Fred Warchol: Appears Atwater aboard the ‘Bankruptcy Express’

Sometimes it’s too late to see a freight train coming at you. Stockton and San Bernardino didn’t and they crashed into bankruptcy. It shouldn’t have been a a surprise. Stevie Wonder could have seen it coming – if you can’t pay your bills without borrowing money, you are in trouble.

Bankruptcy meant a gradual descent into misery. Dozens of police and firefighters lost their jobs. Crime rates rocketed. Public safety response times became dangerously long. City employees were jettisoned, and services declined. The lessons of fiscal irresponsibility hit hard.

The city of Atwater is on the same track. Three years ago, former mayor Joan Faul declared a fiscal emergency, a precursor to bankruptcy. Subsequently, our city manager, with council approval, saddled Atwater with yearly budget deficits that required massive loans of $5.4 million, $3.2 million over the past two years and $2.9 million this year. Then the city manager bestowed $10,000 yearly raises to his senior staff and proposed pay raises to all city employees.

The mid-year budget review is approaching, and unless city officials get a grip on finances the bankruptcy express will be roaring into Atwater.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Fred Warchol: Appears Atwater aboard the ‘Bankruptcy Express’."