Late last night there were 3 votes to have the City Council - TopicsExpress

Late last night there were 3 votes to have the City Council discuss how to pay the $17.5 million oil penalty when voters say no to oil drilling. The issue will be back for discussion after the council puts the oil measure on the ballot. Here are some facts I didnt have a chance to explain during my recent interview below about how we can pay the $10.5M balance when voters say no: Last few years the city has budgeted $1M per year for the oil drilling settlement, the amount the city will have to come up with per year to pay the off the amount over 30 years is less than that amount ($800K). In other words, no change from what we have experienced the last few years. On top of that, in the last few years after balancing our budget and setting aside $1M/yr for oil we have still had a surplus -- where the citys revenue has exceeding expenses by at least a million dollars. What we do need to cut from the budget is wasteful spending. Lets be clear, we do NOT need a tax increase to pay the $10.5M balance. [These dont even yet consider other creative funding options, possible new hotel TOT revenue, etc.] https://youtube/watch?v=wd3Ln6Qse0Y