The End Is Near...

... I mean, like, in a good way?

*-UPDATE, POST-GAME: "Mr. Lamb said revenues from increased garage and meter rates could total nearly $900 million over 30 years," provides the P-G, along with "Council President Darlene Harris and members Patrick Dowd, Bill Peduto, Natalia Rudiak and Doug Shields said they've received the state's go-ahead..." (See also WTAE, Janelle Hall)

So this would be akin to a voucher good for approaching $30 million a year towards our pension obligations ... does anyone know what would our annual MMO's look like under this plan? Because the reason to avoid the takeover is to prevent our annual payments from skyrocketing too badly -- seems to me this would first need to be judged on that basis. (Also have to account for continued facilities maintenance and operations at the Parking Authority w/o access to that revenue.)

Original post follows:

... or that is the idea. Big show tomorrow after much
seclusion. They've been working like cats and dogs.

And wait, is the Controller a presenter or an
invitee? It's clear the Mayor is an invitee but...

MORE / UPDATE:

Ah, the P-G's Joe Smydo lets the genie out of the bag: "Rather, one official said, it would call for the city and the parking authority to pledge revenue from parking rate increases to the pension fund for about 30 years, an infusion of value that could be enough to satisfy the state."

ANALYSIS: Council floated something a lot like this a while ago, but kept holding it without much further discussion. One drawback to the idea would seem to be that you probably can neither invest nor accrue interest from pledged future revenue -- but it's better than nothing. Another drawback is at least some assumption of risk -- but life is risk, no? Considering where we are in the conversation, the only salient concern might be whether or not the state legislature plays ball and will acknowledge a municipally-legislated I.O.U. as a paid account.

The Trib's Bill Vidonic adds: "Mayoral spokeswoman Joanna Doven said Ravenstahl hadn't seen specific details on the plan."

Missed this: the Allegheny Institute provides a superlative and concise backgrounder, for its first two and a half paragraphs. Then they veer into a polemic which is in part reasoning, in part inoperative bluster, and in part a discomforting echo of the same cognitive dissonance over which Null Space has been getting queasy.