ABC27 WHTM Harrisburg leaders running out of time to agree on debt solution plan

Harrisburg leaders running out of time to agree on debt solution plan

Harrisburg is running out of money and city leaders are running out of time to come up with a fix. Mayor Linda Thompson and City Council still can't agree on a plan to solve the debt crisis.

At least $3 million in state funding is at risk if Thompson doesn't deliver a plan that's acceptable to the state. She needs City Council to sign off first, but members already shot down the state's Act 47 plan.

Thompson's alternative, she said, will be quite similar. "The hour is near and we have to get a plan together," Thompson said. "As I've said, I didn't agree with 100-percent of the plan. I do believe there's room for more shared pain."

Thompson has a week to reveal her financial fix. 

Council President Gloria Martin-Roberts meanwhile is calling for a re-vote for city council for next Monday after the Act 47 recovery plan was voted down 4-3 last week. She says she decided to call for another vote since it appears that the sticking point for many of the 'no' votes was the failure of the plan to include a commuter tax. "All of the persons that I have spoken with at the county and state level indicate that we really aren't going to be approved for a commuter tax," Martin-Roberts says. "It will be very difficult for us to get a commuter tax."

Martin-Roberts would only have to get one of the four no-votes to change their minds to reverse the decision. "I haven't spoken to them," she said. "I've been out of the state the last couple of days. I understand they had a press conference today, much to my chagrin."

Those members did host a news conference at city hall Monday afternoon. And it does not sound like they will be changing their votes.

"The Act 47 team failed us by not putting together a plan that treats the people of Harrisburg with dignity and respect," councilman Brad Koplinski said.

A majority of Council members are standing behind a resolution they passed last year. "Resolution 25" states that selling or leasing assets must be a last resort, and no lease deal may be longer than 30 years.

Selling or leasing the trash incinerator and the city's parking garages were crucial parts of the Act 47 plan to get the city out from under $310 million in debt.

"We can't afford to move forward without having every option on the table," councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson said. "We must look at a sales tax. We must look at a commuter tax."

Council members are planning to meet with Thompson on Tuesday to talk about tapping other revenue sources before off-loading assets.

"The administration is constantly checking with all the stake holders to see what they're willing to give up," Thompson said.

It doesn't appear that debt forgiveness will be part of this. Harrisburg's creditors haven't been willing to take a haircut. Thanks to state lawmakers, Harrisburg can't use the threat of bankruptcy to force one. The capital city, by law, isn't allowed to file for a year.

Meanwhile, Thompson and council members have a lot to discuss, and not a lot of time.

"I want to see a plan, but I don't want to see something that's just thrown together that's not going to benefit the residents of this community," councilwoman Eugenia Smith said.