TRENTON -- A day after Atlantic City's mayor said he will soon shut down city hall and not pay employees amid an ever-growing financial crisis, Gov. Chris Christie repeated Tuesday that he will not provide a loan or send rescue aid without a state takeover of the city.

"The mayor can decide to do one of two things: Either cooperate ... or the inevitable will occur," Christie told reporters at a news conference in Long Branch. "And the inevitable is that they will face bankruptcy."

"And if they do," the governor added, "then the bankruptcy court will control their fate, not the state of New Jersey. If that is what they prefer, it is their choice."

The comments are the latest in a weeks-long standoff over how to keep Atlantic City, New Jersey's only casino gambling resort town, from going bankrupt -- a scenario experts say would hurt the credit rating of municipalities across the state.

With the city weeks away from running out of money, Mayor Don Guardian traveled to Trenton on Monday to plead Atlantic City's case and ask the state for a bridge loan. But the Christie administration refused.

Hours later, Guardian announced the city will cease "non-essential" government operations from April 8 to May 2, when more tax money comes in.

He said essential services like police, fire, revenue collections, and some public works functions will continue. But no worker, the mayor said, will get paid in that time.

On Tuesday, Christie called a bridge loan nothing but a "Band-Aid" on a bigger problem that Atlantic City officials are "unwilling and incapable of fixing."

"I am no longer going to allow the taxpayers of New Jersey to be responsible," the governor said.

Instead, Christie once again called on the state Assembly to pass controversial legislation that would allow the state to take over key functions of Atlantic City's government -- including restructuring debt, breaking union contract, and selling off city assets. The governor and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) have been pushing the takeover as the best way to reverse the city's issues.

Guardian and other local officials argue that the takeover goes too far and would amount to a "fascist dictatorship."

And while the Senate approved the takeover last week, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto has called for a new deal that protects union's collective bargaining rights. Christie reiterated Tuesday that he won't sign the legislation if it's changed.

"If what that means is that Atlantic City goes bankrupt, then go to Vincent Prieto's office and ask him why," the Republican governor said. "I am not going to negotiate with two sets of Democrats, quite frankly."

Prieto on Tuesday accused Christie of "not doing his job." He argued that current state law already allows the state to do many of the things the takeover seeks and that allowing Atlantic City to go bankrupt will cost the state more money.

"He is the executive," Prieto told NJ Advance Media. "At the end of the day, it's the governor that's going to be responsible."

The speaker also noted that the state has had some control in Atlantic City since 2010, when it took over the city's tourism district and places a state monitor in city hall. It also installed an emergency manager there last year.

"There was a five-year plan," Prieto said. "That's what has failed. That's what we have to point the fingers at."

Guardian blames Christie for vetoing a rescue package in January that included changes he requested. The package would have given the city $33.5 million in aid that the state told the city to include in its current municipal budget. But Christie said he rejected it because the city hasn't done enough to fix its problems.

The Senate approved a new aid bill last week that essentially replaces the one Christie vetoed. But the governor said he won't sign it without the takeover.

A spokesman for Guardian's office declined comment until Thursday, when the mayor will hold a news conference on the issue at city hall.

Atlantic City has given billions of dollars to the state in casino tax revenue since gambling was legalized there in 1976. But four of the city's casinos have closed in in recent years amid increasing competition from gambling halls in neighboring states, causing the city's casino tax revenue to be sliced in half.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.