Compton is 4th California city facing bankruptcy this year. Great job, Jerry!

.
7/18/12, "Compton is latest California charter city to face bankruptcy," Southern California Public Radio, Matthew DeBord

"Compton could become the fourth city in California to head for bankruptcy, according to Reuters. The Los Angeles County municipality, just south of L.A., would join Stockton, Mammoth Lakes, and San Bernardino in confronting Chapter 9 protection.

Compton's situation is extremely worrisome compared to much larger San Bernardino and Stockton, but it's not exactly surprising. Compton's current budget deficit, at $43 million, is substantially bigger than Stockton's $26 million but about the same as San Bernardino's $45 million. But Compton's population is only 93,000. San Bernardino's is over 200,000 and Stockton's is over 300,000.

And if you follow Reuters' reporting, $37 million of Compton's budget shortfall has materialized just since July 10, as financial officials and the city council have worked through severe revenue losses.

Like Stockton and San Bernardino, Compton is a charter city, one of over 80 in California and one of 25 in Los Angeles County (Los Angeles itself is a charter city, as is San Francisco). Basically, charter cities are set up to call their own shots, through a charter that they write themselves, rather than establishing their operations based on what's known as California's "general law." The idea is that cities have a better understanding of how to run themselves than the state does.

But some of these charters are very long in the tooth. San Bernardino's, for example, was established 105 years ago."...via Free Republic

.