Mayor, City Council Challenge Pennsylvania City’s Bankruptcy

The mayor and city council of the City of Chester, a financially distressed Pennsylvania town near Philadelphia, said a state-appointed receiver improperly put the municipality in bankruptcy without authorization from the elected officials.

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania should refrain from granting Chester official bankruptcy relief until the town’s officials adopt a resolution or ordinance stating a need to effectuate a debt adjustment plan, the group said in a court filing Monday.

With authorization from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, state-appointed receiver Michael Doweary put the once-industrial city into Chapter 9 bankruptcy ...