Officials in Atwater, Calif., met to discuss whether to declare a fiscal emergency, which would allow them to move forward with a chapter 9 bankruptcy filing for the city if necessary, Reuters reported yesterday. Atwater faces a general fund deficit of $3.3 million. California law requires financially troubled local governments to try to enter talks with their creditors to avert bankruptcy filings. The local governments may, however, declare fiscal emergencies to circumvent that rule. If the leaders of Atwater declare a fiscal emergency, the city of approximately 28,200 residents in Merced County in California's Central Valley could become the fourth city in the state to file for chapter 9 bankruptcy this year.
