A majority of voters in Midland, Texas, voted in favor of a $100 million bond issue for road and water line repairs on 11/7/17. While a sales tax might have been a better approach for raising the money, proponents of the bond convinced voters to pile a huge load of debt onto the backs of property owners.
The photo on the right of the ecstatic council member was on the front page of the print edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram. I titled it Bond Glee.
Meanwhile, In case anyone is interested in the local government debt, here's a table based on the reports at Bond Review Board Database Search Texas Local Governments FY 2016:
| Entity | Principal | Interest | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| City | $119,420,000 | $52,553,031 | $171,973,031 |
| College | $36,965,000 | $6,715,591 | $43,680,591 |
| County | $17,665,000 | $4,132,534 | $21,797,534 |
| Hospital | $104,115,000 | $63,086,894 | $167,201,894 |
| MISD | $224,020,000 | $136,130,051 | $360,150,051 |
| Water District | $226,331,160 | $246,486,027 | $472,817,187 |
| Totals | $728,516,160 | $509,104,128 | $1,237,620,288 |
A few years ago Jason Moore told the Midland city council that the bond debt for the local taxing entities was approaching a billion dollars. The council members scoffed at that. But here we are with a debt as of last year at $1.2 billion. So add another $100 million -- who cares?
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10:58 AM 11/9/2017</p
P.S. I've been wrestling with whether to continue subscribing to the pricey print edition of the Midland Reporter Telegram. Then something like that photo comes along and it makes the whole thing worthwhile.
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