Framingham Debt

Every tax is a pay cut. Every tax cut is a pay raise.
Citizens for Limited Taxation

Framingham Debts and Liabilities
Debt is one way of meeting present needs by mortgaging future revenues.

Year Long Term
Authorized
But Not Issued Long Term
Authorized
and Issued Retirement Fund
liability
(underfunded) Health Insurance
for Retirees
liability
(underfunded) Total debt
approximated

2010 74,036,817 75,447,568 66,000,000 216,000,000 431,000,000

2009 74,036,817 75,447,568

2008 74,036,817 75,447,568

2007 55,758.356 67,721,743

2006 23,687,600 71,183,809

2005 17,553,196 68,451,819

2004 14,888,077 63,397,345

2003 63,468,872 63,147,880

2002 61,739,729 66,959,654

2001 62,796,500 68,479,484

2000

Framingham Debts and Liabilities Debt is one way of meeting present needs by mortgaging future revenues.
Year	Long Term Authorized But Not Issued	Long Term Authorized and Issued	Retirement Fund liability (underfunded)	Health Insurance for Retirees liability (underfunded)	Total debt approximated
2010	74,036,817	75,447,568	66,000,000	216,000,000	431,000,000
2009	74,036,817	75,447,568
2008	74,036,817	75,447,568
2007	55,758.356	67,721,743
2006	23,687,600	71,183,809
2005	17,553,196	68,451,819
2004	14,888,077	63,397,345
2003	63,468,872	63,147,880
2002	61,739,729	66,959,654
2001	62,796,500	68,479,484
2000

Legal Debt Margin/Accounting Principles

The Town is subject to Chapter 44, Section 10 ofthe General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which limits the amount of bonded debt the Town may have outstanding to 5 percent of the valuation of taxable property as last equalized by the Commonwealth's Department of Revenue (see valuations at: Tax Rates ).
One significant departure from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles that the town has is as follows:
Long term debt has some level of interest associated with it. Long term liabilities are not interest bearing, but are at the whims of the stock market.
General fixed asset acquisitions (non-enterprise) are not capitalized in a general fixed asset group of accounts.
This becomes significant when you take into account all the unused real estate the town owns.

Legal Debt Margin/Accounting Principles
The Town is subject to Chapter 44, Section 10 ofthe General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which limits the amount of bonded debt the Town may have outstanding to 5 percent of the valuation of taxable property as last equalized by the Commonwealth's Department of Revenue (see valuations at: Tax Rates ). One significant departure from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles that the town has is as follows: Long term debt has some level of interest associated with it. Long term liabilities are not interest bearing, but are at the whims of the stock market. General fixed asset acquisitions (non-enterprise) are not capitalized in a general fixed asset group of accounts. This becomes significant when you take into account all the unused real estate the town owns.

Commentary

The long term debt numbers in 2008 were propagated to 2009 and 2010.
To better understand the $431 million, scale it down to numbers you can understand. The annual town revenues, 2010: $235 million. Basically, if you were making $75,000 a year, you would be $150,000 in debt.
This debt/liability indicates that we have already spent two years worth of future revenues. Do we continue to spend like drunken sailors or do we just plain stop borrowing?
Framingham's per capita debt stands at $6,630 for every man, woman and child (assuming a town population of ~65,000).
Having all these debts and liabilities may be construed as a non-trivial indicator that we are not living within our means despite the alledged claims of our financial wizards in Framingham's Ministry of Finance, such as Julian Suso.
I have to suspect that if a national healthcare plans passes, the the taxpayers liabilities will increase. In general, government interference only makes things more expensive.
Enzo Rotatori tried his best to scale down Framingham's growing public sector unions and their ballooning size in this article.
In Framingham, it's a million here, a million there and soon we're talking serious money ($431 million debt).
In Massachusetts, it's a billion here, a billion there and soon we're talking serious money ( $66 billion debt ).
In the U.S., it's a trillion here, a trillion there, and soon we're talikng serious money ($53 trillion including SS and Medicare/Medicaid).

Commentary
The long term debt numbers in 2008 were propagated to 2009 and 2010. To better understand the $431 million, scale it down to numbers you can understand. The annual town revenues, 2010: $235 million. Basically, if you were making $75,000 a year, you would be $150,000 in debt. This debt/liability indicates that we have already spent two years worth of future revenues. Do we continue to spend like drunken sailors or do we just plain stop borrowing? Framingham's per capita debt stands at $6,630 for every man, woman and child (assuming a town population of ~65,000). Having all these debts and liabilities may be construed as a non-trivial indicator that we are not living within our means despite the alledged claims of our financial wizards in Framingham's Ministry of Finance, such as Julian Suso. I have to suspect that if a national healthcare plans passes, the the taxpayers liabilities will increase. In general, government interference only makes things more expensive. Enzo Rotatori tried his best to scale down Framingham's growing public sector unions and their ballooning size in this article. In Framingham, it's a million here, a million there and soon we're talking serious money ($431 million debt). In Massachusetts, it's a billion here, a billion there and soon we're talking serious money ( $66 billion debt ). In the U.S., it's a trillion here, a trillion there, and soon we're talikng serious money ($53 trillion including SS and Medicare/Medicaid).

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