Just as Pittsburgh was told it could stay and the Borough of Milbourne was told it could exit, more changes have been proposed to the state fiscal distress statute, Act 47 of 1987.
Instead of an open-ended time frame, five years would be the limit. After that five years, a host of options could face the formerly distressed municipality—solvency, receivership, Chapter 9 bankruptcy, or disincorporation (and presumably services provided by the host county).
And instead of a situation where a budget by an Act 47 municipality violated the recovery plan could currently be allowed if there is proof of how the municipality would pay for the plan the new policies would possibly lead to receivership, much like the City of Harrisburg spent some of its Act 47 time in recent years.
