During an interview with the SouthtownStar on Mar. 26th, (also attended by this author) the mayor denied that the village borrows to balance the budget, but the facts tell a different story.
The FY2009 budget includes two funds based on new G.O. Bonds [ 1 ]. The Capital Improvement Fund includes a new $7.7 Million bond and the 2007 Bond Project Fund lists a new $6.35 million Bond. That is $14,050,000 of borrowed money, that has to be paid back with interest. If you removed those two Bonds (loans) from the budget, then it is no longer balanced.
It is not just the FY2009 budget. Since 2000, the village has borrowed a total of $118,440,000 with a total still outstanding of $94,200,000 thru 2008, with millions of dollars paid in interest . These totals do not even include the previously mentioned $14 million for FY2009. If the mayor and board are not borrowing to balance the budget, then why has the outstanding debt risen from $19 million in 1999 to over $94 million thru 2008?
Do the math. The answer is, YES, the Mayor and Board are borrowing to show a balanced budget.
Gerald F. Maher, Candidate for Mayor of Orland Park, IL
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