From the article:
Pittsburgh's city council nixed a deal this week to lease its parking assets to a consortium led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Instead, the council is proposing that the city's parking authority issue a 30-year bond and pay it off with parking-rate increases. Part of the proceeds would go to the pension plan.Taxpayers in Pittsburgh should be absolutely outraged at the possibility of this unsustainable plan. This would mean the City of Pittsburgh would be borrowing money to pay its pension obligations. In the short term this might seem like a solution, but in the long term it will bankrupt Pittsburgh, if Pittsburgh is not bankrupt already. Floating 30-year bonds to fund liabilities without addressing the true problem of actual pension obligations is fiscal insanity. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl thankfully seems to have his head screwed on straight on this issue as he has announced that he does not support this plan.
Thanks for reading.
James Fraasch
