The New City Council: Our Debt

Brian Balfour reports in the News and Record regarding our local unfunded debt:

At the local level, Greensboro taxpayers are facing $2.5 billion in debt and unfunded obligations. The total figure includes: $2.2 billion in debt (Greensboro city government, $865 million; Guilford County government, $1.3 billion);

$343 million in unfunded retiree health benefit obligations (city of Greensboro, $59 million; Guilford County, $284 million).

The new City Council will need to refrain from proposing bond issues to satisfy every whim and desire, and every demand posed by an organized interest group.  It will need to rethink its policy regarding annexations, which seem to generate more bond-related spending.  It will also need to refrain from feeling compelled to implement every bond issue that has been approved by voters.  And it will need to resist the continuous manipulations on the part of groups like Action Greensboro to increase bond spending. 

Finally, it will need to get a much better handle on employee and retiree health insurance costs.  It needs to explore more creative options for health insurance, including consumer-driven, free-market products, to reduce costs to taxpayers.

Comments

[mick]

Build my pool... then shut the door:)

I do a gree we may want to pay off or down on several before starting new ones.