Quo vadis, Vallejo?
June 25, 2008
Taxpayers in Contra Costa (and around the world) are closely watching the implosion of the City of Vallejo into bankruptcy and wonder at potential outcomes. This week Vallejo asked judges to void four contracts with unionized public employees. A hearing is set for July 23. The city faces its first major bankruptcy milestone, tomorrow, Friday June 27, when city and union officials present their initial arguments to the court.
With an eye toward similar potential disaster in Contra Costa County, some wonder if it’s even possible to void such contracts. One observer opined that pro-union Democrat legislators have helped install safeguards against such
action, while another informed source quoted the California League of Cities, saying it was possible.
Meanwhile, an Open Letter that appeared in a recent edition
of Police Pay Journal, defends firefighters and police against poor municipal management and bad PR.
According to far flung reports around the world, “Fearful of contagion, municipal officials across the US are looking with nervousness at the precedent-setting experience of Vallejo, a city of about 120,000 people, 30 miles north of San Francisco. in a region that was once synonymous with economic prosperity”.
Indeed, Vallejo’s motto was and may yet be,”City of Opportunity.”
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