How 'bankrupt' Birmingham council spent millions on botched IT system...

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12488241/How-bankrupt-Birmingham-council-spent-millions-botched-inclusive-new-street-signs-Commonwealth-Games-blowing-50m-hated-Clean-Air-Zone-hydrogen-buses-rubbish-piles-violence-soars.html

Any city or town should strive to have a decent level of accountability and proper management. Birmingham seems to be quite a very poor example. 

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-night-new-york-saved-itself-from-bankruptcy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_York_City_(1946-1977)

It is possible for a city to recover.