Butler City Council may consider seeking bankruptcy status under a state provision.

A pair of votes at Thursday's council meeting could have the power to shape the city's financial future.

City Councilman Joe Bratkovich will ask the council to vote on requesting the state Department of Community and Economic Development to determine Butler's eligibility for the Act 47 process, and Councilwoman Kathy Kline will put forth a vote to form a financial task force to evaluate the city's financial state.

Both ideas were discussed by council members Tuesday.

Filing for financially distressed status with the state, known as Act 47, has been a hot-button issue for the council over several months, and nothing changed at Tuesday's meeting.

"I can't stress how important it is for us to look at this and realize, we don't have many options left," Bratkovich said.

He said that, should the city be found eligible for the program, it would be under no obligation to participate, but would pass up a good opportunity if it did decline.

He repeated a past argument that the city has hit a ceiling on the taxes it can impose, and no other revenue streams have materialized.

But Mayor Maggie Stock and Kline remained unconvinced.

"I just don't see where the benefits are obvious," Stock said.