Published: Saturday, October 30, 2010, 12:58 AM ��� Updated: Saturday, October 30, 2010, 1:00 AM
They didn?t solve any problems. They didn?t agree on new plans of attack for dealing with $42 million in debt payments due by year?s end. They didn?t even set a date for a follow-up meeting.���
But after a summer and fall that has seen more lawsuits filed than face-to-face discussions held, a group of city, Dauphin County and Harrisburg Authority leaders did get through a closed-door summit on Harrisburg?s incinerator-related debt without fights.
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Called by Authority Chairman J. Marc Kurowski, attendees included Mayor Linda Thompson; her finance director, Robert Kroboth; her spokesman, Chuck Ardo; Dauphin County commission Chairman Jeff Haste; county financial adviser Jay Wenger; and City Council members Patty Kim and Kelly Summerford.
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The meeting, held in the Authority?s Locust Street office suite, lasted about 90 minutes.
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When it ended, most participants said it was time well spent. None, however, could put their finger on tangible progress toward solutions for cash-strapped Harrisburg, a city straining under the twin burdens of the incinerator-related debt and a current-year operating deficit projected to hit $4.8 million.
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As if to emphasize the urgency of the issues, Ardo confirmed Friday that the city would not be able to pay a $1.2 million debt payment due Monday. Assured Guaranty, the insurer of the 2002 issue, said Friday that it would cover that payment.
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?It was very refreshing to talk face-to-face with the other elected officials,? Kim said Friday. ?We tend to communicate through sound bites, and that?s totally ineffective.?
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?It can?t hurt,? agreed Haste, whose county government is second guarantor to the city on about half of the incinerator debt and has been forced to cover several missed payments. ?It?s not an easy issue, so there?s not a clear-cut answer to [the debt crisis]. But anytime you can get everybody together, having a very civilized, thoughtful conversation is a good thing.?
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The meeting was private. Members of each board sent less than a quorum to the session, so that the state?s open-meeting requirements wasn?t triggered. Afterward, all participants contacted declined to discuss specifics of the session.
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But they said most of the discussion centered on a series of scenarios presented by the Authority to see how much revenue can be raised against the incinerator?s total $288 million debt through various steps. Those steps include raising disposal fees for waste generated by Dauphin County?s noncity residents, operational changes at the incinerator and the possible sale or lease of city assets.
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The parties also talked about some of the more immediate tasks ahead, such as attempts to restructure or refinance $35 million in notes coming due Dec. 15 that neither the Authority nor the city, the first guarantor of that debt, will be able to pay.
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?There?s not a conclusion or consensus on anything because each of us have to come at it at a different angle,? Haste said.
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Those at the meeting said the talks did not go into Thompson?s recent petition to the Rendell administration for a state determination of ?fiscal distress? for Harrisburg ? a move that would lead to the appointment of an independent fiscal coordinator to help city officials develop a long-term fiscal recovery plan.
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As part of that review, the coordinator would also consider whether a municipal bankruptcy filing by the city would be appropriate.
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Kurowski, noting Friday?s summit was the first of its kind since before the Authority board was temporarily disbanded by a state Supreme Court order in May, said expectations were purposely kept low for this session. But he hoped it will lay the groundwork for other talks going forward.
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?We?re still in this situation collectively,? he said. ?There are decisions to be made on a whole lot of fronts by a whole lot of different people ... but I think it?s absolutely beneficial for the stakeholders to sit down and exchange information, if for no other reason than to make sure we?re all consistent in the information we have.?
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