Nostalgia: September 2005: On "Backloaded Bonds"----Classic Mr. Connors
Re:Bill Connors writes: School District Debt Service Heavily Back Loaded; Reflection on the Growth bicycle; or What mix and rate of Growth is right?
--- billconnors wrote:
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Managing growth is essential. But it would not be
prudent to constrain growth too much. The school
district's debt service for 2005-06 is $1.98 million.
In 2014-15, the school district's debt service will
exceed $3 million, even if no additional debt is
issued between now and then. In 2020-21, the last
year of payment on the bonds for the new high school,
the school district's debt service will exceed $4
million. The school district heavily back-loaded the
repayment schedule on the bonds for the new high
school, which means they are counting on large
increases in the school district's property tax base
through new construction to be able to pay for the
escalating debt service costs.
This appears to be prudent financial planning on the
part of the school district, but I wonder how many
people are aware that continued growth is essential to
keeping the school district's mill rate in line.
Of course, we could get away with fewer new houses in
the school district if we had more commercial or
industrial development or a greater proportion of the
new houses were larger and more expansive, and fewer
new houses would save on operating costs for the
school district.
Bill Connors
Evansville City Administrator
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This is all well and good but if you believe that the housing market can be simply manipulated by local governance I have got a heck of a bridge to sell you.
ReplyDeleteLocal governments all over this country set standards for what sort of mix of development they allow, including housing development, and it works. It could have worked here, too, if we had elected officials with foresight and courage. If a local government does not let the builders build whatever they want, they will build and sell what the local government wants them to build and sell, or they will be replaced by other builders who know how do it. In the name of the respecting the all mighty "free market" (which does not exist where only a handful of builders and two groups of developers own all the lots), Anonymous advocates selling the taxpayers of the city short.
ReplyDeleteBill Connors
Former Evansville City Administrator