A judge last week delayed to March 15 a hearing regarding a suit that could force Harrisburg to repay debt-service costs on $282 million of outstanding incinerator debt before meeting other expenses.
Judge Charles Brown in Dauphin County Court last week pushed a hearing originally set for Friday to mid-March to give the city more time to repair its fiscal challenges, according to Thomas Schmidt, attorney at Pepper Hamilton LLP, which is representing Harrisburg in the case.
Joseph and Jacalyn Lahr, the plaintiffs, and Dauphin County want Harrisburg’s revenue to first go toward paying debt-service obligations on the incinerator bonds before other expenditure needs. The city believes a mandate would force it to raise taxes to balance its budget.
Harrisburg is in the state’s distressed communities program, called Act 47. Novak Consulting Group is leading a team of outside professionals to craft a fiscal recovery plan for the city by mid-May.
“The postponement is to give the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the Act 47 coordinators time to make progress on the development of a plan,” Schmidt said.
Dauphin County will weigh in on Novak’s progress in late February to determine whether it may agree to further court delays, he added.
