The City of Harrisburg is staggering under the weight of $288 million-plus in debt related to a botched retrofit of its trash incinerator in the early 1990s. The City is working on a forbearance agreement with its bond insurers. Such an agreement would give Harrisburg and Dauphin County, which is the second guarantor on the bonds, some breathing room to develop a financial-recovery plan without additional litigation by their creditors. However, the negotiations are stymied -- thanks, in part, to a state Supreme Court decision last spring that nullified the makeup of the Harrisburg Authority’s board. The Authority owns and operates the incinerator which has not been able to generate enough cash to cover the debt payments. Harrisburg is supposed to make a $38 million debt payment on December 1.
Mayor Linda Thompson has appointed, and City Council has confirmed, two new members to the Authority but they continue to bicker over the other nominees. Without a quorum, little progress has been made until yesterday. On Tuesday, the mayor announced the selection of a team headed by Chicago-based Scott Balice Strategies (with hefty retainer fees) to develop of a financial-recovery plan. That decision does not sit well, however, with some members of City Council. While City Council does not get to weigh in on the selection of a financial team, members do get to vote on the ultimate rescue plan. Translation: Expect more fireworks and possibly more delays.
WITF last month co-sponsored with the Martin Luther King Leadership Development Institute the Blueprint for Prosperity IV forum at which city leaders and executives in finance and government updated residents on Harrisburg's fiscal and debt-reduction plans. Our panel Thursday night features Bill Cluck, appointed by Mayor Thompson to the Harrisburg Authority, Neil Grover, a Harrisburg attorney and former Authority member who has developed a possible debt-settlement plan for the city, Juliet Moringiello, professor of law at The Widener University School of Law and an expert on Chapter 9 bankruptcy, and Charlie Thompson, metro fiscal beat reporter for the Harrisburg Patriot-News. We invite your questions and comments for the guests. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call into the program at 1-800-729-7532. You can access WITF-FM's library of stories on the debt crisis here.
In our second segment, we spotlight Pennsylvania's traditional county fairs. Did you know that America’s first fair took place in York, PA in 1756? Since then, Pennsylvania communities have developed a rich heritage of celebrating their unique foods, crafts and cultures with annual festivals. Many of our small towns have come to rely on funds generated during the fairs to support vital local services. And, in turn, those communities count on state funding to help pay the fair bills. But belt-tightening under the Capitol Dome means the state appropriation to fairs has dropped from a high of $4.4 million in 2002 to $1 million today. In addition to Tim Lambert's Real Life/Real Issues reports, Radio Smart Talk tackled the issue in a live broadcast from the Lebanon Area Fair last month.
Our TV panel Thursday night includes Secretary Russell Redding of the PA Department of Agriculture, Rose Mape, executive director of tourism for the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, and Bruce Koppenhaver, secretary/treasurer of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs.
We welcome your photos, video and reflections on fairgoing and whether the state should continue to provide taxpayer funds to these community events. Join us Thursday LIVE 8-9 p.m. as we kick off the new season of Smart Talk on WITF-TV.
