Atlantic City mayor: City government will shut down within 3 weeks

TRENTON — With Atlantic City set to run out of money, local officials said Monday they will close city hall and stop paying city employees in less than three weeks as they continue to argue with state leaders about how to save the Jersey Shore gambling resort town from going bankrupt. 

Mayor Don Guardian announced that “non-essential” local government functions will cease April 8 at 4:30 p.m. if the city doesn’t receive state aid.

Guardian said “essential services” like police, fire, revenue collections, and some divisions in public works will continue to work during that time.

I take this as a plan to force the state to come to the negotiating table and give the Mayor what he wants. Which is money without accountability. The Mayor isn’t going to shut down essential services, including sanitation, police, and fire. EMS is provided by a hospital based service, so that won’t be affected.

The problem is that it’s possible that no one will notice. Which is not the intended effect. The residents of Atlantic City are supposed to flood the Governor with demands to give the city money and not hold the Mayor and other accountable. What if that doesn’t happen?

Christie and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) have instead pushed legislation that would allow the state to take over key functions of Atlantic City’s government for five years. It would permit the director of the state Local Finance board to restructure the city’s debt, break union contracts, sell off city assets, and more.

Which would essentially be a receivership, because Atlantic City is essentially bankrupt.

Whatever happens, I predict ugliness. More so since Christie has given up his pipe dream of being President for at least four more years. Which frees him up to do things that he thinks are right without worrying about political consequences.