MUNICIPAL FINANCE UPDATE: Too many towns, too much debt: Welcome to Pennsylvania.

“A train wreck is coming, and, because of my position, I think it’s my duty to alert people,” said George Cornelius, secretary of the state Department of Economic and Community Development. “Some of these municipalities may get into a situation where they have no choice; bankruptcy is the only option left.”

Cash-strapped municipalities suffering from the industrial decline, population loss and overwhelming tax increases common in the Rust Belt face a “downward spiral,” Cornelius said.

It’s not just Pennsylvania. And I’m not sure whether consolidating small towns into bigger ones will really help. Read the whole thing.