Scranton, with the weakest pension plan among Pennsylvania’s cities, is trying to prop up its retirement funds to avoid becoming the first U.S. municipality since Detroit to file for bankruptcy.
The former manufacturing community will tax commuters starting next month and may sell its sewer system to buttress its retirement funds. The city has 23 cents for every dollar in retiree obligations, down from 47 cents in 2009, according to state data. Without a fix, Scranton may go bankrupt in less than five years, said Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.
