Press release from Hbg council block of four 11.11.11 COUNCIL MAJORITY CALLS ON MAYOR TO STOP STONEWALLING BUDGET REQUEST, AGM TO COME TO THE TABLErnrnMayor Continues to Hide Next Year's Budget Proposal from Council: AGM Continues to Refuse to NegotiaternrnHARRISBURG: With a Monday afternoon deadline to avoid a state takeover of the City of Harrisburg looming, Mayor Thompson continues to stonewall City Council's request to review her proposed budget for next year and Assured Guarantee Mutual refuses to participate in good faith negotiations to reach an equitable settlement. Needless to say, without hard numbers on which to base its deliberations and the continued absence of the primary creditor no consent agreement can be reached. Despite the Mayor's unwillingness to share critical financial information and the intransigence of AGM, City Council is ready to get back to work if all the stakeholders agree to participate and the Mayor stops hiding the depth of the city's fiscal challenge from Council.rnrnUnder current plans the giant Wall Street firm anticipates payment in full despite its questionable role in the Resource Recovery retrofit debacle. AGM is unwilling to admit any fault. Consequently, a majority of Council sought protection for the City from the Federal Bankruptcy Court in an effort to have an impartial judge review the facts and determine the degree of liability. We would hope the judgment will be made by the preponderance of evidence.rnrn#####rnrn _________________________________________________________________________________Press release from Hbg Council membersrn rnCITY COUNCIL MAJORITY DISAPPOINTED WITH AGM RESPONSErn rnBond Insurer Assured Guarantee Turns Down City Council Majority's Appeal for Fair Settlement to Incinerator Debtrn rnHARRISBURG: The risks involved in the incinerator retrofit should have been obvious to all the stakeholders from the very beginning. After all, it involved unproven technology that was to be installed by a contractor ill equipped to do the job. There were serious concerns that the project was doomed to failure expressed at the time. Now, a collective amnesia about who knew what about the project and when they knew it has overtaken the debate. The parties that enabled the project and could be held partially financially responsible have joined forces to point their collective finger at the city as the sole transgressor.rn rnSo, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Assured Guarantee has rejected the City Council's appeal for a realistic settlement and joined Dauphin County and the Commonwealth in trying to place the entire blame for the incinerator fiasco on the City of Harrisburg. rnHowever, the truth is that each had a significant role in green lighting the project and each should be held responsible for their share of the blame. After all, the County co-signed the bond obligation despite the many obvious risks. The Commonwealth verified the debt as self liquidating despite the fuzzy math presented to it. And Assured Guarantee insured the bonds despite the numerous red flags its due diligence should have uncovered.rn rnThe retrofit was a shared debacle and cleaning up the aftermath should be a shared responsibility. Dauphin County and Assured Guarantee have a large financial stake in deflecting blame on the city. Mayor Thompson seems to be committed to accepting blame and letting the others off the hook with minimal accountability.rnJust a few days ago, Cate Long, a guest contributor to Reuters.com who writes about the retail fixed income markets including municipal bonds, wrote the following:rnrn"So less than a week ago the Mayor of Harrisburg was not sure about how much debt her city would have left after selling its best assets. The size of the debt load is the most important question in the fight for Harrisburg?s survival, but unfortunately the city?s financial situation is anything but straightforward.... I?d really encourage the mayor and city council to claw their way into federal bankruptcy court where they will have an opportunity to settle all creditor claims equitably. Bond insurers and other creditors that are owed millions know the numbers cold and will do anything to gain the largest settlement from this deal. They don?t view fairness.... as the endpoint in this game." _____________________________________________Our video ofrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnMayor Linda D. Thompson members of city council, Harrisburg Authority and Harrisburg Parking Authority board members, Dauphin County and DCED officials are meeting at the Harrisburg Hilton discussing restructuring of the $300+ million in debt related to the incinerator retrofit project. Tags: Harrisburg Mayor Thompson Assured Guaranty Dauphin County DCED Photo/Natalie Cake