golf66


Yes sir she would be the one. There was a protest in front of the Harrisburg courthouse this past winter, and she started mocking people and dancing in the window. This provoked people into throwing snowballs at the windows she was in so the police could come in to break up the protest and arrest people for whatever they could think of.