City Debt
Pennsylvania Bars Harrisburg Bankruptcy
The financially strapped city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will have to wait until at least November 30 before it can file for bankruptcy — that’s the decision from the state legislature and Governor Tom Corbett. Harrisburg is currently under receivership from the state and faces more than million in debt largely as a result of a […]
Largest Municipal Bankruptcy Ever Prompts Muted Reaction Elsewhere
Last week’s bankruptcy of Jefferson County, Alabama, the state’s largest county, is not provoking a great deal of anxiety in local governments around the nation. Experts say it won’t have much effect on the ability of state and local jurisdictions to borrow. The filing from Jefferson, which is also the home of Birmingham, the state’s […]
Pittsburgh and Harrisburg: A Tale of Two Deep-in-Debt Cities
iStockphoto Pennsylvania’s capital city, Harrisburg (right), has filed for bankruptcy and is poised for a state takeover. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh continues to struggle to fill its pension fund. What lessons can localities learn from Pennsylvania? Four hours apart on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg are linked not just by geography but also parallel financial woes that […]
Can ghost towns vanish?
Just in time for Halloween, Colorado’s Secretary of State Mike Coffman is considering whether 10 of the state’s historic “ghost towns” still exist. Officials in Douglas County, Colo., where all the towns are located, say the communities should no longer be recognized as municipalities because they haven’t held elections in at least five years as […]