Portland staring at major hit to its balance sheet
The City of Portland is about to be forced to put its unfunded pension liabilities -- currently in the $3 billion range -- onto its balance sheet. The Government Accounting Standards Board is in the final stages of making that a requirement beginning in 2013.
In theory, it shouldn't make much difference, because the city's financial statements already discuss those nasty liabilities, back in the notes following the main numbers. But now the figures will have to be included as liabilities in the front part, putting the city's net worth way lower. And apparently the bond markets aren't going to like that:
“It really doesn’t affect anything. It doesn’t change the way people do business, but it will if all of a sudden you show a deficit and you can’t borrow money at a good rate because you are no longer a AAA rating,” said Bob Lemon, a liaison between the Portland Fire Bureau and the Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund....
“It’s bad, it’s bad because all of a sudden the city has to account for 2.5 billion, and they have to put it on their balance sheet. They don’t have that money. It just affects their bond rating,” said Lemon.
It appears that the days in which Portland can boast a triple-A credit rating -- already a highly misleading claim -- may be numbered.
It's almost as if they forgot they were being recorded. Adams, Burkholder, Collette & Lininger were especially disparaging.
Despite their starting the MLR bridge, Milwaukie Light Rail is a major concern.
Worries over the fed share being reduced, overall funding crisis, shifting priorities, and the local match at risk
have TriMet et al sweating bullets.
Causing Clackamas County to default on the inter-governmental agreement to hand over $25 million for Milwaukie Light Rail will be a severe blow to the weak and near panicked "stakeholders."
The Clackamas County Urban Renewal Initiative Petition is nearing it's Aug. 6th deadline for the November ballot.
The push to make certain the vote is on the Nov. ballot could use some help.
Chief Petitioners, John Williams (former mayor of Oregon City) & John Van Huizen (Clackamas County deputy ret.)
Volunteer contacts:
Thelma Haggenmiller Thelma.haggenmiller@msn.com
503/659-5590 (Leave message if you should get my Voice Mail)
Sue Hewson sueh92@live.com Cell: 503-703-1979
Tom & Linda Eskridge 971-404-9158 (Tom) tde@molalla.net
503-349-1551 (Linda) db@molalla.net
Donate:
The Professional Firefighters of Clackamas County, IAFF Local 1159, supports this petition and has contributed some funding to help make sure the signature gathering is successful.
Your donation will help.
Do any readers know if this applies to post-employment health care benefits as well as pensions (can't think why there would be different treatment, but it wouldn't be the first time the accounting profession had me scratching my head)?
Almost, I reported only the union pension plan which has unfunded liabilities of $236 million. There is an additional management pension plan with unfunded liabilities of $31 million. So all together TriMet has unfunded pension liabilities of about $267 million.
The tricky part is the new discount rate. If the proposed accounting changes are adopted TriMet will likely have to apply a much lower discount rate to a portion of its liabilities. This will result in larger liabilities and subsequently larger unfunded liabilities.
TriMet's OPEB unfunded liability is about $816 million, the largest by almost any measure in the state of Oregon according to my study. Literally off the charts.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (10)
Last week's JPACT meeting was a group of long faced people, lashing out at their opponents and in nervous discussions on how to save their agenda.
Have a listen http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=31963
It's almost as if they forgot they were being recorded. Adams, Burkholder, Collette & Lininger were especially disparaging.
Despite their starting the MLR bridge, Milwaukie Light Rail is a major concern.
Worries over the fed share being reduced, overall funding crisis, shifting priorities, and the local match at risk
have TriMet et al sweating bullets.
Causing Clackamas County to default on the inter-governmental agreement to hand over $25 million for Milwaukie Light Rail will be a severe blow to the weak and near panicked "stakeholders."
The Clackamas County Urban Renewal Initiative Petition is nearing it's Aug. 6th deadline for the November ballot.
The push to make certain the vote is on the Nov. ballot could use some help.
Chief Petitioners, John Williams (former mayor of Oregon City) & John Van Huizen (Clackamas County deputy ret.)
Volunteer contacts:
Thelma Haggenmiller Thelma.haggenmiller@msn.com
503/659-5590 (Leave message if you should get my Voice Mail)
Sue Hewson sueh92@live.com Cell: 503-703-1979
Tom & Linda Eskridge 971-404-9158 (Tom) tde@molalla.net
503-349-1551 (Linda) db@molalla.net
Donate:
The Professional Firefighters of Clackamas County, IAFF Local 1159, supports this petition and has contributed some funding to help make sure the signature gathering is successful.
Your donation will help.
Please print this and send with check, today!
http://voteonurbanrenewal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/clackUR.half_page_donor_form.pdf
Thank You
Posted by Petition | July 20, 2011 9:35 AM
Do any readers know if this applies to post-employment health care benefits as well as pensions (can't think why there would be different treatment, but it wouldn't be the first time the accounting profession had me scratching my head)?
Posted by Newleaf | July 20, 2011 10:30 AM
Yes it applies to all unfunded fringe benefits.
Including TriMet's entirely unfunded $1 billion in "Other Post Employment Benefits" = full health care for retirees & spouses.
Posted by Ben | July 20, 2011 10:58 AM
For over a decade the light of day has done nothing but encourage plants.
Posted by LL | July 20, 2011 11:22 AM
What? You mean I can't hide my unfunded expenses when I go get a loan?
Damn! What's become of this world, when you have to tell the truth and put your cards on the table?
Posted by Ralph Woods | July 20, 2011 11:25 AM
Thanks Ben.
Posted by Newleaf | July 20, 2011 2:05 PM
Newleaf
No, this accounting change only applies to pensions. Other Post Employment Benefits have separate accounting rules.
Check out my article on OPEB if you have more interest. http://oregoncapitolnews.com/blog/2011/04/06/retiree-health-care-liabilities-top-3-billion-in-oregon/
Thanks,
Jacob Szeto
Posted by Jacob Szeto | July 20, 2011 3:15 PM
Oh, well then TriMet has around $400 million in unfunded pension liability that it will apply to?
Posted by Ben | July 20, 2011 3:33 PM
There's a pony in there somewhere.
Posted by David E Gilmore | July 20, 2011 3:44 PM
Ben,
Almost, I reported only the union pension plan which has unfunded liabilities of $236 million. There is an additional management pension plan with unfunded liabilities of $31 million. So all together TriMet has unfunded pension liabilities of about $267 million.
The tricky part is the new discount rate. If the proposed accounting changes are adopted TriMet will likely have to apply a much lower discount rate to a portion of its liabilities. This will result in larger liabilities and subsequently larger unfunded liabilities.
TriMet's OPEB unfunded liability is about $816 million, the largest by almost any measure in the state of Oregon according to my study. Literally off the charts.
http://oregoncapitolnews.com/blog/2011/04/06/retiree-health-care-liabilities-top-3-billion-in-oregon/
-Jacob Szeto
Posted by Jacob Szeto | July 20, 2011 4:01 PM