Scranton recently completed the sale of its sanitary sewer system to a water company, hoping to put the proceeds toward its lingering financial problems, including its severely distressed pensions.  That is akin to the City of Pittsburgh’s 1995 sale of its water system to an independent authority and its planned 2010 sale/lease of its parking assets to a private operator to fund its pension plans.

Scranton’s policymakers are surprised that they fetched  less than anticipated from the system’s sale.  Members of Council are alternating between debt and pensions as a place to put the proceeds.  In 2010 the Pittsburgh plan would have retired the Parking Authority’s debt (and presumably shuttered the operation) and then placed the remaining proceeds into the pension fund, which was threatened with a state takeover.  Given Scranton’s seeming flexibility on where to put the money it looks as though a debate is shaping up.