(Harrisburg) -- A recent state Supreme Court decision has raised questions about potential legislative fixes to the a commonwealth program for financially distressed cities. The ruling will require Scranton to pay arbitration awards to its police and fire union members, even though the payments don’t conform to a fiscal recovery plan for the city under the state’s Act 47 program. Michael Gasbarre, executive director of the state’s Local Government Commission, called the ruling troublesome, because it takes one more option off the table for cities trying to control costs. "You have situations now where you have municipalities probably that are on the cusp, ready to go into Act 47. Does bankruptcy now become more attractive for them?" Gasbarre asks. State lawmakers are considering changes to the Act 47 program that will make it better-equipped to respond to the problems of financially struggling cities. Scranton was cited among the state’s many municipalities reeling from high personnel-related costs.