ABC27 WHTM Lawmaker wants appointed executive to manage Harrisburg's recovery

Lawmaker wants appointed executive to manage Harrisburg's recovery

A state takeover of Harrisburg by mid-October? That could happen.

The Pa. House is back in session next week and will likely vote on a plan to force a financial fix on a city whose leaders have been unable to pass a plan of their own.

A majority of city council voted down help from the state three times. Members haven't put forth a plan of their own to get Harrisburg out of its money mess. The latest state take-over proposal actually buys council a little more time to do that. Otherwise, it gives Governor Tom Corbett a lot of say in this moving forward.

Lawmakers from the West and East Shore are working together to force a financial recovery plan on Harrisburg.

"It has to move quickly," said Rep. Glen Grell, (R) Cumberland County. "We're at a point where it's unclear whether public health and public safety for residents of Harrisburg will be protected unless someone steps in and takes responsibility for those things."

The House is back in session Monday. Amendments to Senator Jeff Piccola's state takeover bill could be up for a vote Tuesday. Any changes would then need to go back to the Pa. Senate for approval. The Senate reconvenes Oct. 17.

Piccola, (R) Dauphin County, calls for a team to put the Act 47 plan into motion. They'd sell assets and raise taxes to rid the city of its $310 million debt tied to the incinerator, while plugging Harrisburg's year to year budget shortfalls. Grell wants one person to lead all of that.

"I'm not sure that we have time to assemble a three-person board and operate that way," Grell said. "I think we need a single point of contact, a single authority and that's why that's the approach we're going to offer some day next week."

Grell has been working closely with Piccola and Corbett's office on his amendment.

Here are the details:

The governor declares a fiscal emergency in the City of Harrisburg. The governor then asks the court for permission to appoint someone to quarterback the city's financial recovery; an executive that Corbett chooses. The entire process could take about a month and offer city council enough time to craft its own recovery plan for the state to consider.

"It also gives the city one last chance to determine their own fate," Grell said. "So if they can come to an agreement during that period where a petition for a receiver is pending, then the receiver goes away."

Grell points out that a state takeover involves Harrisburg's finances only. He said city leaders would still run the day to day government operations.