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Here is an analogy why we must look at liabilities when considefring how future money will be raised and spent in the city and school budget.

Let's say you have 5 credit cards. Four of the cards have a small balance on them but the last card has a huge balance many times that of the other cards. If you devise a plan to put more dollars toward paying down the last card it could cause you to short change the necessary payments to the other cards. Also how will diverting all these dollars effect other ongoing expenses in the home budget. For example expenses for kids, home repairs, cars, unforeseen emergencies. Do you just cut them or ignore the water pouring through the roof?

My point is you need to understand the total liabilities in the city and how much it will cost to fund all these plans in the short term and longer term 5, 10, 15 years from now. You also need to forecast future budgetary expenses for the things we need to operate the city and schools today and at least five years from now.

During the budget process I asked Mayor Avedisian and the school superintendent where is the five budget plan. They isn't any. We budget one year into the future and don't have a clue as to what effect decisions today will have tomorrow.

For example where is the plan to fund the capital expenses associated with purchasing the resource police, fire, municipal and school department will need so employees can do their jobs? The last thing we need is for police and firefighters to get hurt because they are using obsolete equipment or for our kids and school teachers to be at risk because we can't proper repair school buildings. Where are the long term funding plans to meet these obligations? Where is the long term plan to address the crumbling roads and building in the city? There is none.

To Steve D point about hiring new fire fighters using federal money to pay for them for the first three years. With all the money that will be needed three years from now for annual retirement benefits (on the books as liabilities), raises for current city and school employees, capital expenses, where is the money going to come from to pay the new firefighter salaries after the federal money dries up?

The numbers don't add up if you think a maximum tax increase will cover all these expenses each year.

From: Mayor touts city's financial position

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