Gary Death Countdown II

The original Gary Death Countdown can be found here.

Some residents of Gary, Indiana are impatient for the death clock to count down to 2012 and have asked the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeals Board to not wait so long. The Miller Citizen’s Corp President Douglas Grimes said it straight out:

The board must insist that the city explore Chapter 9 bankruptcy, receivership and other options which could allow the city to reset its compass and move forward

Chapter 9 bankruptcy is not a liquidation but a reorganization under the federal bankruptcy code. To do it now would be admitting that the DUAB process is a farce that will not lead to a Gary government that can live within its means. An early bankruptcy is a vote of no confidence in the political tadalafiltablets class of the city and the ability of the DUAB to do its job helping that political class change the way the city does business.

Bankruptcy would help the city get out from under its $34 million (or more) in obligations beyond the structural imbalances imposed by the tax caps. It wouldn’t help with the imbalances themselves. For that, the DUAB process would need to work its way through to a successful conclusion or Gary’s elected officeholders need to be replaced by a state appointed receiver and committee that would be willing to make the changes needed and given the powers necessary to negotiate the pay reductions needed to bring expenditures in line with revenues.