The Buzz | Atlantic City pays interests as mayor averts a default

Atlantic City made USD1.8 million in interest payments, averting what would have been New Jersey’s first municipal default since the Great Depression as state lawmakers bicker over how to assist the troubled gambling hub.
Mayor Don Guardian, who last week hadn’t decided whether to meet the city’s obligations on tax-exempt debt sold in 2012, said at a press conference that the payment was made yesterday [Macau time]. Because May 1 fell on a Sunday, the city had an extra day to come through. Guardian said a default is still possible next month, predicting that the city will be out of money in June.
“Financially, we’re running on fumes,” the mayor told reporters.
The brush with default underscores the severity of the city’s long-building fiscal crisis and may put pressure on New Jersey lawmakers and Governor Chris Christie to come to its aid. Christie, a Republican, and the Democrat-led legislature this year have been at loggerheads over how to rescue the 39,000-resident seaside town, whose gambling industry has been battered by competition from neighboring states.