$ 3 BIL. REFINANCE OK’D IN SPITE OF METER REFERENCES
The City Council overwhelmingly agreed Wednesday to refinance $ 3 billion in debt in a way that could dramatically reduce borrowing costs, in a complex arrangement some aldermen likened to the widely despised parking meter deal.
After a lengthy debate, the vote was 43- 5.
It was rookie Ald. Carlos RamirezRosa ( 35th) who raised the meter deal — the legislative equivalent of the bogeyman.
“What we are seeking to do today is to take a public asset — sales tax receipts — and turn that over for 40 years to Wall Street, to the banks,” Ramirez- Rosa said.
“We are setting ourselves up for a long- term loss for a short- term gain. When we privatized the parking meters, yes, we got a lot of money. And if we move forward with this, we’ll get a $ 3 billion credit line. But we will lose $ 660 million per year in sales tax receipts.”
Ald. David Moore ( 17th) asked aloud, “What’s the rush?” He questioned why an independent analysis of the borrowing scheme was not completed before a City Council vote.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel “totally rejected” the parking meter comparison, even as he acknowledged that the 75- year, $ 1.15 billion deal that privatized Chicago meters cast a “shadow” that forced him to approach the deal in a different way with more analysis and lead time.
“One is taking something the city owns and selling it. We don’t own that debt. We have to make payments on it. It’s there already. And we’re refinancing it at a much lower interest rate,” the mayor said.