The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
January 4
Jerry reviews the Finances every meeting, the January meeting was not different. It is hard to get a full picture of what he and the BOA are saying when they refer to budget documents... not available at the meeting to the public. I have the 2010 Budgets Summary as well as information from 08 and 09, want to take a peek? I know some of you are thinking...boring, not sexy! Fair enough but it is your money and while we aren't falling off a cliff like the federal and state budgets, it might be a good idea to insure our elected City Officials are keeping their eye on the ball, so here it goes.Water Department
2010 Revenue $297,286
2010 Expenses$285,232
Surplus=$12,753
To quote Jerry, it is "hard to get excited about the small surplus" Indeed, maybe "nervous" would be a better word. Our surplus has been melting away because the Mayor and the BOA have inexplicably refused to pass along increases by KCMO to the City the past two years running. Add to that, the use of water has dropped the last two years, meaning less revenue...so decreasing water use plus increasing cost...you can do the math. So can the Mayor/BOA/Audit Committee.There is $150,000 in the Department Emergency Fund. There is no plan for replacement of aging water lines, primarily along East Side Drive. There is no plan for Water Tower maintenance, primarily painting. There is a bond liability of $1.4 million still outstanding from the construction of the tower.
Aroused? A cold shower is in order...while you are at it, let the water run a bit, the City can use the revenue.
Image by brizzle born and bred via Flickr
2 comments:
Interesting you say the city has not passed along the increases the last 2 years. I would almost swear I recall my bill going up over the last few years due to increases from KC. I also recall paying a fee for meters for almost a year that the city then turned around and decided against and kept the money from......
Could be you used more water, I don't know...but rest assured, KCMO did not miss a beat in increasing rates, but your Mayor and BOA..not so much...as documented here quite a few times. The meter fee was supposed to begin the process of changing over the current meters which are read by hand to a "radio read" system, could have been read by a truck or patrol car but...nah the Mayor and the BOA axed the idea and you are right, put the money in the kitty...in a manner of speaking. KCMO is caught in a nasty situation with the Feds so look for rates doubling for the forseeable future.
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