Atlantic City, still reeling from the closing of four casinos in 2014, owes some $150 million in property tax refunds to the Borgata casino, as well as about $250 million in debt to bondholders.
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Had Atlantic City not made the payment, it would have become the first New Jersey municipality to do so since Fort Lee in 1938. The state Senate has passed a takeover plan supported by Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney, but Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto has refused to put it up for a vote in that chamber, partly because it would allow the state to break union contracts. Guardian said the city has about $6 million or $7 million in cash and will make payroll and school payments this month, but has stopped making nearly all other purchases.
Guardian said on Monday that he opposes any sort of state takeover as “draconian” and “unconstitutional”.
The city is almost insolvent and could soon run out of money. Republican Mayor Don Guardian will make the announcement at a Monday morning news conference.
Guardian’s plan to avoid a total takeover by the state, which focused on shifting city employees from a biweekly pay schedule to a monthly pay schedule was instituted in April. “We really are teetering on the edge”.
“Today it’s Atlantic City, but tomorrow it could be Paterson, Trenton or Newark”, he said.
New Jersey has proposed to take over the financial management of Atlantic City, but that proposal has been rejected by the city. “Cities would fall like dominoes, one city after another losing its home rule to the state government”.
The call came three days after national and state leaders of the AFL-CIO wrote to New Jersey Legislative leaders to support Prieto’s bill, which they say provides critical protection for public sector workers. There are two rescue bills held up in the New Jersey legislature. If Prieto’s bill does not pass, it is uncertain whether he would then post the Senate bill for a vote in the Assembly. Still, it’s unlikely Prieto would not have posted his bill for a vote if he didn’t think it would pass, so intense 11th-hour lobbying against it by the governor and others is expected this week. “Meanwhile, I’m prepared to move forward with the bipartisan Assembly bill that would represent an effective response to helping Atlantic City while protecting civil liberties and worker rights”.
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“These are tough times – but the Assembly is tougher”, said Guardian, a Don Bosco graduate who grew up in Palisades Park and West New York.
