Friday, January 27, 2012
Meanwhile - At the Moraga Orinda Fire District
I bet this is common among many communities.
Significant debt hidden in obscurity within financial reports.
Fortunately, in this community, their news people are doing their job by watching, and reporting what they see...
Significant debt hidden in obscurity within financial reports.
Fortunately, in this community, their news people are doing their job by watching, and reporting what they see...
At ContraCostaTimes.com, Daniel Borenstein reported on this:
"I suspect that one revelation in our editorial moved the community more than any other: The 15-year-old district already has run up $68 million in debt just for unfunded pension and retiree health care liabilities, or an average of $1,600 for each district resident. It's equal to the cost of running the district for nearly four years.
Many public agencies face similar obligations, and they don't disclose them in an easily accessible way. If public officials want to regain trust from voters and taxpayers, they need to begin by revealing all their obligations.
Indeed, the fire district's $68 million debt doesn't even appear in its financial statement. It must be cobbled together from
numbers buried in notes in the back:"
