Woo Hoo - Council Slush Fund Up To $1,919,824

The excess funds for FY-17 have been reviewed by the General Government and Finance Board and recommendations for spending are being forwarded to the City Council for approval to spend.

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The good news is that it looks like Lone Star Rail is finally dead and the City is not going to continue funding it.

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The recommendation to commit $650,000 to the Economic Uncertainty Reserve seems to be a place to stash some extra funds that can be spent later without public scrutiny. Keep in mind it is not an "unfunded liability", it is just a reserve to hedge against future economic uncertainty. The Council established the fund last year and funded it with $500,000. There are multiple reserve funds embedded within the city finances and one wonders if another is needed.

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It is curious that the other options include EMS Start Up Costs and Street Maintenance. EMS was supported to be fully self supporting and would pay back the start up costs. Street maintenance is an on-going expense and should be included in the regular street maintenance budget, absent some unforeseen catastrophic event. It also worth noting that the radios, ambulance replacement (TRV) and police vehicle replacements are identified for acquisition in FY-18. The chart below indicates bonds are going to be issued in FY-17 for these items. What is going on?

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The question remains, why not fund the first four items on the above bond chart for $1,530,000 from the available cash? You would have sufficient funds remaining to meet the $250,000 needed for current obligations with some pocket change left over. This avoids saddling the City with more debt and saves the costs to issue the bonds.

Contact your city council representative with your own ideas. The spending of this money will be discussed tomorrow, April 11, at the council workshop at 3pm.