Harrisburg’s Receiver Vote

Harrisburg’s City Council will vote on its latest financial receiver proposal at an Aug. 31 special legislative session.

After the council on July 19 rejected a plan proposed by Novak Consulting Group Inc. under the state’s Act 47 plan for distressed communities, Mayor Linda Thompson offered her alternative plan. It largely mirrors that of the Act 47 consultant but also pushes for a commuter tax and more concessions on incinerator debt from surrounding Dauphin County.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital city, owes roughly $300 million related to a costly incinerator retrofit project. Bonds outstanding on the incinerator total $220 million, while the city also owes a combined $75.5 million to the county, bond insurer Assured Guaranty Financial Corp. and the incinerator’s operator, the Harrisburg Authority.

The city is in danger of running out of money by mid-September, when a $3.3 million general obligation bond payment is due.

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Pennsylvania
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