Truth in Accounting
Our city needs an extreme overhaul of our fiscal policies, and as mayor I will push that, starting with truth in accounting. The water and sewer fund needs to be just that and for that only. Recently, news reports said that the head of utilities estimated an up to $500 million liability in current water and sewer projects. At current water/sewer revenue, without factoring inflationary elements, borrowing no money so there would be no loan interest and principal, and using only the profit from the revenue, it would take over a decade to fix current problems, which does not include future problems. The water and sewer fund has been robbed over the years, giving a false sense of accounting. Hospitality tax funds have been used for other than the legislated, again a false sense of accounting.
To put truth back into accounting, we must lock in revenues earmarked for specific areas, and not move them as in a shell game. It is always a tendency of politicians to spend on whatever needed to obtain reelection, passing liabilities off to future politicians as current politicians always expect to go on to higher office, leaving the problems, and blame, for someone else.