The authority - which handles trash disposal for all but one of the county's 37 municipalities - is at risk of defaulting Dec. 1 on its final balloon payment of $25 million.
New Jersey will not authorize another bailout, Department of Treasury spokesman Andy Pratt stressed Friday. State officials ordered members of the authority to a Nov. 23 meeting to address the debt-service crisis.
After the authority repeatedly ignored state requests that it restructure its debt, it is apparent the authority "has no reasonable plans" to meet its financial obligation, Thomas Neff, of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), wrote in a letter to the agency Friday.
Neff directed the authority to turn over copies of all contracts for sale, lease, management, or operation of its South Camden trash incinerator and the Pennsauken landfill owned by the agency.
The plan developed at the November meeting "may include the impoundment of funds, the cessation of certain professional services, and the restructuring or refunding of outstanding debt," Neff said.
At a Wednesday meeting of the Local Finance Board, which he heads, Neff praised the Hudson County Improvement Authority for stepping up to restructure its solid-waste debt and questioned why the Camden County authority hadn't done so.
Neff said he could not remember the last time a local government unit was on the verge of defaulting on a bond payment. "It's certainly rare," he said.
Bill Tambussi, the authority's attorney, disputed that the authority had not taken action on the matter. He provided recent letters sent to Treasury and DCA officials stating that the organization was willing to cooperate with the state.
In the letters, Tambussi said money reserved by the authority for landfill-closure costs and environmental remediation could be tapped. But he acknowledged in an interview that diverting the funds was not a good alternative and would pose legal challenges.
