John Filan, Vice President of DSI Civic, was interviewed by the Financial Times Debtwire publication regarding the financial stress that local governments in Pennsylvania are struggling with due to both the recession’s effect on revenues and constraints in state law. This article is a follow-up to DSI Civic’s conference on Financial Stress in Local Governments recently hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
Quote from the Financial Times Debtwire article:
“But in a lot of ways, Allentown fits the mold of many Pennsylvania municipalities outside the reach of major metropolises, which are dealing with skyrocketing legacy costs without drastically increasing revenue streams to pay for them,” said John Filan, vice president with municipal restructuring firm DSI Civic.
He noted that many of these municipalities are searching for broader local powers to deal with these costs. “To a large degree, what the mayors indicated is that they need more flexibility in arbitration costs, employee benefits, and revenue-raising to fund the expenses they’re paying for,” Filan said.