Fort Wayne Community Trust Fund

Posted by Mike Sylvester - 10/7/08 @ 3:57 pm - Filed Under Featured, Local Politics

A local newspaper (editor removed actual name) discussed the Community Trust Fund in the Sunday newspaper.

Per that article:

Tim Haffner, Fort Wayne corporate counsel, said the city’s lease with Indiana Michigan Power doesn’t expire until March 2010, and the city will continue to receive monthly payments until that time. City Controller Pat Roller, however, was unsure whether the payments would extend beyond next September.

When pressed for an explanation last week, city officials were unable to answer how the discrepancy was discovered or why the lease lasts until 2010.

This “Community Trust Fund” is a large asset that the City of Fort Wayne has access to and the City of Fort Wayne cannot tell us:

Exactly when the lease payments end.
Why it ends in 2010 rather then 2009 as they had previously told us
Or even how the City finally figured out that the date they have been using is off by six months.

Brilliant!

I have heard a lot of people state that they want to see the Community Trust Fund used to build something “significant.”

I 100% disagree. This money should be used for one purpose and one purpose only; to pay down existing debt. I would also consider paying for unfunded liabilties the City is obligated to pay.

Mike Sylvester

Comments

5 Responses to “Fort Wayne Community Trust Fund”

john b. kalb on October 7th, 2008 4:14 pm

Mike - Like the Police/Fire Department retirement fund shortfall - or the airport bond issue - or to pay off the lease/bonds for the Harrison boondoggle!
Neil Kelty on October 7th, 2008 4:57 pm

As I’ve written about before I think we ought to spend only the returns this fund generates or less to be even better. I also think we ought to put a permanent restriction on this to ensure it cannot be spend without a vote from city residents.
Phil Marx on October 7th, 2008 8:52 pm

How odd, the “local paper” actually attributed two of their quotes.

Of course, when it came to the question that mattered most, they failed to really pin any one particular person down for the record - “When pressed for an explanation last week, city officials were unable to answer how the discrepancy was discovered or why the lease lasts until 2010.”
MRev. Kenneth White, Jnr. on October 8th, 2008 8:57 am

i wonder if the scrambling goes somewhere along the lines the IMP had already submitted a request for proposal to pay down their own pension fund with the money? And so now someone is trying to safe face or their part of the deal.
Bob G. on October 8th, 2008 11:42 am

Mike’s right…pay DOWN the debt.

And all of us know that debt tends to “mature” the longer we hang onto it (or ignore it).

;)

B.G.