Budget officials flee San Bernardino amid bankruptcy chaos

[CG6468]

Budget officials flee San Bernardino amid bankruptcy chaos
By Tim Reid

LOS ANGELES | Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:47pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Top budget officials in crisis-hit San Bernardino, California, are quitting the city at a crucial juncture in its quest to seek bankruptcy protection.

A rush to the doors in San Bernardino city hall threatens the city's ability to qualify for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection by robbing it of the people with the experience to answer questions from the court and creditors. If those questions are not answered, the judge could deny bankruptcy protection, experts say.

San Bernardino's interim city manager Andrea Travis-Miller has quit and will start a new job on February 19.

The city's finance chief Jason Simpson is also expected to leave soon, a source inside the city said. The city's head of human resources has also quit, as has its head of code enforcement.

Travis-Miller and Simpson assumed their roles last year and have been the two key figures in bringing to light San Bernardino's fiscal problems.

Travis-Miller and Simpson did not immediately respond to emails or phone calls.

There are few other, if any, officials with a deep understanding of the city's finances. Their loss calls into question whether San Bernardino has the ability to present a viable plan to satisfy creditors, and a bankruptcy court, that it should qualify for bankruptcy protection. All parties meet in court on February 12 to argue that issue.

The two officials have been the central figures in overseeing the city's finances since it filed for bankruptcy protection in August, citing a $46 million deficit for this fiscal year and little leeway to make day-to-day wage payments.

PENSION FUND FIGHTING BANKRUPTCY

The next major decision for the federal judge overseeing the case is whether the city should be granted bankruptcy protection. Such protection safeguards the city from creditor lawsuits until its finances are restructured under the auspices of the court.

The city's biggest creditor, California's public employee's pension fund, has opposed San Bernardino's quest to seek bankruptcy protection. Without it, the struggling city will likely face multiple lawsuits in state court for unpaid bills, at a time when its officials say it can barely make payroll.

California's public employee's pension fund = more union problems.

Glub, glub, glub. No life preserver, either.  

[Zeus]

California's public employee's pension fund = more union problems.

Glub, glub, glub. No life preserver, either.  

Yes sirree Bob , makes perfect sense. The city is broke and doesn't currently have the means to make payment on current obligations so some union wants to cause them more fiscal duress further acerbating it's ability to pay. 

[thundley4]

Typical Democrats.  Rats abandoning a sinking ship after they gnawed through the hull and the lines to the pumps.

[Karin]

And why don't these people see what they have wrought???   

(I know that's an old-fashioned word).

Their response, and you can see it in the DUmmies, is more head deeply in the sand/ass.  "It's getting better!"  No it's not. 

[docstew]

Typical Democrats.  Rats abandoning a sinking ship after they gnawed through the hull and the lines to the pumps.

At a certain point, there should be a mechanism to stop these kind of flights. Whether it be lawsuits for contract violations, or indictments for fraud, whatever, but these committee members should be REQUIRED to stay in the area they've destroyed.

I'd extend that to all liberals. You voted for it, you live in it.

[Maxiest]

Just a micro view of California.  Unions, Liberals, and liberal voters = a ****ing disaster. 

[BattleHymn]

Well, well, well. 


Nothing to see here, folks.  Just move along...

[Big Dog]

At a certain point, there should be a mechanism to stop these kind of flights. Whether it be lawsuits for contract violations, or indictments for fraud, whatever, but these committee members should be REQUIRED to stay in the area they've destroyed.

I'd extend that to all liberals. You voted for it, you live in it.

Force someone to continue to work for an employer against his will? Prevent him from quitting or moving?

I don't think we do that anymore.

[docstew]

Force someone to continue to work for an employer against his will? Prevent him from quitting or moving?

I don't think we do that anymore.

Oh, so I can quit the Army tomorrow if I don't want to work here anymore? No? Why not? Because I signed a contract? They signed contracts. What are the terms of termination of their agreement?

I'm not saying they shouldn't be paid for their services. I'm saying they should have to live in the hell they create. Kinda like the movie "The Super".

[NHSparky]

Folks, it's not slavery if you willingly sign a contract to perform a function.

And when you FAIL at performance of that function, you should be held accountable for your deeds.  Easy peasy.

[Celtic Rose]

So glad I made it out of California    Granted, I'm in another Blue State, but it is less blue than California. 

[NHSparky]

So glad I made it out of California    Granted, I'm in another Blue State, but it is less blue than California. 

Haven't been to Seattle, have ya?  It's just Ghey Bay with crappier weather.

[Big Dog]

Oh, so I can quit the Army tomorrow if I don't want to work here anymore? No? Why not? Because I signed a contract? They signed contracts. What are the terms of termination of their agreement?

I'm not saying they shouldn't be paid for their services. I'm saying they should have to live in the hell they create. Kinda like the movie "The Super".

What are the terms of an employment contract in San Bernadino, CA? Do you know? Do you know if these employees gave proper notice (2 weeks or 30 days are standard)? Do you have any knowledge or evidence that any of those city employees have committed a crime (fraud), and have been convicted of such?

Yet you want the California legislature or the US Congress to pass a law requiring city employees to be forcibly housed, kept in a city's employ doing a job they don't want to do (and may have done poorly), and be paid from a city's budget, against the will of the city and the employees.

How many parts of the US and California Constitutions are you willing to violate in pursuit of...whatever it is you want here? What extremes are you willing to go to to force a city employee to remain in the employ of the city- against his will, or forcibly return a city employee who moves out of the state?  That's slavery.