We dodged a bullet
Portlanders should be happy that we killed the crazy Convention Center hotel project -- at least for a while. Back in our nation's capital, such insanity is still very much ongoing.
| Posted at 6:34 AM | Permalink |
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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on February 14, 2010 6:34 AM.
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Comments (3)
With a few more years of financial prolifgacy the District of Columbia can dust off the financial control board model to stave off insolvency.
Across the river (where I live) the Commonwealth of Virginia is a right leaning Dillon Rule state that keeps local authorities in check.
It looks like the the only outside influence that can check Portland's city hall is the bond market. That's why the short-term financing and auction rate security (similar to balloon mortgages that were prevalent in subprime real estate) gimmicks that Jack highlights are ticking time bonds. When the bond market turns against you it turns against you fast. There may be a time when Portland's financial resources will need to be diverted from supporting essential municipal infrastructure to re-financing these stopgaps.
Posted by Grady Foster | February 14, 2010 8:50 AM
I was reading along and, as I was coming to the last bit, I thought you were going to conclude that "there may be a time when Portland's financial resources will need to be diverted from boondoggles to supporting essential municipal infrastructure." Seems to read OK either way, actually.
Posted by George Anonymuncule Seldes | February 14, 2010 9:07 AM
You just think it is dead. It is just like sales tax and will come back every 5 years or so.
Posted by pdxmick | February 14, 2010 1:30 PM