The Baltimore city government is on a path to financial ruin and must enact major reforms to stave off bankruptcy, according to a 10-year forecast the city commissioned from an outside firm, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The forecast, prepared by Public Financial Management Inc., shows that the city will accumulate $745 million in budget deficits over the next decade because of a widening gap between projected revenues and expenditures. If the city's infrastructure needs and its liability for retiree health care benefits are included, the total shortfall reaches $2 billion over 10 years, the report found. Baltimore's annual operating budget is $2.2 billion. Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/06/city-baltimore-is-on-path-to…
For more on municipal financial distress and chapter 9 trends, be sure to pick up a copy of Municipalities in Peril: The ABI Guide to Chapter 9, Second Edition.