Via an AP wire feed, Strib reports on Harrisburg, here.
The state of Pennsylvania and Harrisburg's mayor are fighting a 4-to-3 City Council vote that authorized the city to file for bankruptcy protection. The city of 50,000 is saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, and six pending lawsuits, mostly related to an aging trash incinerator.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shut down the incinerator in 2000 for excessive pollution, and then officials backed a plan to spend $125 million on upgrades that were supposed to fix the problems and return the incinerator to profitability. But the fixes only led to more problems and debt.
The City Council majority and Thompson have clashed over a recovery plan developed with state officials, leading area state lawmakers to push a bill that would let the governor declare a state of fiscal emergency and install someone to make decisions about government services and spending.
That measure, supported by Gov. Tom Corbett, has passed the House and is expected to be taken up by the Senate this week.
Municipal bankruptcies are rare, with only a few dozen filed in the United States in the past three decades, and some of those were dismissed. Among them are Orange County, Calif., which took the action in 1994, and Vallejo, Calif., three years ago.
More recently, a state receiver filed for bankruptcy for Central Falls, R.I., in August, and the recovery plan includes cost cutting, higher taxes and pension reductions. Jefferson County, Ala., is considering Chapter 9 as a solution to a $3.1 billion sewer debt problem.
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| Harrisburg Town Cashburner. (Apparently not yet rebranded.) |
The basic story -- Past politicians and their decision making have put the present Harrisburg city government into a largely untenable position. In Harrisburg. It is a step ahead of other towns where current decision making and politician activity is building debt for future town governments to cope with. Harrisburg offers a learning curve.
Finally, from what I have read Harrisburg has NOT rebranded the incinerator in an effort to hide itself from past municipal shame.
Hence Harrisburg officials, at least from present online reporting, for now appear to be above any such crass and deceptive foolishness.
_______________UPDATE___________
click the image to enlarge and read
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| Source: WaPo, this link. |
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This Google, for more Harrisburg detail. Latest update on an item there, this link - a Nov. 23 bankruptcy court hearing has been set on the legal issues surrounding the State action and the municipal 4-3 council decision to file.
There is no such difficulty currently for any Minnesota municipalities, or their EDA or HRA operations to file, with the Minnesota statute being silent, however, as to Port Authority bankruptcy filing authorization; Minn. Stat. Sect. 471.831 (enacted Laws 1997, Ch. 148, Sect. 1 and unamended since). I am unaware of any Minnesota or 8th Cir. bankruptcy court filings citing the statute, or involving municipality bankruptcy reorgs.