Declaring a fiscal emergency, and implementing appropriate remedial measures, may be an unfortunate reality for some local agencies in light of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Before public agencies consider bankruptcy or take actions that seriously jeopardize the health and welfare of the residents, they should consider the alternative of declaring a fiscal emergency.
Many public agencies can avoid bankruptcy by ceasing to provide critical services, but when a local government can no longer hire employees to protect the basic safety of its residents, that’s an emergency in my book.
Even after practicing labor and employment law for 30 years, issues arise that remind me that reality is often stranger than fiction.
