I Can't Help Myself: Even More on Municipal Bankruptcy

I haven't finished pumping my recent article Municipal Bankruptcy: When Doing Less Is Doing Best but if you've read that one and want more, go here to download an even newer (but not yet published) article, Who Bears the Cost: The Necessity of Taxpayer Representation in Chapter 9. I wrote this in connection with the Widener Law Journal April symposium, Bankruptcy and Beyond: Solving the Problem of Municipal Financial Distress.

Cribbing from my abstract,

Even though taxpayers are not creditors and have no right to vote on a municipal plan of adjustment, bankruptcy courts should afford a presumption that they are parties in interest on the issue of feasibility of a plan. Without a party adverse to a consensual plan, a bankruptcy court runs the risk confirming one that will ultimately fail. In addition, an official committee of taxpayers whose professional expenses will be borne by the municipality should be appointed in sizable Chapter 9 cases.

This piece remains a work in progress but it should be pretty close to the final thing. Let me know if you catch an errors or other problems.

Enjoy!