Stockton, Calif., said that it asked bondholders and other lenders owed more than $300 million to take less than full repayment as part of an unsuccessful bid to avert the biggest ever bankruptcy filing by a U.S. city, Bloomberg News reported today. Under a proposal made public July 20, Stockton told unsecured bondholders owed about $124.3 million that they would no longer receive any debt payments from the general fund, the main account used to pay for services like police and fire protection. Secured bondholders, who hold debt guaranteed by assets, were asked to accept smaller interest payments and a longer, 40-year repayment term. The city said in a statement that it filed an almost 800-page court document laying out cuts it asked of bondholders, retirees and employees to avoid court protection.
