TRENTON -- Thursday could be the day state lawmakers finally unveil a final plan to keep Atlantic City from becoming the first New Jersey municipality in nearly 80 years to go bankrupt.

Then again, it could be Friday. Or maybe Monday? Or maybe not at all.

After months of arguing over whose plan is best, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and state Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) met with other top Democratic lawmakers last week to discuss a deal to help rescue the iconic seaside gambling resort, which is close to running out of money.

But after a week of negotiations, a bill still has not surfaced.

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) told NJ Advance Media that a draft of a measure has been circulating among Democratic leaders. But he refused to outline details because he's doesn't want to jeopardize an agreement.

"I've seen this thing fall apart too many times," Greenwald said.

It appears at least a framework may be in place. State Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex) told NJ Advance Media last Thursday that lawmakers had outlined a tentative agreement: that the city would get 150 days to significantly cut its spending before the state steps in and takes over key parts of the local government.

Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, who had previously been opposed to an immediate state takeover, said last week the tentative deal would be something the city "can live with."

But Caputo said this week that lawmakers were still hammering out details.

"Hopefully, it'll be a compromise everyone can support," he said. "It's getting to the end of the road hopefully."

Still, Sweeney said on Wednesday that "we don't have an agreement on anything."

"We're gonna talk some more," he said. "The Assembly announced the agreement. I kept saying there wasn't one. We're talking."

Tom Hester, a spokesman for Prieto, said there were no developments Wednesday.

Sweeney and Gov. Chris Christie initially said an immediate state takeover was the only way to save Atlantic City, which has seen its tax base decimated by the closure of four casinos in recent years.

But Prieto fought back, saying it would allow the state to break union contracts. He instead presented his own plan to give the city two years to fix its issues before a takeover takes place. He also rejected an offer from Sweeney to give the city 130 days.

Prieto, however, suffered a setback when he canceled a planned vote on his measure when it appeared it didn't have enough votes to pass.

Christie has said he would support a compromise as long as it doesn't hinge toward Prieto's bill.

No New Jersey municipality has filed for bankruptcy since 1938. Wall Street credit rating agency Standard & Poor's released a statement this week that said the six months of stalemate over Atlantic City indicates "a change in what has historically been very strong state support of its distressed entities."

Even if lawmakers reached a deal, S&P analyst Timothy Little suggested, damage may have already been done.

"We maintain the view that should extraordinary state intervention occur in Atlantic City, we are not confident that it would be sufficient to prevent impairment of the city's debt obligations," Little wrote.

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