Shitty municipality default watch

[nutmeg]

"Harrisburg is one of a multitude of municipalities in Pennsylvania that purchased swaps to hedge against interest rate risk."

(ding dong, this crapola shows up everywhere)


"Anybody who's studied incinerator bonds for the last 30 years would find most of them had great difficulties, if not defaults," he said. "Where were Harrisburg's brains?

And last but not least:

" Harrisburg, PA’s incinerator bonds are in financial default. So why does Moody’s and S&P have those same defaulted bonds rated highly at AA3 and AAA?"

 

[bond_trad3r]

Southwest Florida planning council in disarray after no-confidence vote in director

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/30/southwest-florida-planning-council-disarray-after/

The Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council is in disarray.

It couldn’t come to a consensus on a budget and its executive director is one step closer to being out of a job.

On Thursday, 19 out of 24 participating regional planning council members gave Ken Heatherington a “vote of no confidence.”

The council said they were upset about Heatherington’s budget proposals, bonuses he gave last year, abrupt layoffs, lack of communication, his inability to produce public records and his overall management style.

The disfunctionality even led to the resignation of the chairman of the council, Chuck Kiester of Marco Island.

“I would hope that Ken sees the writing on the wall and let’s us all get through this process graciously.” said Forrest Banks, City of Fort Myers Councilman, who seconded the “vote of no confidence” motion.

The vote stemmed from disagreements between Heatherington and the council on how to tackle a reduced budget for fiscal 2011 to 2012, which was cut $220,000 by the state.

 

[Lucrum]

Looks like the dominoes may be beginning to fall.

 

[bond_trad3r]

Quote from Lucrum:

Looks like the dominoes may be beginning to fall.

We can only hope

 

[bond_trad3r]

More Layoffs Coming to Florida

http://www.flanews.com/?p=12724

Last week state workers were laid off to save money, now it’s city and county governments turn to balance their dwindling budgets. The state gave pink slips to 13-hundred of its workers. As Whitney Ray tells us, those layoffs could pale in comparison to layoffs in cities, counties and schools.

 

[bond_trad3r]

123 South Florida Water Management District employees take buyout; layoffs loom

http://www.news-press.com/article/2...mployees-take-buyout-layoffs-loom?odyssey=mod

Facing the possibility of layoffs in August, 123 South Florida Water Management District employees have taken advantage of a severance package that gives them a month’s pay, benefits and limited payouts for vacation and sick time, an agency spokesman confirmed today.

The deal, which comes in response to shrinking budgets and a streamlining initiative by the agency’s new executive director, comes a day before a new law kicks in that restricts the use of severance packages for state workers. “The (buyout) was the first step toward streamlining operations and achieving staffing levels that correspond with agency core functions,” spokesman Gabe Margasak said today in an email. “The new staffing levels for the agency have not yet been finalized but will be in place effective August 17.”

The district , which after the buyout has 1,681 employees , is expected to lay off an additional 100 employees before completing its downsizing.

 

[bond_trad3r]

You Paid For It : East St. Louis Schools District Making Massive Cuts

http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-east-st-louis-schools-plan-layoff-closures-63011,0,6106542.story

EAST ST. LOUIS , ILLINOIS. (KTVI-FOX2now.com) —
Major layoffs in the East St. Louis School District. Nearly 100 workers were handed pink slips in the troubled district that was forced to hand-over power to the state of Illinois. The new round of layoffs was made during an East St. Louis School Board meeting Wednesday.

Lower-paid workers are taking this heavy blow while top administrators continue to skate by. School district workers in non-teaching positions got the bad news Wednesday . The school board laid them off with the state's approval.

In all, 99 workers are losing their jobs. 85 of them are teachers aids, 8 are custodians, 2 are monitors and 4 are building and grounds workers.

 

[bond_trad3r]

Broke Rhode Island Town Asks Unions For Pension Cuts To Avoid Bankruptcy

http://www.businessinsider.com/cent...y-if-unions-dont-agree-to-cut-pensions-2011-7

Teetering on the brink of insolvency, Central Falls, R.I. is asking its unions for major concessions to help the city close its $5.5 million budget shortfall and stave off municipal bankruptcy.

In a letter sent to the city's police and fire unions today, Central Falls' state-appointed receiver Robert Flanders asked retirees to accept benefit cuts and healthcare contributions that would trim the city's pension payment by at least $1.75 million in benefit cuts and increased healthcare contributions.

If an agreement can't be reached, the city may have to file for bankruptcy, Flanders told the Providence Journal.

Central Falls, a tiny city with a population of just 19,000, faces a $4.9 million budget shortfall, and deficits are projected to grow to $25 million over the next five years. To make matters worse, the city owes $80 million in unfunded pension and benefit obligations.

Moody's Investor's Service said last month that it is increasingly unlikely Central Falls will be able to stabilize its finances without a bankruptcy filing.

 

[Random.Capital]

Quote from bond_trad3r:

In all, 99 workers are losing their jobs. 85 of them are teachers aids, 8 are custodians, 2 are monitors and 4 are building and grounds workers.

Given the ballpark ratio of 8 people per manager, and 4 managers per next level manager, shouldn't there be an extra 15 management types on that list?

 

[bond_trad3r]

Harrisburg Council Tells Mayor to Prep Chap. 9 Plan Just in Case

http://www.bondbuyer.com/news/Harrisburg-bankruptcy-filing-chapter-nine-1028085-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

NEW YORK - Harrisburg’s City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night requesting Mayor Linda Thompson to prepare for a bankruptcy filing, should Pennsylvania’s capital city not receive approval for a financial recovery plan proposed last week.

The 4-to-3 vote on a measure introduced by council member Brad Koplinski came six days after the city received a report that advised it to pursue asset and lease sales to pay down $220 million of incinerator-related debt rather than file for protection from creditors under Chapter 9 of the bankruptcy code.