Jefferson County’s Bankruptcy Left Few Winners
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The impact of Jefferson County’s bankruptcy will reverberate for decades in Alabama and in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market.
Creditors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., agreed to forgive $1.4 billion of the county’s $3 billion sewer bonds. Ratepayers, like Charles Hicks, a retired landscaper who lives on a fixed income in Birmingham, will see his sewer rate rise about 8 percent annually for the next four years and 3.5 percent annually thereafter, under a plan approved by a federal judge on Nov 21.