Southeast

BRADENTON, Fla. — Jefferson County, Ala., faces a $77 million deficit by the end of the fiscal year due primarily to the loss of tax revenues while “contingent” expenses could render the county insolvent, according to the national turn-around firm FTI Consulting.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Government-owned hospitals in Florida will come under scrutiny by a panel appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to review whether they are in the best interest of taxpayers.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The five-notch downgrade of DeKalb County, Ga., two weeks ago calls into question whether market participants can rely on the financial disclosure practices of issuers or their ratings, two municipal analysts say.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Jefferson County, Ala., must restructure its troubled debt or take “other significant reorganization activities,” according to the county’s first audit in three years.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Some municipal bond market observers say last week’s stunning five-notch downgrade of Georgia’s third-largest county highlights the importance of disclosure — or what Standard & Poor’s sees as insufficient disclosure in the case of DeKalb County.

The Internal Revenue Service has closed an audit of about $300 million of Series A special tax bonds issued by the Ernest N. Morial-New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority in 2003 to help finance a convention center expansion.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Kentucky Turnpike Authority Wednesday expects to conclude a two-day pricing of $112.6 million of new and refunding revenue bonds.

WASHINGTON — A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the restructuring and reorganization of the debt of the Connector 2000 Association, a beleaguered toll road operator in Greenville, S.C.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are moving forward to consolidate three toll-road authorities in a revised plan that now excludes the financially ailing Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, which appears headed for a bond payment default this year.

WASHINGTON — A South Carolina bankruptcy judge held a hearing Friday to consider the restructuring plan for the Connector 2000 Association Inc., the bankrupt South Carolina toll road operator, setting up the issuer’s exit from bankruptcy after years of uncertainty for bondholders.