Atlantic City, N.J., is about to get a long-awaited state loan to help it stave off default and possibly bankruptcy, the Associated Press reported today. But it will pay a steep price if it can’t pay it back: The state will be able to step in and seize prized assets like a much-coveted water utility, and a former airport property that could be home to a huge development. The City Council called an emergency meeting to accept the $74 million loan to help the nearly broke city get through the rest of the year. Moody’s Investors Service warned that the city likely would default on a $3.4 million debt service payment if the loan did not go through by Monday. The funds will relieve the short-term pressure as it tries to come up with a fiscal reorganization that would prevent the state from taking over its finances and major decision-making power in November. The loan is part of a wider agreement between the city and Gov. Chris Christie that was reached earlier this year giving Atlantic City until early November to get its financial act together. The deal avoided a state takeover that would have taken effect this summer.
