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MuniNet Medley: 12/2/11 - Harrisburg, Chandler, Fringe Suburbs, California CAFRs

Coverage of Harrisburg’s (attempted but rejected) bankruptcy filing is going anywhere but away ... A recent Bloomberg article reports that a proposed receiver for Harrisburg described the structure of the incinerator bonds as “disturbing.” David Unkovic, chief lawyer for the state economic development council, is currently awaiting approval of his appointment as receiver for Harrisburg. Harrisburg’s bankruptcy filing was dismissed on November 23, as reported by The Bond Buyer.

... Chandler, Arizona is cautiously optimistic, as October marked the 20^th consecutive month of revenue hikes for the city.  Sales tax revenues for the first four months of the current fiscal year broke records, according to an article in the Arizona Republic.  The city is mindful of the fact that the construction of a $5 billion Fab 42 semi-conductor factory is boosting the city’s economy, and that what happens once the construction is complete in 2013 remains to be seen ... 

... Christopher Leinberger, a Visiting Fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, wrote a provocative piece, entitled the “Death of the Fringe Suburb,” which also appeared in a New York Times editorial piece last weekend.  Leinberger asserts that outer-ring suburbs will be unable to bounce back from the current economic downturn.  Rather, he says, housing demand has shifted to favor “high-density, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods of the center city and inner suburbs ...”

.... Not everyone agrees.  In a counterpoint piece in Forbes entitled, “Is Suburbia Doomed?  Not So Fast,” Joel Kotkin, urban affairs and demographics author, says that Americans love their suburbs, and aren’t rushing to give up their single-family homes or automobile commutes.  He supports his points with 2010 Census data showing growth in outer-ring suburbs and exurbs, and decline in inner-ring suburbs and urban cores ...

... Looking for transparency?  So is the State of California State Treasurer’s Office, which has released a study on the timeliness of state and local government issuers in submitting their CAFRs to EMMA during 2010, for bonds issued between 2005 and 2009 pursuant to changes in SEC Rule 15c2-12.  The report found that 72 percent of issuers filed on time.