The Unified Government has incurred so much debt that the interest alone on the debt threatens to financially collapse the Government itself. The Schlitterbahn project, which has been under pressure to comply with Labor Management and Minority Business enterprise agreements, has laden the UG budget with interest costs that are eating away at the budget.
Unified Government employees are jumping ship as fast as they can. The departure of former CFO Jack Manahan and several former budget employees’ confirm that the ship is sinking, and fast. The UG has had 5 different CFO's in the past 8 years. UG budget employee's report that the budget is mostly interest and debt on TIF districts that do not operate at a break even level. These facts are confirmed in the TIF audit recently performed for the UG by the County Auditors office.
The Red Ink is piling up so fast that the current total interest payments on debt under UG authority equals more than $185 million per year. The UG guarantee's monthly interest payments totaling more than $15 million. As the interest for UG projects pile up the security of the UG employee's continued employment drops through the floor. UG police and fire department employees may see their contracts modified or dramatically altered due to the mismanagement of the 9th floor of city hall.
County manager Dennis Hays may get the last laugh on the UG Fire and Police Union contracts as he builds mountains of debt to be paid with general fund dollars that were supposed to be used for union wages and benefits. The Schlitterbahn vacation village and other TIF districts are sucking the salary and wage funds dry while employees sit idly by and watch the next Enron Board of directors fritter away their future.
The only hope would be to elect new members to the Board of County Commissioners who have failed to keep a handle on spending and the issuance of debt.
No one wants to believe this but, I give you the facts! ----- Wake up KCK???