The Chamber went on a mission to find out;
. . . , city debt was about $277 million in 2010, jumped to $399 million in 2012 (based on a voter approved events center*) and will stand at about $339 million as of the end of 2017. From there it is projected to decline to about $275 million by 2022 and that includes bonding for projects such as the administration building, downtown parking ramp and wastewater plant improvements.
I find the $339 million dollar figure a little interesting, but believable. I know some bonds have come to their end over the past 5 years, so it is possible.
*The EC vote was an ‘advisory vote’ and didn’t give the citizens any power to authorize the bonds for the facility, the city council authorized them after the ‘non-legal suggestion’ from the public.
It would be nice to have a private audited accounting. City Finance always states there’s balance but where’s the hard numbers? I have a feeling city debt will be a big surprise at the end of Huether’s term. Revenue is down but there’s continued 8 figures spending projects. Suspicious, don’t you think?