San Bernardino officials will be in federal Bankruptcy Court on Friday morning to rebut efforts by CalPERS, the state retirement system, and other creditors to challenge the city’s filing for bankruptcy protection.

San Bernardino stopped making payments to CalPERS, the city’s largest creditor, after filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection Aug. 1, a move that city officials estimate will save more than $12 million.

CalPERs is asking U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith A. Jury in Riverside to rule that the financially troubled city is ineligible to file for protection and therefore must continue making payments on behalf of the city’s 1,100 retirees and current employees.

The San Bernardino Public Employees Assn. also is challenging the city’s bankruptcy filing, arguing that the city is attempting to circumvent a state law that requires cities to enter into mediation with creditors and labor unions before filing for bankruptcy. In July, the City Council declared a “fiscal emergency,” which city officials said triggered an exit clause in the law and exempts San Bernardino from that requirement.

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