The proposed 2017-2018 city budget includes an item for $59,808,247 for principal payments on debt.
That amount combined with the $60,986,279 the city is budgeting for interest expense brings this year’s cost of debt to $120,794,526.
They are budgeting $272,808,158 in revenue from property taxes.
That means that 44% of our property tax money is not going to be used to finance current operations, but instead will be used to pay for past spending.
We deserve better
Brutus
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City government | 
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Posted by Brutus
The proposed 2017-2018 city budget includes $60,986,279 for interest expense.
Remember that the majority of the quality of life bonds have yet to be sold.
We deserve better
Brutus
7 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
This slide from a Monday, May 15, 2017 presentation to city council tells us a lot about what some in the city think is important:
Note that street resurfacing is considered “critical”, right after new vehicles and equipment and repairs to city buildings.
We deserve better
Brutus
8 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
The Times has told us that our new mayor believes that certificates of obligation should only be issued to handle emergencies.
What part of the spending from the proposed $62 million in certificates of obligation would be used for an emergency item?
Would it be:
$16.8 million to increase funding for quality of life projects
$24.8 million to buy police cars, fire engines, repair a parking garage, and remodel some restrooms
$2.6 million to improve and repair facilities (including $700,000 for bathrooms at San Jacinto)
$18.1 million to have someone assess our streets, put traffic signals at new intersections, and add lights to our “entryways”
Has the mayor changed his mind? We will soon see how he handles the situation.
Stay tuned
We deserve better
Brutus
6 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
A quality of life bond project that was implemented horribly has not finished sucking up our money.
Now the city is considering issuing $700,000 of certificates of obligation to build bathrooms for San Jacinto park.
We all know that current city management did not create the San Jacinto mess. We have the prior group to thank for that.
We deserve better
Brutus
5 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
elpasospeak 
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