according to the Trib tonight. (link)
According to this morning's Journal (link)
that is because APS just "found" $108M.
Apparently the state gave APS some "critically" needed money in 2006; $67M. And then APS pushed a bond issue by taxpayers to pay for the same two high schools. Taxpayers have paid twice, creating some $67M of the $108M "surplus".
"The remainder of the $108 million comes from interest, leftover balances from previous projects, an emergency fund and better-than-expected tax collections."APS considers it a wind fall that they can now spend on other projects.
According to the Trib;
"None of the projects are new. All have been on the drawing board, but funding to complete them, or start them in some cases, was not available until now."A year ago, Governor Bill Richardson told us that APS desperately needed money; so desperately that voters should ignore the APS' earned "statewide reputation for their lack of accountability" and support a bond issue "for the sake of the children."
"... the district doesn't spend money as quickly as it takes it in. In the meantime, it collects interest. Kizito Wijenje, who heads up APS' construction program, said the district has always gotten some extra revenue that way."
But as the district's capital program has grown, so has the interest on unspent funds. In addition, tax collections over the past couple of years were better than anticipated.
Based on projected revenues from interest and other sources, APS anticipates another $122 million over the next six years that it can apply to its capital needs, figures show.
Marty Chavez was complaining about the lack of accountability in the APS, and telling voters to support the bond issue anyway, "for the sake of the children."
Now we find out that they are raking it in faster than they can spend it, and tax dollars are earning interest for APS rather than for taxpayers' households.
When the leadership of the APS asked taxpayers for a third of a billion dollars a year ago, did they know about the "surplus" they just "found", or they did not know about it.
Either they knew about it, and kept the truth from stakeholder voters and taxpayers;
or they didn't know about a hundred eight million dollars they had lying around.
Neither of which is acceptable.
And for neither of which
any one of them will be held accountable.
2 comments:
Can any one tell me why over 2 million is slated for City Center? In the print version of the journal ( can't find it online) there was a list of who gets what of the "found" money. I just want to know how much more they are going to gild the lily, while I can't get books for the classroom.
Good Ole' Boy Handbook, continued
When entrusted with vast sums of money by the public, don't just steal it outright, those (few) outside our control might catch you!
Instead, quietly amass unspent public monies, then deposit into short term high interest bearing bonds and use half the proceeds as profit for the company, and half as a much needed over the table raise for JUST the in-group.
Ha ha! They wonder why they can't afford textbooks and teachers and school cops get paid dirt! Because it is not an insult at all to say a superintendant and about twenty of his or her support staff are all somehow worth about five to ten times more than an an average employee. It is just accepted!
So, just remember to support your buddies, keep getting your paycheck for doing nuthin', and let the underpaid masses do all the work. keep up the "continuous improvement" propaganda, no one understands it but Do-Gooders, and Sca-rew them!
Keep the lies big and the crimes undetectable through a "slash and burn" paper trail policy, and if ever discovered by some Do-Gooder, just say "but that is how we have always done it, I didn't know it was ILLEGAL"
Feigned incompetence cancels criminal intent, buddy!
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