Portland reaches for the credit card yet again
It should be a busy month ahead for the City of Portland money borrowers. They say they'll be going to Wall Street for $75 million for various water bureau pork projects, and the usual annual $25 million IOU to cover the permanent cash flow hole in the city's obscene, completely unfunded police and fire pension system. Plus more mortgage debt heaped onto the water system in October -- the amount still being kept under wraps. How high will the Sam Rands get the city's bonded debt by the time they walk out of City Hall? They'll be up to around $3.4 billion by Labor Day. A decade ago, before the Fireman showed up, it was just a little over half that.
| Posted at 8:43 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
According to Bloomberg, San Bernardino County (CA) is weighing chapter 9 bankruptcy citing their heavy debt load of 5.37% of personal income and $1,506 per capita.
Portland has debt now equal to 19.25% of personal income and $5,700 per person.
Posted by Robert | July 11, 2012 10:14 AM
More borrowing, while we vote for higher taxes and levies, while receiving less and less service every year (even with the new levies), while laying off the younger people who still work for the government, to pay for benefits for people who have retired from government.
We are ****ed.
Posted by Snards | July 11, 2012 10:41 AM
How much of a cut do you suppose these guys get to borrow more money from Wall Street?
I'm guessing we will never know - unless somebody rats them out and lives to tell about it.
Posted by Tim | July 11, 2012 11:47 AM
So besides two public pensions the wanna-be fireman was involved in costing us $1.7B more? He must just be laughing himself silly.
Posted by Steve | July 11, 2012 2:26 PM
It's really special that we meet the cash flow needs of the P&F R&D fund with borrowing. Sort of like having a funded plan. Only the opposite.
Posted by Allan L. | July 11, 2012 3:20 PM
Inept, corrupt or have they been hypnotized to keep spending?
Posted by clinamen | July 11, 2012 11:20 PM
Portland residents are just part of the study CoP is doing titled, "it IS possible you CAN barrow your way out of debt"
Posted by phil | July 12, 2012 5:40 AM
San Bernadino filed for Chapter 9 with less than $150,000 left in city bank accounts. That's the 4th California city to file Chapter 9.
Keep selling bonds if you can, Portland. It works until it doesn't.
Posted by Mssr. Tee | July 12, 2012 6:31 AM