Chapter 9 Bankruptcy for Vallejo, CA
A San Jose Bankrutpcy Attorney discuss Vallejo's Chapter 9 Bankruptcy filing
Back in 2008, the city of Vallejo, California, a Bay Area community of approximately 121,000 citizens, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Chapter 9 bankruptcy primarily deals with the reorganization of municipalities. Vallejo was faced with decreasing tax revenue, rising pension costs, and strong public-employee unions. Two years later, Vallejo is now emerging from its chapter 9 bankruptcy, unfortunately not much stronger than its pre-filing status.
Where did Vallejo go wrong? Vallejo boasts one of the highest public services’ salaries in California. On average, a Vallejo police captain will gross over $300,000 per year and the average Vallejo firefighter will gross $171,000 a year. In an effort to balance its budget, Vallejo has reduced its police force and is currently addressing it pension issues. Currently, Vallejo retirees retain 90% of their highest wages in pension. In a city of 121,000 people, there is no feasible manner in which to support that kind of pay.
The largest reason the Vallejo bankruptcy failed was the fact that neither Vallejo nor the courts forced the city to revamp its already existing luxurious pension policies. Fortunately, Vallejo has made some effort to improve pensions for new employees, forcing them to pay a higher percentage into their pensions.
If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Jose please contact us at 408.279.2288 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Jose Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our downtown San Jose bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in an office location nearest you. Our team of San Jose Bankruptcy Lawyers can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, San Jose and the South Bay!
