…and good on the federal courts for forcing Harrisburg to make tough calls:
The Susquehanna River city of 50,000 is saddled with about $300 million in debt tied to its nearly 40-year-old trash incinerator. Beset by environmental problems and fines for years, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shut it down in 2003 with about $100 million in debt already piled on it, some of which had gone to finance other city projects.
Guess we’ll be a bit more careful about where to place the public trust next time, won’t we?
Lessons learned? Governance is hard work… but you pay your bills. All the more reason for taxpayers to keep a keen eye when the public trust is used for back risky initiatives — public or corporate.