Did you know that Did you know the City Budget increased by $3,720,000 in just one year?

There are a few things about the city’s just adopted budget that residents should know. The mayor has informed us that the new 2015 city budget is “balanced.” You can balance any budget if you borrow enough money. Yes, it’s balanced, but with spending increased to $14,682,000. Based on last year’s budget of $10,962,000, that’s a 34% spending increase in one year. The budget is balanced by a wave of new debt. There’s the addition of $2,000,000 in water and waste water debt on top of the earlier $991,000 debt incurred to pay for the smart meters. That includes $1,000,000 to spend out at Riley Mountain, but that’s only enough to get started on that very expensive project. If water is found, it will cost millions more in additional debt to bring it to town. With financing, the current new debt balloons to $3,600,000. That’s almost $2,700 of debt for each of Llano’s 1,350 households. This debt will need to be repaid through higher utility bills, higher property taxes, and more sales tax receipts. You will soon notice your utility bills going up $120 a year, but that’s just the beginning.     

Police and Street Department budgets have been reduced from last year. What’s wrong with that picture? The code enforcement budget is up 32%, so those letters can keep coming if your grass is too high. There’s more money for the golf course, which lost over $500,000 during the last 3 years. It’s projected to lose another $124,000 next year.     

With the current mayor and city council majority, it’s almost like Congress has taken over city hall.       

John Gray Llano, Texas

 

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