By Jay Reeves, The Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama’s largest county began laying the groundwork Tuesday for what would be the largest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy after three years of trying to work out a solution with Wall Street to more than $3 billion in debt linked to a massive sewer rehabilitation project tainted by corruption.
Officials in Jefferson County hope to avoid new layoffs but may have to raise sewer rates or trim public services. On Tuesday, county commissioners approved resolutions to hire prominent bankruptcy lawyers and to sell bonds later in case money is needed to emerge from a Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the type that can be filed by governments.
Two of the five commissioners said there’s an 80 percent chance the county will file bankruptcy, and a vote could come at a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Birmingham, the county seat and Alabama’s largest city.
The commission president, David Carrington, said other possibilities include extending talks with creditors led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. or accepting a settlement offer. But something must be done to resolve a crisis that has cast a shadow over the county for so long, hurting economic development and industrial recruiting amid the uncertainty, he said.