Moody’s Investors Service said that Hillview, Ky., the first city to file for bankruptcy since Detroit, may struggle to prove it’s insolvent and in need of court protection, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Because of an $11.4 million legal judgment to a local company, Hillview filed for protection Aug. 20. The locality of about 8,000 people has about $13.8 million in debt, compared with revenue of $2.5 million in the 2014 fiscal year. Though the burden seems insurmountable, Hillview under Kentucky law can issue bonds to cover losses in legal judgments and pay off the resolution over the course of a decade, Moody’s analyst Nathan Phelps said Monday in a report. The local company, Truck America Training LLC, has indicated it may fight the city’s bankruptcy by asking that the judge overseeing the case for permission to interview city officials under oath and to gain access to internal city financial documents.
