Why does LNP question ‘P3’ but laud CRIZ Plan? Guess!

Lancaster Sunday News’ editorial “Bridge plan too good to be true?” reports and opines:

“As a Sunday News story last week reported, the Rapid Bridge Replacement program aims to take advantage of a 2012 law authorizing so-called P3 — for public-private partnership — initiatives. Instead of the government financing transportation projects and hiring contractors to do the work, the government grants a concession to a private firm that designs, builds and sometimes operates the project. In return, the private partner gets a quid pro quo from the government, whether that involves collecting tolls from motorists or payments from the state.”

“Pennsylvania’s Rapid Bridge Replacement initiative doesn’t envision tolls on the rebuilt spans, but it offers ‘availability payments’ to private contractors. The U.S. Transportation Department defines that arrangement as annual payments to the private partner, based on how well the project performs. (Think pothole repairs, for instance.)

That means the state would have to cough up cash every year to its private partner.”

Let’s see now, P3 provides the public a future benefit at future public costs. On the other hand, the City Revitalization and Improvement Zones a/k/a as CRIZ, offers private parties current benefits at future public costs.

Someone from out of the area might question why we are borrowing from the tax stream of future generations to benefit special interest.

But locals know that, among other ‘feeding troughs’ for establishment interests, CRIZ will provide $5 million dollars for maintenance and renovation of the insolvent Lancaster County Convention Center. The Convention Center is the primary source of business for the annexed Marriott Hotel, co-owned by the Lancaster Newspapers Inc.

Oops. We let the cat out of the bag!