COMMISSIONER NOACK NO MINIMALIST WHERE SPENDING IS CONCERNED but he might be a vampire
If you laid all elected officials end to end………. that would be nice.
Montgomery County Commissioners must be leaping for joy over how they have bamboozled normally prudent voters to see things their way.
An email circulating in last 24hrs brought this home to me. A decent fellow citizen in precinct 3 apparently attended James Noack’s Advisory Council meeting. I called the author of the email to ask if the Commissioner had specified the terms of the bonds or the impact on our taxes, he said Noack thought the impact would be “minimal”. I’ll agree that our commissioners court do deliver things that are minimal, like transparency, or fiscal restraint. but when it come to spending they are anything but minimalists.
Automatically, one thinks that’s where you go to advise the commissioner to maintain his fiscal sensibilities in the face of impending financial uncertainties related to the end of destructive Quantitative Easing by the Federal Reserve Bank which has already resulted in free fall of oil prices that support the Montgomery County economy.
But no, Noack wants to respond to the infrastructure crisis brought on in Montgomery County by artificial stimulation of population growth by our plundering over borrowing and overspending ( and selective tax abating) elected officials by doubling down on debt.
Noack is unhappy, the commissioners want to issue a miserable $300 million in bonds split four ways among commissioner precincts but that only yields a paltry $75 million for him to lavish away on what the email called his “project needs list”.
Conservative Commissioner Wants More
The lady who forwarded the email to me added her own appeal on Noack’s behalf…
Friends & neighbors, conservative S. County Commissioner (Pct. 3) James Noack needs our help.
Commissioner Noack needs our help alright, here’s how. Commissioner Noack is not content with a possible $300 million to spend on the “project need list”. He prefers $514 Million with his cut a whopping $150 million!
That will bring commissioners court debt alone to almost One Billion dollars
Montgomery County taxpayers should share at least two serious concerns.
1. Debt most are not aware of.
As County Citizen has preached for several years local government debt is at an all time high. Texas leads the way with more that $12,500 per man woman and child in local debt alone. In Montgomery County today combined debt exceeds FOUR BILLION dollars ( $4,000,000,000,000.00 ) but wait, there’s’ more. Interest.
Interest reaches to another TWO BILLION DOLLARS for a total of six billion. ($6,000,000,000,000.00).
2. Vampire debt Noack forgot to mention
The best thing about James Noack to me is that he is a Christian , a brother in Christ who should be appealing to supporters with big email lists to remember Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender. Instead he is dunning them for more money.
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.
And, instead he is apparently willfully overlooking the poor track record of the commissioners in divulging the truth about the way they have historically structured debt without regard for our tax future but with a heavy emphasis an making themselves look like good smart fiscal managers.
I refer to what I have dubbed vampire debt. Apart from the pure evil of promoting more debt to an already overtaxed population it must be revealed, again, that of the 450 million in bond debt currently on the books in excess of 40 % has be set up to pay interest only, Original principal balloon payments are due on dates far in the future beginning in 2021 all the way to 2032.
One example is Adjustable Rate Road Bonds Series 2006B issued in 2006 for $63,75 Million set up with a first payment due in 21 years – or 3/1/2030. Later in 2009-10 they refinanced a $43.48 million portion from 2006 at a lower interest rate but kept the original payment plan – no paying down the actual debt until the balloon payments begin in 2030.
Will the new bonds be structured like this?
How much will it cost us in taxes now?
How much will be put of on our children and grandchildren?
Do we have to vote for the bill to learn whats in it?
[gview file=”https://mctxonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MontgomeryCountyDeferredDebtList.xlsx”]
The above links to an excel spread sheet with a list of the bond issues obtained from the Texas Bond Review Board that were originally issued with balloon payments far in the future. Some have been retired or re marketed. You can review any local government debt at the BRB here http://www.brb.state.tx.us/lgs/lgsdbsearch.aspx
Our means
Why are they doing this? Same reason we get into trouble in our personal lives. They don’t want to face reality and the necessity to live within their means. But in this case it a matter of stewardship, our means. They are playing with other peoples money and with the future tax obligations of our grandchildren which will continue long after they have left office. I have experienced default on obligations. It is not a nice experience.
Debt Clock
Ask taxpayers to vote against the proposed bond issue in any amount.
Ask Commissioner Noack to lead by example and erect a debt clock on a billboard on i-45 or on one of the great trailer mounted units like Sheriff Gage uses to tell us how fast we are going.
We all need to know how fast the commissioners are spending us into the ground.
