City of Portland debt jumped $285 million in a year
The City of Portland's big fat annual financial statement for the year ended last June 30 has finally hit the streets. The whole phone book is here. Among the interesting insights it provides is that the city's outstanding bonded debt rose by $493.4 million in that year; of that, $212.5 million was used to pay off pre-existing lines of credit. Taking into account another $4 million or so of miscellaneous other debt that the city took on for this and that, it is left with a net increase in debt of $284.9 million. (That doesn't count the underfunded and unfunded pension liabilities, of course.)
Debt service -- principal and interest paid on debt -- was $316.4 million for the year from governmental funds, and $324.4 million from proprietary funds. By our count, that adds up to a staggering $640 million of loan payments for the year. The city also spent $3.0 million in transaction costs on all the new debt it was taking on. The banks, it seems, had their way with the Portland taxpayers once again.
The city's excess of revenue over expenses for the year was $104.8 million. Property and lodging taxes grew by $13.4 million. How City Hall expects to pay off all that debt, and around $3 billion of unfunded pension liabilities on top of it, is anyone's guess.
| Posted at 8:53 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (10)
A person could run a effective campaign for Mayor railing about this issue--anyone???
Posted by jimbo | January 31, 2012 9:13 PM
I doubt it. Drunken spending on schlock is now baked into our DNA.
Posted by Jack Bog | January 31, 2012 9:15 PM
They'll just kick the can down the road.
Posted by geneb | January 31, 2012 9:15 PM
How City Hall expects to pay off all that debt, and around $3 billion of unfunded pension liabilities on top of it, is anyone's guess.
Hope and change?
Posted by LexusLibertarian | January 31, 2012 9:22 PM
Live for today. Let the kids worry about it.
Posted by fancypants | January 31, 2012 10:09 PM
Look at the bright side. With Portland's sterling reputation for being a haven for the creative class, maybe all of this debt will be paid off if enough young people go there to retire. Oh, wait.
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | February 1, 2012 5:55 AM
Wasn;t this number like $8000 per capita just a year or two ago? They are spending like drunks and besides MAX lines and streetcars - WHere the heck is it going? It sure isn't schools.
Posted by Steve | February 1, 2012 6:11 AM
Steve wrote: "Where the heck is it going?"
We're "P"-town, so of course it's going to the two "P"s:
Pensions
and
Pet
Projects
Posted by NW Portlander | February 1, 2012 9:12 AM
NOT Potholes or Paving.
Posted by NW Portlander | February 1, 2012 9:27 AM
How City Hall expects to pay off all that debt, and around $3 billion of unfunded pension liabilities on top of it, is anyone's guess.
Last I saw, Anyone was face down in the gutter at 4th and Burnside. Nudged him a couple of times, but couldn't get a guess out of him. Just kept mumbling something about "I'll pay you Tuesday for a drink today".
Posted by EB | February 1, 2012 9:31 AM