Dauphin County Bond Rating Downgraded to 'Negative'
Haste, DiFrancesco botch county finances
by News Article
By Lowman S. Henry
The Standard & Poor's bond rating service has issued a report card on the fiscal stewardship of Dauphin County Commissioners Jeff Haste and Nick DiFrancesco - and they are failing.
Dauphin County's credit rating was recently downgraded by the agency from "stable" to "negative," creating a climate that could lead to higher borrowing costs for the county and hence its taxpayers.
Triggering the downgrade is the county's exposure as a guarantor on bonds for the ill-fated Harrisburg incinerator. County commissioners dropped the ball in overseeing a retrofit of the incinerator, the financing of which was guaranteed by the county. The retrofit failed, leading to more expensive borrowing and repairs. Now, even though the incinerator is operating, it still is hemorrhaging money to the tune of $17 million per year. County taxpayers could be on the hook to pay back millions in incinerator debt.
The downgrade in credit worthiness pops the balloon floated for years by the current board of commissioners that they are operating Dauphin County in a fiscally responsible manner. Although they have been frequently critical of the past board of commissioners (myself and John Payne in particular), it is important to note that the county's credit rating was upgraded on our watch -not once, but twice.
Making matters worse is Commission Chairman Jeff Haste has twice voted for massive tax hikes "" totaling nearly 50% - with Nick DiFrancesco joining in on the most recent raid on taxpayer wallets. Interestingly, while claiming the county faced a massive deficit, the tax hikes triggered a large surplus "" laying bare the lie that a deficit ever existed. (Haste and DiFrancisco actually took office with a $6 million surplus.)
The hefty surplus created by the tax hikes only means that Haste and DiFrancesco have OVERTAXED the citizens of Dauphin County for their own political purposes. Even worse, despite the overtaxing, their mismanagement of county affairs has still resulted in a downgrading of the county's bond rating.
Commissioner Haste is right about one thing. The downgrade is a "red flag."
It is a red flag that indicates it is time for new leadership in Dauphin County!