Harrisburg Receiver to Pitch Plan to Court

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The state-appointed receiver for Harrisburg, Pa., is scheduled to present his financial recovery plan to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania Thursday.

Justice Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter will hear testimony from receiver William Lynch about the 357-page "Harrisburg Strong" plan, which aims to keep the capital city out of bankruptcy.

Harrisburg under the plan would emerge from an estimated $600 million of debt, with $362.5 million of bonds due from incinerator retrofit financing overruns.

The calls for eliminating incinerator and structural debt by selling to the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority the incinerator that has been Ground Zero in the city’s debt crisis and leasing city parking operations through a public-private partnership.

Major incinerator financing creditors Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp., the incinerator bond insurer, and Dauphin County are in store for a haircut, but could recoup money long-term through the parking deal and other arrangements.

Lynch, a retired Air Force general who succeeded David Unkovic as receiver in May 2012, announced in July that creditors had agreed to concessions.

Harrisburg’s City Council filed for bankruptcy in October 2011, but federal Judge Mary France invalidated it, citing state restrictions on Harrisburg filing under Chapter 9 as well as Mayor Linda Thompson’s objections.

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Pennsylvania
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