Connecticut City Seeks Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Relief
The city of Bridgeport on Thursday sought protection from creditors under Chapter 9 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code, becoming the largest city ever to do so.
Mayor Mary Moran announced the action to an emergency meeting of the city’s Common Council on Thursday night.
She said day-to-day services would continue without disruption and jobs would be secure in the city of 142,000.
Moody’s Investors Service said it had suspended Bridgeport’s bond rating, which already had been the lowest investment grade. The city has been struggling with multimillion-dollar deficits since 1988.
Bridgeport, on Long Island Sound about 60 miles northeast of New York City, is a dying industrial town dotted with vacant factories and what federal housing officials have called some of the most decrepit housing projects in the nation. Last year the city had the state’s highest homicide rate.
It has been struggling in recent weeks to come up with a balanced budget for the 1991-92 fiscal year. The city is looking at a $12-million gap in its $304-million budget for the next fiscal year after negotiations with city unions failed to result in concessions.
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