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But there are risks. Perhaps the biggest is the potential impact on the county's 658,000 residents, who could be asked to endure even higher sewer rates than were contemplated under the out-of-court deal with creditors that fell through. That's because the sewer debt, which represents the bulk of what the county owes, is secured against net revenues from the sewer system, and the court will determine how much of that debt remains on the books and how the county will repay it.
Unrestricted revenue in the county's general fund totaled only $152.5 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
"The county did not file this case rashly, improperly, or with any improper intent," its lawyers said in court papers. "Rather, it did so deliberately and grudgingly, yet with the desire to effect a prompt, efficient adjustment of its debts."
The problems were years in the making.
Its debt ballooned after a federally mandated sewer project was beset with corruption, court rulings that didn't go its way, and rising interest rates when global markets struggled.source cnbc