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Then Bridgeport's fiscal condition officially hit the skids in 1991, then-Mayor Mary C. Moran led for bankruptcy on the city's behalf. A federal judge blocked the suit and the city never was declared bankrupt, but the Park City's reputation was run through the mud before it was all over.
The operating budget in 1991 contained an $18.6 million deficit for one year alone. The state bailed the city out by backing $53 million in bonds to balance Bridgeport's books, but the plan had a catch.
The General Assembly established the Financial Review Board to oversee the fiscal actions of the state's most populated city. All fiscal actions that the mayor and city council planned had to be approved by the 11-member board, which was chaired by officials from the state Office of...