Syracuse, N.Y., has asked for a legal opinion on a municipal bankruptcy, but no current credit factors suggest that the city would need to take this step in the near future, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday. Syracuse has a population of 145,170 and a median income of $30,891 - well below the state's $55,603. Syracuse is one of several cities across the state and the nation still struggling with the recession's legacy of high unemployment and the rapidly rising costs of benefits for its public workers. New York is one of 15 U.S. states that formally allow local governments to file for bankruptcy under chapter 9, but it has a long tradition of intervening to prevent them. Fitch rates Syracuse's limited tax general obligations A, with a negative outlook linked to "concerns about the city's ability to reverse operating deficits." Read more.
