By Martin Braun, includes “Residents of Norwich, Connecticut, will vote Tuesday on whether to gamble with their tax dollars by issuing bonds to cover swelling pension obligations, amid a record year for sales of such debt. Voters are being asked to approve issuing $145 million of securities to cover Norwich’s pension obligation, after retirement costs almost tripled in the past decade. With interest rates in the municipal market near historic lows, officials expect the earnings from investing that sum will exceed the borrowing cost.”