Detroit and Lake Worth - Revenues and Liabilities

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A house in bankrupted Detroit

I mentioned Detroit in a blog of yesterday. Legal costs alone for the bankruptcy proceedings could cost Detroit "tens-of-millions to hundreds-of-millions of dollars. Anything is possible when liabilities far outweigh revenues. Municipal bankruptcy filings were not caused by the recent 'great recession',” says The Heritage Foundation. Rather, they represent the inevitable demise of big-government, liberal policies promoted by self-interested politicians and the coercive public employee unions that support them.

Detroit’s leaders engaged in a billion-dollar borrowing binge, created new taxes and failed to cut expenses when they needed to. Simultaneously, they gave workers and retirees generous bonuses. And under pressure from unions and, sometimes, arbitrators, they failed to cut health care benefits — saddling the city with staggering costs that today threaten the safety and quality of life of people who live here. Detroit Free Press

We haven't done well in paying down the 2004 Utility System Revenue bonds that were refinanced twice.  How much money did that cost the taxpayers? That debt still owed is $54,030,000.00 in principal and $11.8 million in interest that won't be paid off until 2028. There is $15,292,125.28 remaining still in the Electric side and there are no unspent bond proceeds left for water. All of the bond money for water went towards the RO Plant.

We still owe $6,809,683 on the reverse osmosis, on a loan agreement with the Environmental Protection Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund program that is not due to be paid off until 2031 plus another $1.8 million in interest. Why did we borrow money for that anyway? It was already covered in the Utility bond of 2004. We have more debt than this but no one is telling you that, at least not the guy who says he believes in smaller government. 

We still owe $2,822,400 on the ECR bonds plus interest.

If you go to page 87 in the C.A.F.R you will see the unfunded liabilities which are even more millions because this is through 2012.

Thursday night, Scott Maxwell said he believed in smaller government. But with his LW 2020 plan we get bigger government. “Smaller” government means that taxes are less and government spends less.  How do we get smaller government here in Lake Worth when you have little revenue and the only solution is to double the city's outstanding debt and tax the people?