Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- A California city filed for bankruptcy Wednesday , the third in the Golden State to do so in recent weeks , stoking experts ' concerns that other cities could follow suit . The city of San Bernardino , with more than 200,000 residents on the eastern tip of greater Los Angeles , `` filed an emergency petition for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy '' with a regional U.S. bankruptcy court , according to a news release from the city 's interim manager . The other two to file recently were Stockton , with around 300,000 residents , according to 2010 U.S. census data , and Mammoth Lakes , a resort town , where visitors and seasonal residents outnumber the just over 8,000 permanent inhabitants . Why U.S. cities are going bankrupt . Many municipalities in the Golden State and around the nation are struggling to cover their costs as the economic malaise continues to hurt tax revenue streams , experts said . This will lead to more municipal bankruptcies , which have been rare until now . `` This is not the end . This is the beginning , '' Peter Navarro , business professor at University of California , Irvine , told CNN recently . `` As cities see it can be done and is being done , it will give them the idea to do it . '' Eric Hoffman , an analyst at Moody 's Investor Service agreed , saying more city bankruptcies are likely in California and throughout the nation . Cities have also struggled from budget changes made on the state level . Because of massive budget shortfalls , Gov . Jerry Brown and the state legislature made changes to vehicle tax money and redevelopment agencies that stripped locales of hundreds of millions in state funding . San Bernardino said it will continue to provide services during the bankruptcy phase . Rhode Island city asks retirees to cut their pensions . `` There will be no immediate service reductions or changes in service to the community as a result of the filing , '' interim city manager Andrea Travis-Miller said Wednesday . But `` reductions may occur '' in the future . In a prior statement Travis-Miller hinted the city may continue to `` negotiate in good faith with its creditors . '' In early July , Miller and finance director Jason Simpson issued a report stating that the city was facing insolvency and its expenditures were projected to exceed revenues by $ 45 million . The city 's general fund reserves had been as high as $ 19 million in 2001 but are now depleted , the report said . `` The city has reached a breaking point , '' the report said . Some $ 10 million to $ 16 million in annual revenue has evaporated in recent years as taxable sales dried up and property values plummeted in the city , the report said . Mammoth Lakes sought protection July 2 after a property developer won a $ 43 million court judgment against the resort town . Experts say this filing should not be lumped in with the other two California municipal bankruptcies since it was an unusual circumstance . Stockton , however , filed for bankruptcy in late June after three months of mediation when creditors failed to close a $ 26 million budget shortfall . The city had already addressed $ 90 million in deficits over the past three years , mainly through reducing services and employee compensation . Video : Declaring bankruptcy in Harrisburg . Both Stockton 's and San Bernardino 's fiscal troubles are due in large part to the massive housing downturn and recession that swept across California . Both towns were hit particularly hard by the foreclosure crisis , which left numerous abandoned homes and reduced property values in its wake . That led to lower property tax revenues , critical to supporting public services . While some areas of the Golden State are starting to recover , the regions containing those two towns are not , said Chris McKenna , executive director of the League of California Cities . By filing for bankruptcy , cities will be able to keep police and firefighters on the street and possibly keep some parks and libraries open while they work out their finances , he said . CNNMoney 's Tami Luhby contributed to this report .
San Bernardino has lost revenues in the housing and economic downturns . The city is at the eastern tip of the greater Los Angeles area . Expert : City bankruptcies could increase , if other cities see it can be done . Comment: