Timothy East became the second Harrisburg, Pa., treasurer to resign in two months, a city official confirmed late Tuesday.
East filed a personal bankruptcy in 2011 that is still open. He delivered a resignation letter Tuesday afternoon.
"I really don't need to deal with this right now," he told the Patriot-News, saying he was unsure whether city officials could get him bonded.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse planned a press conference for late Tuesday afternoon at City Hall, said his press secretary, Joyce Davis.
The City Council approved East over five other candidates in late September to serve the last 15 months of John Campbell's part-time, $20,000-per-year term. Campbell resigned after Dauphin County District Attorney charged him of stealing money from two nonprofits: Lighten Up Harrisburg, a program designed to fix street lights, and the gay-and-lesbian advocacy group Equality Pennsylvania.
"I think the primary skills that the city treasurer should have should be an understanding of cash management operations, including investment operations, trading operations and investment management," East told the council at the time.
But according to the Patriot-News, council members' background checks only looked for criminal activities and East volunteered no information. City officials briefed the council last week about East's personal finances.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's 49,000-population capital, narrowly avoided bankruptcy last year by crafting a financial recovery plan that erased more than $600 million of debt. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania approved the plan last September.
The city exited state receivership in March, though it's still under state oversight through the Act 47 workout program for distressed communities.
