Harrisburg's state-appointed receiver insists that selling the parking garages in Pennsylvania's capital city is still a better option than keeping them and using their revenue to pay down incinerator-related debt.
William Lynch, speaking at a state-of-the-city public meeting Thursday night, said he prefers the sale option because the parking garages are not as profitable as perceived.
According to Lynch, the garages might have earned more than $4 million annually several years ago, but now they bring in about $250,000 of profit per year, the Patriot-News of Harrisburg reported.
Lynch would not elaborate on the severity of the drop.
Lynch, appearing with Mayor Linda Thompson at the Kesher Israel Synagogue, said he expects Harrisburg's major creditors on the incinerator bond financings to make concessions, with bankruptcy still a leverage tool. A state ban on Harrisburg filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 9 is scheduled to expire on Nov. 30.
"And as far as criminal investigations are concerned, that's OK by me," Lynch said, as quoted in the Patriot-News. "My interest is in the future, and, frankly, there is no money in putting people in jail."
