Atlantic City’s appointed emergency manager Kevin Lavin had said he would issue and update on the city finances in June, but instead nothing was released.
“Because they don’t have an update, that’s the simple answer,” said newly hired spokesman Bill Nowling.
The promised update was never officially mandated. Lavin, who was appointed by Governor Chris Christie to help steer Atlantic City out of financial trouble, merely said he would likely provide an update in June after releasing an official report earlier this year. That report recommended $10 million in budget cuts, hundreds of layoffs of city workers, and mediators to negotiate with casinos and unions.
Nowling’s hiring as spokesman, for $375 an hour, is new, however. Nowling was previously the spokesman for Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, who also served as a consultant for Atlantic City. Orr earned about $70,000 for about three months of work there before departing in April, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Nowling’s current contract with Atlantic City runs through July 31 and is capped at $17,500, but he said he was negotiating a longer term contract to continue to provide communications services for the Emergency Manager as Atlantic City’s debt restructuring continues, the Inquirer reported.
Negotiations are underway with the city and the city’s unions and creditors, including Borgata Hotel & Casino, which is owed about $130 million from successful tax appeals, and bondholders, who hold about $375 million in bonds issued by the city.
“The answer’s always no until it’s not,” Nowling told the paper. “They’re meeting with creditors. It’s in everyone’s best interest to negotiate a mutually agreed to settlement. It’s a question of reducing costs and preserving services. The longer it drags out the harder it’s going to be to make adjustments.””
He said the goal remained to fashion a restructuring plan that “avoids more drastic measures,” like declaring bankruptcy. Atlantic City faces a $100 million shortfall in its budget and has begun executing a layoff plan for municipal and school district workers.
The New Jersey state Legislature has also passed a series of rescue bills for the city—including one that would stabilize casino tax payments for 15 years—but those bills are still awaiting action by Christie.
