After 30 years of distress and $30 million in state aid, the sale of waterworks in 2025 is a final effort to end the Chester bankruptcy nightmare, writes Anthony R. Wood for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The city’s overwhelming debts, particularly to its pensioners, led Pennsylvania to officially declare Chester “distressed” back in 1995. It’s now in bankruptcy.
The city’s financial crisis could have nationwide ramifications.
“Other cities are watching what happens in Chester,” said Vijay Kapoor, chief of staff for Michael Doweary, the state receiver who took the city into bankruptcy two years ago.
The receiver and city administrator hope water resources can be sold for millions of dollars to a buyer who would keep the resources in “public hands”.
Doweary’s proposed public regional entity would combine the existing Chester Water Authority with the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority and the Stormwater Authority of Chester. The Water Authority is strongly opposed.
Without the sale, “there’s going to be a lot of pressure to make some very severe cuts” to pensions, Kapoor said.
The courts will decide if the city has the power to sell those resources. A Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision is expected in 2025.
Read more about the issues complicating Chester’s finances in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
