Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The City Council of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, facing a state takeover of its finances, sought Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.

Jason Hess, the acting city attorney, told the council members before the vote today that they didn’t follow procedure and their action would be nonbinding. The members went ahead anyway, voting 4-3.

The city’s filing was faxed to a bankruptcy court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania after the council meeting, Mark D. Schwartz, a lawyer the panel hired to handle the case, said in an interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: Romy Varghese in Philadelphia at rvarghese8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at smerelman@bloomberg.net