Atlantic City had its debt rating cut deeper into junk by Standard & Poor’s, which said the New Jersey gaming hub has no “clear plan” to address its fiscal woes, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The municipality, which has been run by an emergency manager since January, was reduced three steps to B, the fifth level into junk, and may be lowered further, the ratings company said yesterday. Since Emergency Manager Kevin Lavin released a report in March citing the potential for deferred debt payments and job cuts, there has been no “additional clarity” on how the city can address its $101 million budget deficit and eroding tax base, Timothy Little, an S&P analyst, wrote in a release. Bankruptcy protection may be a “potential course of action” if as yet unimplemented solutions are unsuccessful, Little said. Atlantic City’s finances haven’t changed since May, when it sold securities with an S&P ranking of A-, the fourth-lowest investment grade, Michael Stinson, the city’s revenue and finance director, said yesterday.
