In a ruling that is a game changer in the City of Chester’s historic bankruptcy — and that may have impacts on economically struggling towns elsewhere — the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has affirmed the state-appointed receiver’s plans to rescue one of the nation’s most-distressed cities from “financial doom.” The majority opinion affirmed a Commonwealth Court decision that the city had appealed and said Chester has suffered “from a municipal government that is internally dysfunctional.” Among its provisions, the ruling gives receiver Michael Doweary the power to review all hiring decisions in the administration of newly inaugurated Mayor Stefan Roots, who has been working with the receiver’s office for months. He also helped develop a reorganization plan and has invited the receiver’s staff to move back to City Hall, from which they had been evicted. Of potentially broader significance, the justices held that the state has “sovereign” power over municipal governments in “emergency fiscal conditions.” Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 2/4/2024