I often chuckle when people in government start comparing your personal finances to government finances. They are different. Why? Because it really doesn’t matter what you spend personally because it is your money. When government spends money, it is OUR money collectively and we have the RIGHT to know.
While the School District has finally admitted what principal and interest will cost if the loan goes to full maturity, they still are playing games with that figure;
“There’s a $110 million of interest on that over time, unless we pay it off early like we did in 1997,” Morrison said. “But it’s kind of the way you think about it. We’re only going to get $190 million in bond proceeds that we have to spend on the project.”
It is a proposed 25 year loan, so that would be $110 million over the term of the loan, that is what needs to be told to taxpayers. We have NO idea if they will pay it off early because they have NOT presented a plan to pay it off early and have NO idea how they would. Comparing it to the 1997 bond is unfair, that loan was $30 million, this bond is over 6x more. It needs to be stated to taxpayers, ‘If the loan goes to full maturity it COULD cost the taxpayers $110 million in interest and principal.’ That is the only FACT here, because they have no idea if it will be paid off early. If they have a plan or scenario, please show us, otherwise stick to the facts.
Grimmond called the $300 million number a “scare-tactic” by naysayers, and compared the process to how home buyers talk about buying a new home with their friends and family.
It is NOT a scare-tactic, it is a FACT.
“Nobody goes out there and says, ‘I bought a $200,000 house, but in interest it’s going to cost me $400,000 over 40 years,'” Grimmond said. “…They don’t look at that final number. Should they? Maybe.
“But if you ask the naysayers, ‘How much are you paying on your house with principal and interest included in it?’ I know they don’t know that number. It would be like crickets going off, but they want to hold the school district to that same standard.”
Like I said above, it is up to me if I want to know what that number is, it’s my personal expenditure, but this is public money and the taxpayers have the right to know what that payoff amount would be if it went to maturity. It’s similar to how Federal Law was changed a few years ago that requires credit card companies to show on your statement what it will cost you if you make the minimum payment. Taxpayers have a right to know what that will be if the school district makes the minimum payment on the bonds, that is $110 million. And while that is NOT a scare-tactic, it certainly is a scary number, and that is why they are trying really hard to hoodwink us into thinking they would pay it off early. The only way they will be able to pay it off early is if they increase our taxes, which brings us to their other snow job;
“As the value of a home goes up, your taxes go up proportionately,” Morrison said. “Let’s say your home went up 10 percent over the next 10 years. Then yes, that $2 will be $2.20, but you’re enjoying the value of your home that just went up $20,000, too. But it’s the same thing. It’s that time value of money. That $2 won’t go the same distance in 10 years.”
Than why do you continue to tell people if they own a $185K house they will be paying $2 a month through the life of the bonds? Your home value WILL go up and LEVEES will go up, that means the $2 a month WILL go up. In other words my $185K house won’t be a $185K next year, so I will be paying more that $2 a month, and that of course will continue to go up.
While I appreciate the school district addressing these issues, it doesn’t change the fact that they are facts, and facts seem to be getting in the way of their propaganda.