California Insolvencies Mount as Atwater Votes Emergency
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Atwater, California, the Merced County agricultural community facing insolvency before year-end, declared a fiscal emergency as it struggles to avoid becoming the state’s fourth city to seek bankruptcy protection in 2012.
The city of 28,000, located among dairies and almond groves about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco, declared the emergency yesterday as a $3.3 million deficit may leave it out of cash before year-end, according to budget documents. Officials, who want concessions from public-employee unions, told almost a quarter of municipal employees they’ll lose their jobs as Atwater tries to balance its budget.