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Report Budget Lies
by Buzz
Indy Needs Your Help: Report evidence of budget problems today!
Governor Pawlenty and Democratic leaders closed the legislative session claiming to have balanced the budget without raising taxes and without doing much harm to schools, towns and counties. We don't believe it.
In 2002, then Representative Pawlenty (Republican) and Senator Moe (Democrat) made a similar claim when they overrode a Ventura budget veto. We learned afterward that they deferred taxes to the local level -- and your property taxes went up big-time -- they delayed payments to schools, causing many to borrow inefficiently, and they really left local governments in a bind. They knew they were really increasing taxes and screwing up budgets left and right. They just wouldn't be honest.
Today we have the gift of hindsight. We invite you to help watch what's going on out there. It matters! We want you to watch your local news and report any of the following:
- School District borrowing to pay for funding delays, often called a delayed payment. Make sure to watch for the cost of that borrowing. The cost for delayed payment borrowing typically eats up much of the state's savings claims.
- Evidence of charter school fiscal problems. Charter schools generally cannot borrow and are the canary in the coal mine.
- City or county furloughs. When not planned, furloughs can be a very inefficient way to balance cash flow quickly. They do not make government more efficient, and actually just defer work that needs to get done, leading to higher costs later.
- Local property tax increases and the reasons given for them. If you live in a community that has always managed its money well and you see a sudden increase in the local portion of your property taxes, ask questions. Chances are that the state has passed its problem on to your local governing authority.
