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"Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees;
and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people." - Henry Clay, 1829
"Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees;
and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people." - Henry Clay, 1829
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IncineratorLetter shows where Harrisburg Incinerator's owner could come up with $8 million debt paymentFrom the Patriot News: When Dauphin County Commissioner Jeff Haste said during his annual State of the County address that the Harrisburg Authority had an additional $8 million available in its budget, then-authority Chairman James Ellison publicly scoffed, challenging the commissioner to show him where. But a few weeks earlier, county officials already had. In a letter dated Feb. 12, county legal firm Mette, Evans and Woodside outlined $8 million in savings in the authority’s 2010 budget and contended the group’s missed payments on incinerator debt over the previous year were “directly related to overstated and excessive [operating and other] expenses.”
Commentary: Was the deal that created the $288 million Harrisburg incinerator mess legal?From the Patriot News: “There needs to be a forensic accounting of what happened,” said Harrisburg attorney Bill Cluck. “The Security and Exchange Commission should have been all over this. (An investigator) needs to come in and talk to everybody. Look at every document. Who said what? And once all that is gathered, we can find out the answer. But so far, that has never happened.” The question has taken on new urgency. Harrisburg and the authority this year must make $68 million in incinerator debt payments — a figure that exceeds the city’s annual budget.
Open up, Mayor: City, county residents deserve to be informedFrom the Patriot News: Mayor Thompson, we need to hear from you. With $288 million in incinerator debt, the Harrisburg Authority apparently has enough money to make a $2 million payment due March 1. But another $4.6 million is due April 1, $1.5 million in May, $2.2 million in August — nearly $68 million by year’s end. If the city defaults, a ruinous lawsuit is a grave possibility. Mayor Thompson, on Wednesday this newspaper happened to track down the fact that you were meeting with Gov. Ed Rendell about the crisis. Although the meeting was not public, Gov. Rendell welcomed our reporters and spoke freely about Harrisburg’s situation. You said little and then cut off questioning to leave.
Harrisburg faces $2 million incineratorFrom the Patriot News: For months, Harrisburg’s financial experts have warned that the city is headed for a financial meltdown. That could happen as soon as March 1, when a $2 million debt payment for the Harrisburg Authority’s incinerator comes due. Dauphin County won’t be there to back up the city this time. Or the next month, either. While the county guaranteed part of the $288 million owed by the city on the incinerator, the nearly $9 million in payments owed by May were guaranteed solely by the city.
County will 'honor its obligation,' but not more, officials sayFrom the Patriot News: If Harrisburg officials are counting on Dauphin County to swoop in and make some of the city's debt payments on the incinerator, they need to think again. The city might not be able to meet payroll this month because it has to pay some of the Harrisburg Authority's $288 million incinerator debt. Some of those payments are coming due. The city, under the state's Early Intervention Plan, turned to the consulting firm Management Partners to find a way out of the financial mess.
Harrisburg controller: financial plan "not realistic"From the Central Penn Business Journal: A study released today showing what the city needs to do to get out of financial straits is "not realistic," and Harrisburg should instead look into possibly declaring bankruptcy, Controller Dan Miller said. Former Mayor Stephen R. Reed used a state Early Intervention grant last year to hire a Cincinnati firm to analyze Harrisburg's finances and make recommendations on what the city must do to become financially solvent again. The firm, Management Partners Inc. today submitted its plan to officials. A fiscal crisis exists in Harrisburg because of the debt incurred by the botched retrofit of the city's incinerator, the downturn in the economy and institutional finance conditions, according to MPI. The firm outlined 21 recommendations to keep the city from falling off a financial cliff. It includes selling or leasing assets such as the city's parking system, the Broad Street Market, City Island and the incinerator. The firm also recommended freezing city staff wages.
City pays $637K incinerator bill for Harrisburg Authority; will hold press conference on financial report recommendationsFrom the Patriot News: Harrisburg city officials are planning a press conference within the next 24 hours to announce the findings of a financial report, including recommendations about how to settle the city's crushing debt load. The bulk of that is the $288 million owed by the Harrisburg Authority for the incinerator debt. City spokeswoman Joyce Davis said city officials are meeting today to discuss the findings in the final report, which will be made public. Last week, the city paid $637,000 to Covanta, operators of the incinerator. The payment, which was wired, was not authorized in the budget approved in December. City comptroller Dan Miller said his office did not authorize the payment, which was given the legal go-ahead by the city treasurer and solicitor.
Incinerator gets some good inkFrom the Patriot News: To say Harrisburg incinerator has a public relations problem is an understatement. Find any 10 remotely knowledgeable people and say "incinerator" and most if not all would come back with a negative comment about how the facility is a dark cloud representing at least $288 million in debt that could end up being borne by Harrisburg taxpayers and perhaps taxpayers throughout Dauphin County.
Harrisburg Authority, city miss debt payment; Dauphin County paysFrom The Patriot News: Dauphin County has made another payment on the Harrisburg Authority’s incinerator debt. The authority, which owes an estimated $287 million on the incinerator, hasn’t made a bond payment this year on the facility. Harrisburg city, which guaranteed the bulk of that debt, has made some of those payments. Dauphin County, which guaranteed a smaller portion of the funding, has also stepped forward to make two payments this year. The most recent payment of $1.8 million was due on Dec. 1. Dauphin County fronted that payment after receiving notification via e-mail from authority Executive Director Michele Torres and city Chief of Staff Robert F. Kroboth in late November that neither entity would be making the payment, County Commissioner George Hartwick said.
City plant's dioxin levels up since '94From The Patriot News: Smoke stack tests conducted at the Harrisburg Incinerator last summer showed the trash-to-steam plant was releasing large amounts of dioxin, a suspected cancer-causing substance, into the atmosphere. The releases measured in 1996 were eight times higher than similar tests conducted in 1994, according to documents obtained by the Patriot-News through the federal Freedom of Information Act. The results surprised state and federal environmental officials, as well as the operators of the plant. "This facility is probably the highest emitter of dioxin in the country that we know of for municipal incinerators," said Jim Topsale, municipal waste combustion expert for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 3 office in Philadelphia. The findings were never publicized by EPA or the city. Eric Epstein, a Harrisburg environmental activist and long-time opponent of the incinerator, said last week that he was unaware of the test results.
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