Letter to the News-Leader Editor from Jim Hornaday -
Springfields’ Bond Rating scare
The newest “The sky will fall in if the citizens don’t approve our 1% tax
proposal” line from our City Administration is that the City’s bond rating will
go to pot, and it will be much more costly to carry out the capital project
spending planned by the City.
People, the City Council and the Administration have a published 5-year capital
program of items that they want to build that are projected to cost $1 billion
dollars – just for construction costs. That’s ONE BILLION! Oh, yes, with that
kind of spending, the City’s interest costs for all those projects will be
drastically higher with any new and higher bond interest rate.
We have a Council and an Administration that really likes to spend on their
Capital Improvement Projects. Spending when you have the money is fun.
Spending, when you THINK you have the money, is the way to achieve certain
bankruptcy.
Are all those Capital Improvement Projects really necessary? Does Springfield
really need more park and greenway facilities and streetscapes now? Do we need
to build more parking garages that cost more than they’re worth? How many
dollars do we need to pump into “Downtown projects” to subsidize private
developers? The City has shown no inclination to cut these projects in these
tough times.
We, the taxpayers, are stuck with an Administration that has announced they
will cut twenty-eight police positions as their first-round response to any
“no” vote come February 3rd. This does say quite a bit in defining the
Administration’s priorities.
James R. Hornaday, Jr.
Springfield
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