Court Bankruptcy Documents Detail Stockton Debts

STOCKTON (CBS13) - In alphabetical order, a 211-page court document lists every single person or company the city of Stockton owes cash.

According to the petition for Chapter 9, filed in a Sacramento federal bankruptcy court, the city has 5-10 thousand creditors and owes up to one billion dollars.

Topping the list is Wells Fargo. The bank is waiting on more than a quarter billion dollars for several bonds, money borrowed so the city could build a parking garage and other public facilities.

The city owes CalPERS nearly $150 million in unfunded pension costs.

CC Meyers, Inc. is owed $18.5 million and is just one of several construction companies on the list.

Stockton is in debt to the state for $11 million for work on the city marina.

The documents paint a clear picture of the broke city's checkbook.

"Our image has taken a beating over the last few years. My hope is we come out of it very quickly if we have to file and show the world we can manage our finances," said Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston.

Not all debts outlined in court documents are in the hundreds of millions.

The city owes an Elk Grove company $2. And, some entries don't have a dollar amount because the city forced to list every retiree owed future medical coverage.

Experts say the city has to detail every penny it owes in the filing and say because the documents show the massive debt; it may be hard for creditors to dispute the city's financial crisis.

The city blames the great recession, generous employee contracts approved in the 90s and money mismanagement for the current mess.