Yet Another Wealthy California Town Is Short on Cash
- Moraga’s council announces fiscal emergency as funds dwindle
- Town wants residents to mull new fees or face service cuts
This article is for subscribers only.
The San Francisco suburb of Moraga seems as far as one could get from the financial pressures that have battered big cities like Detroit or Chicago. The price of a typical home has soared to more than $1.2 million, it’s not drowning in debt and there are even free summer concerts.
But on June 28, the 17,000-resident town authorized a declaration of fiscal emergency, a step California cities can take before bankruptcy. In this case, it gives officials in the affluent enclave the power to expedite a referendum on new fees to boost its revenue, which has been restrained by a lackluster retail base and property-tax limits the state enacted almost 40 years ago.