Hartford, Connecticut Hires Bankruptcy Lawyer As City Officials Weigh Options

The Hartford Courant reports:

City leaders will begin formally exploring a course for bankruptcy, with the hiring Thursday of an international law firm that has expertise in financial restructuring.

Hartford has hired Greenberg Traurig to navigate the complex system of Chapter 9 – which protects fiscally strapped cities and towns – and to study alternatives that could pull the city from the brink of fiscal collapse.

"We think it is responsible to have the advice and counsel of a respected restructuring firm," Mayor Luke Bronin said. "Like everybody else in Connecticut, I certainly hoped the legislature would take some action that would bring clarity to the situation before the beginning of the fiscal year."

"The interim spending plan that's in place in the absence of a state budget has profound effects on all communities in Connecticut, including Hartford, where under that plan we would lose tens of millions of dollars in the coming months," he said.

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