Last night, the Sumner County Commission passed a spending package that included a $3 million bailout of the County Insurance Trust.
Why the bailout? Because the Trust is $6 million in the red. That's right, if the Trust were to payout all outstanding claims right now, it'd be at a negative balance of $6 million. So, adding $3 million and adopting some cost-saving measures will allow the Trust to continue.
How did it get this way? YEARS of mismanagement by the County Commission. They consistently under-funded the Trust and now, the chickens are coming home to roost.
Where's the money coming from? The Hospital Reserve Fund. The County has a grand total of nearly $30 million in reserves. However, during the recent budget battle over schools, Hospital fund money was not allowed to be spent on school funding, even for school capital projects.
The Commission also approved funding for 3 libraries and an emergency response center.
It was pointed out that the County can barely operate the libraries it has now. Comm. Chris Hughes asked how the Millersville Library's long-term operating costs would be covered -- no one could answer this question. Comm. Goode asked about where the funds would come from to support over $7 million in technology upgrades needed for schools because of federal testing mandates. No one could answer this. Comm. Hughes (rumored to be considering a 2014 run for County Executive) asked about the $26 million in outstanding school capital projects that have yet to be funded. No one had an answer. Comm. Goode asked about the scrutiny and due diligence paid to these library projects. Again, no solid answers were given.
Lots of questions, no answers. A badly mismanaged insurance trust and a $3 million bailout funded at the expense of other worthy needs. At the end of the night, the project list passed with a 17-6 vote. No word on when the community can expect to hear more answers to these critical questions.
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