Thread: San Diego Urged to Consider Bankruptcy

San Diego Urged to Consider Bankruptcy

Thursday, 17 Jun 2010 12:43 PM
By: Dan Weil

The city of San Diego should consider bankruptcy, the county of San Diego Grand Jury said in a recent report.

The grand jury, which examines local governments in addition to indicting suspected criminals, says such a step could help the city cut its onerous retirement and health benefits.

The city has an unfunded pension obligation of $2.2 billion and an unfunded retiree healthcare liability of $1.3 billion, according to the report.

San Diego represents the fifth major city this year to arouse bankruptcy talk by the count of Bloomberg columnist Joe Mysak. San Diego’s neighbor Los Angeles is one of the others.

San Diego’s situation is unsustainable, the report points out.

“The city leadership should acknowledge the financial crisis the city is facing and make fundamental changes in how our government operates in order to avoid future crises,â€

S.D. City Attorney Calls Bankruptcy Speculation ‘Silly’

GOVERNMENT: Mayor Remains Firmly Opposed To Insolvency Option

By Mike Allen
Monday, April 19, 2010

Speculation that the city of San Diego is contemplating filing for bankruptcy to resolve its employee pension fund problems is just that — speculation without any factual basis and just plain silly, says City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, the city’s top lawyer.

“The people pushing for Chapter 9 (municipal bankruptcy) are magic potion type people. It’s silly,â€