Detroit’s Bankruptcy Will Cost Philly $500,000 A Year

At NewsWorks, Dave Davies reports that Detroit’s bankruptcy will raise borrowing costs for Philadelphia:

The market jitters were aggravated by the fact that, two days before the Detroit filing, Moody’s sharply downgraded the city of Chicago’s credit because its municipal pension fund is taking on water.  Sound familiar?

“We will be paying more to borrow,” Philadelphia City Treasurer Nancy Winkler told me in a phone interview Tuesday.

She estimates the Chicago and Detroit events will add a about a quarter percent to the interest rate the city will pay for its $197 million bond offering, adding around $500,000 a year to the annual debt service the city will pay for those bonds.

But, you know, just remember this: At least we’re not going bankrupt. Yet.