The primarily agricultural city of Atwater in California’s Central Valley will almost certainly be the fourth California city to file for bankruptcy this year. The process leading to an Atwater bankruptcy filing begins on Oct. 3, when the city council will vote on whether or not to O.K. a fiscal emergency declaration. The expected “yes” vote will allow Atwater, which has a population of 28,000, to follow San Bernardino, Stockton, and Mammoth Lakes into bankruptcy.
The problem is the usual convergence of the real estate crash, overspending, and public pension debt. There will be more California municipal bankruptcies.