Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Harrisburg area
 [Register]
Harrisburg area Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry Counties
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 04-10-2010, 10:49 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,541 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

I see the interest rate on taxable Harrisburg, PA municipal bonds (redevelopment bonds) is high, 7.6% for a zero coupon (doesn't pay interest until it is called or matures in 2030) bond. And the bond is highly rated (AA3/AAA) because it is insured by Assured.
So why is Harrisburg's interest rate so high? For comparison, Puerto Rico's non insured zero coupon bond maturing in 2032 rated only A2/A+ has an interest rate of only about 6.3%
I assume Harrisburg has an economic base including the state government as the capital of PA and I guess Hershey isn't going anywhere. I see Harrisburg's population number seems to have stabilized.
Do Harrisburg's people as they accumulate wealth move to the suburbs of Harrisburg and does this drain money from the city somehow? I see there is no local Harrisburg income tax which would argue against this idea.
Is there something risky about the redevelopment bonds?
Any useful fact/ insightful idea/best guess would be appreciated.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-17-2010, 07:34 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,541 times
Reputation: 10
Default I did just see one thing:

Harrisburg PA Redev Authority zero coupon bonds of 11/2033 had a technical default on 3/9/10 because of what I'm guessing was, "an unscheduled draw on a creditworthiness enhancing reserve fund."
Anyone know anything about Harrisburg's finances?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-19-2010, 10:49 AM
 
4,277 posts, read 11,787,860 times
Reputation: 3933
The former Mayor of Harrisburg spent money like a drunken sailor on various development schemes such as a Civil War museum (open but a money pit), Wild West museum (never opened but many overpriced artifacts in storage), and worst of all, a trash incinerator with a botched design and a contractor default on a retrofit. The new mayor is not inspiring confidence in most of the local business community so some of the positive redevelopment associated with the former mayor may perhaps be threatened. The city population is only about 1/10 of the metro population due to PA's municipal dynamics. For more info, here's the daily newspaper web site with an active set of commenters: Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-24-2010, 12:26 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,541 times
Reputation: 10
Default Thanks very much, ki0eh. eom

eom = end of message
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2010, 08:02 AM
 
Location: Center City Philadelphia
1,099 posts, read 4,620,219 times
Reputation: 451
I feel like a book could be written on Harrisburg's financial crisis. Do a google search on the Harrisburg incinerator or Harrisburg Financial Crisis and you will get plenty of information.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Harrisburg area
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top