San Bernardino had negotiated a tentative agreement with the union representing police officers in its chapter 9 debt-adjustment proceeding, but the police union said in a filing last week that the city revoked the agreement, having been “emboldened” by two developments, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. In the San Bernardino bankruptcy, the court in September authorized the city to terminate the union contract with the bankrupt city’s firefighters. Of potentially more significance, the bankruptcy judge in the municipal bankruptcy of Stockton, Calif., said this month that the city’s liability on underfunded pensions is an unsecured claim with no higher rank than other unsecured creditors. The police union wants the San Bernardino judge at a hearing on Nov. 6 to establish a deadline for the city to file a plan.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-10-17/san-bernardino-police-wa…
In related news, San Bernardino leaders want to improve the city’s image after being stung by negative national and local media reports of violent crime, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. Violent crime in the city is more than double the U.S. average, highlighted by recent incidents when gunmen critically injured a police officer and opened fire on children. The city of 210,000 asked public relations firms to submit proposals by today showing how they’d restore the inland suburb’s civic luster. The winning firm will get $125,000 a year to help San Bernardino “change how it is perceived by itself, its citizens and all those who come across the city of San Bernardino,” according to a request for proposals issued last month.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-10-20/bankrupt-san-bernardino-…