2010 Override Attempt Coming

Every tax is a pay cut. Every tax cut is a pay raise.
Citizens for Limited Taxation

My Scribblings on Framingham's Long Term Financial Report (LTFR)

Big Override Attempt Coming in Framingham

Yes, Virginia, there will be a Proposition 2 1/2 override attempt in Framingham in 2010. I will do my best to squash it. Help me out.
I do not believe that there is enough spine (three votes) on the Board of Selectmen to prevent it from getting on the ballot.
The PTOs and town unions are flush with cash to peddle an override, as well as F-SEPAC.
The amounts we the taxpayers chip in is a monotonically increasing number but the amount the greedy public sector unions spend is increasing much faster.
The CFO herself stated that we need to shrink our bloated government. According to what I see, we need to shrink it about 10% - 12%.
If you think this is depressing, just click here. Now, go take your Prozac pill.

My Scribblings on Framingham's Long Term Financial Report (LTFR)
Big Override Attempt Coming in Framingham
Yes, Virginia, there will be a Proposition 2 1/2 override attempt in Framingham in 2010. I will do my best to squash it. Help me out. I do not believe that there is enough spine (three votes) on the Board of Selectmen to prevent it from getting on the ballot. The PTOs and town unions are flush with cash to peddle an override, as well as F-SEPAC. The amounts we the taxpayers chip in is a monotonically increasing number but the amount the greedy public sector unions spend is increasing much faster. The CFO herself stated that we need to shrink our bloated government. According to what I see, we need to shrink it about 10% - 12%. If you think this is depressing, just click here. Now, go take your Prozac pill.

OPEB has arrived and is here to stay!

The newly required/identified liability is health insurance provided to retirees, called Other Post Employment Benefits or OPEB. The latest actuarial valuation indicates the liability is $216 million. The annual contributions, not mandated at this point but still incurred are $13 million in 2010 to $16.2 million in FY15. We will get nothing in exchange for these new expenses. These are monies owed to our public sector unions in negotiations made years ago.
These costs are not included in the spending estimate in any of the years of this forecast.
The OPEB liability is included in Chart 6 on the final page of this report. As soon as the LTFR becomes available on line, I will post it on frambors for all to examine.
While we are locked in on most collective bargaining unit contracts, the contract doesn't specify how many employees it applies to. The employee headcount is the variable to be tweaked.

OPEB has arrived and is here to stay!
The newly required/identified liability is health insurance provided to retirees, called Other Post Employment Benefits or OPEB. The latest actuarial valuation indicates the liability is $216 million. The annual contributions, not mandated at this point but still incurred are $13 million in 2010 to $16.2 million in FY15. We will get nothing in exchange for these new expenses. These are monies owed to our public sector unions in negotiations made years ago. These costs are not included in the spending estimate in any of the years of this forecast. The OPEB liability is included in Chart 6 on the final page of this report. As soon as the LTFR becomes available on line, I will post it on frambors for all to examine. While we are locked in on most collective bargaining unit contracts, the contract doesn't specify how many employees it applies to. The employee headcount is the variable to be tweaked.

General Fund (in millions)

Year Revenue Expenses OPEB Expenses + OPEB Real Deficit

2009 $12.2

2010 $203.5 $203.5 $13.0 $216.5 ($13.0)

2011 $205.8 $217.7 $13.8 $231.5 ($25.7)

2012 $212.0 $227.6 $14.5 $242.1 ($30.1)

2013 $219.7 $237.2 $15.1 $251.3 ($31.6)

2014 $227.8 $247.2 $15.6 $262.8 ($35.0)

2015 $236.7 $258.0 $16.2 $274.2 ($37.5)

General Fund (in millions)
Year	Revenue	Expenses	OPEB	Expenses + OPEB	Real Deficit
2009			$12.2
2010	$203.5	$203.5	$13.0	$216.5	($13.0)
2011	$205.8	$217.7	$13.8	$231.5	($25.7)
2012	$212.0	$227.6	$14.5	$242.1	($30.1)
2013	$219.7	$237.2	$15.1	$251.3	($31.6)
2014	$227.8	$247.2	$15.6	$262.8	($35.0)
2015	$236.7	$258.0	$16.2	$274.2	($37.5)

I may not be the sharpest cheese in the pantry, but such debt service increases on fixed rate loans show that not only are we still on our regular spending orgy, but we are also borrowing more and more to spend. In essence, we are over spending the present and the future. Not unsual for a town that promotes its dead.
As we all know, the future is defined as the time when our affairs prosper and our friends are true.
While everybody is thinking that filling up the coffers of the stabilization fund will somehow increase our bond rating and thus lower our borrowing costs, can someone please explain to me why the LTFR shows an ever increasing costs for debt service (74% increase in 5 years)?
At this point, interest rates are as low as they will go and can only go up under any circumstances.


I may not be the sharpest cheese in the pantry, but such debt service increases on fixed rate loans show that not only are we still on our regular spending orgy, but we are also borrowing more and more to spend. In essence, we are over spending the present and the future. Not unsual for a town that promotes its dead. As we all know, the future is defined as the time when our affairs prosper and our friends are true. While everybody is thinking that filling up the coffers of the stabilization fund will somehow increase our bond rating and thus lower our borrowing costs, can someone please explain to me why the LTFR shows an ever increasing costs for debt service (74% increase in 5 years)? At this point, interest rates are as low as they will go and can only go up under any circumstances.

Debt Service (in millions)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

$8.1 $10.0 $11.4 $12.0 $12.9 $14.1

Debt Service (in millions)
2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
$8.1	$10.0	$11.4	$12.0	$12.9	$14.1

There are no surprises here but the numbers get bigger and badder.


There are no surprises here but the numbers get bigger and badder.

Health Insurance/Retirement (in millions)

Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Health Insurance $31.4 $34.4 $37.2 $40.2 $43.0 $46.0

Retirement $10.0 $10.2 $10.5 $10.7 $11.0 $11.2

Health Insurance/Retirement (in millions)
Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Health Insurance	$31.4	$34.4	$37.2	$40.2	$43.0	$46.0
Retirement	$10.0	$10.2	$10.5	$10.7	$11.0	$11.2

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