JeffCo

Jefferson County, which is under Chapter 9 federal bankruptcy, intends to appeal U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett’s refusal to let the county reduce payments to bondholders. Judge Bennett had ruled in June that the county cannot cut the payments so it can spend more on its aging sewage system or pay legal fees. Lawyers for the county said in a filing this week they will appeal the ruling. Bondholders are owed more than $3 billion, debt that is backed by the payments made by business and residents in Alabama’s biggest county. The county filed the biggest municipal bankruptcy in the U.S. after elected officials and creditors failed to implement a proposal to cut the sewer debt by about $1 billion.