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Independence, MO —
As citizens we depend on the mayor, City Council, city staff and citizen oversight committees to look out for our interests. Whether elected or hired, these are the people who we entrust to act wisely on our behalf.
However, as history shows, no leader or group of leaders is infallible, and society is benefited through the use of auditors, or just plain nosey people looking over their shoulders.
With that proviso, let’s consider the information in the “Line Item Supplement to the City of Independence 2012-13 Operating Budget” for the coming budget year:
• Streets and bridges, $415,000 budgeted to be paid for principal, $120,769 in interest and fees.
• Streets and parks, $2.08 million in paid principal, $83,063 in interest and fees.
• Police tax fund, $440,000 in paid principal, $74,113 in interest and fees.
• Fire tax fund, $475,000 in paid principal, $79,713 in interest and fees.
• Power & Light, $3.94 million in paid principal, $5.96 million in interest and fees.
• Water fund, $3.18 million in paid principal, $2.02 million in interest and fees.
The totals here are $10.53 million in paid principal and $8.34 million in interest and fees.
This shows that our city spends almost as much in interest and fees as it does to pay down principle on our accumulated lease/debt. Unfortunately, the vast majority of interest payments and fees do not stay in our local community or even in Missouri!
Now let’s turn to other “debt service requirements” to which our city is obligated:
• Neighborhood improvements, $70,000 in paid principal, $33,323 in interest and fees.
• Independence Events Center, $325,000 in paid principal, $5.17 million in interest and fees.
• Drumm Farm tax increment financing, $280,000 in paid principal, $162, 292 in interest and fees.
• Eastland Center, $2.15 million in paid principal, $1.37 million in interest and fees.
• Falls at Crackerneck Creek, $2.66 million in paid principal, $4.65 million in interest and fees.
• Hartman Heritage, $1.1 million in paid principal, $556,196 in interest and fees.
• Centerpoint Medical Center, $1.43 million in paid principal, $1.81 million in interest and fees.
• Santa Fe, $475,000 in paid principal, $478,210 in interest and fees.
Those totals are $8.5 million in paid principal and $14.23 million in interest and fees.
These figures show that our city, in servicing its indebtedness, pays out almost double in interest and fees than on the principal!
This does not include the recent $37 million sanitary sewer loan and its low rate of interest that our city bragged about at the Aug. 20 council meeting, or the dire announcement that it will take an additional $50 million to have our sewer system comply with federal regulations.
It appears that we should have serious concerns about whether our leaders, both elected and hired, have been good municipal stewards.
The city administration totally ignored our past city auditor so we cannot assign blame to that department. Hopefully the new analyst and the city’s Audit and Finance Committee will be very sensitive to what seems to be a fiscally unhealthy ratio of principal to interest/fee payments.
As citizens we depend on the mayor, City Council, city staff and citizen oversight committees to look out for our interests. Whether elected or hired, these are the people who we entrust to act wisely on our behalf.
However, as history shows, no leader or group of leaders is infallible, and society is benefited through the use of auditors, or just plain nosey people looking over their shoulders.
With that proviso, let’s consider the information in the “Line Item Supplement to the City of Independence 2012-13 Operating Budget” for the coming budget year:
• Streets and bridges, $415,000 budgeted to be paid for principal, $120,769 in interest and fees.
• Streets and parks, $2.08 million in paid principal, $83,063 in interest and fees.
• Police tax fund, $440,000 in paid principal, $74,113 in interest and fees.
• Fire tax fund, $475,000 in paid principal, $79,713 in interest and fees.
• Power & Light, $3.94 million in paid principal, $5.96 million in interest and fees.
• Water fund, $3.18 million in paid principal, $2.02 million in interest and fees.
The totals here are $10.53 million in paid principal and $8.34 million in interest and fees.
This shows that our city spends almost as much in interest and fees as it does to pay down principle on our accumulated lease/debt. Unfortunately, the vast majority of interest payments and fees do not stay in our local community or even in Missouri!
Now let’s turn to other “debt service requirements” to which our city is obligated:
• Neighborhood improvements, $70,000 in paid principal, $33,323 in interest and fees.
• Independence Events Center, $325,000 in paid principal, $5.17 million in interest and fees.
• Drumm Farm tax increment financing, $280,000 in paid principal, $162, 292 in interest and fees.
• Eastland Center, $2.15 million in paid principal, $1.37 million in interest and fees.
• Falls at Crackerneck Creek, $2.66 million in paid principal, $4.65 million in interest and fees.
• Hartman Heritage, $1.1 million in paid principal, $556,196 in interest and fees.
• Centerpoint Medical Center, $1.43 million in paid principal, $1.81 million in interest and fees.
• Santa Fe, $475,000 in paid principal, $478,210 in interest and fees.
Those totals are $8.5 million in paid principal and $14.23 million in interest and fees.
These figures show that our city, in servicing its indebtedness, pays out almost double in interest and fees than on the principal!
This does not include the recent $37 million sanitary sewer loan and its low rate of interest that our city bragged about at the Aug. 20 council meeting, or the dire announcement that it will take an additional $50 million to have our sewer system comply with federal regulations.
It appears that we should have serious concerns about whether our leaders, both elected and hired, have been good municipal stewards.
The city administration totally ignored our past city auditor so we cannot assign blame to that department. Hopefully the new analyst and the city’s Audit and Finance Committee will be very sensitive to what seems to be a fiscally unhealthy ratio of principal to interest/fee payments.
