Lang/AP
12/7/19
State senator Joe Bolkcom is among the latest critics of the speed with which the University of Iowa plans to enter a public/private partnership with two yet-to-be-named companies.
The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on Tuesday on a 50-year plan to lease the UI’s utilities system to a for-profit operator. The university hasn’t released the names of the two companies that formed the winning bid or the size of the lump sum payment they’ll make under the deal. Regents spokesman Josh Lehman said those details will be released at Tuesday’s meeting, which has been called to consider approving the transaction.
Bolkcom told The Press-Citizen the two sides are moving at “breakneck speed” to get a deal done, and he criticized the Regents and school officials for keeping the public in the dark about the details.
Bolkcom also considers the proposal to be a risk to taxpayers, as any unexpected negative market fluctuations could keep the UI from paying the companies back, which he says would leave Iowans on the hook for any bailout. Earlier this week UI President Bruce Harreld told the Regents that the UI would ultimately be responsible for paying back any money owed.
The transaction could be lucrative for the investors. Over 50 years, the university projects that payments to the private operator could exceed $6.8 billion.