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Published on Apr 24, 2019

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40 years. 6,000 partners. $20BN invested. All across America, LISC works with thousands of local partners to forge resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families.

How to do Creative Placemaking: Formalizing Partnership Contracts, MOUs ...

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Published on Apr 25, 2019

Views: 1 [me] at time of upload to this blog

What does a contract for a performance or public art installation look like? When and how should a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) be used? This webinar will offer complementary perspectives on how to structure contracts and MOUs that will set expectations and accountability for all parties involved while also allowing room for creativity and flexibility in the process and end product.

City of Mesa Municipal Bonds: A Basic Primer For The Public

Here's the Shake-Down:
Municipal Bonds are debt obligations.
Someone has to pay off the debt service - YOU
One way or another it's money taken out of your pockets in any number of ways: (see the Budget Pie Charts for FY2018/2019 that are inserted farther down)
BOND AND DEBT SERVICE
Source: City of Mesa Open Data Portal 
"The City issues debt in the form of bonds to finance long-term capital improvements such as streets, buildings, utility systems, etc., . . .
For the complete City of Mesa Executive Budget Plan click here.

Types of Bonds

The City uses two main types of bond funding in the FY 2018/19 budget:

• General Obligation GO Bonds make up about 30% of City Projects
• Utility Systems Revenue Bonds fund most City Projects

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THE BIG PICTURE
Utility Revenue Bonds 
General Obligation GO Bonds
Street/Highways
WIFA

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Readers might want to see this >
GO Bonds
General Obligation debt service payments are shown in the chart to the right.

< and this
Utility Systems Revenue Bonds Debt Service Payments Schecule

Debt service payments for Utility Bonds are funded by rate charges paid by utilities customers.

Here's a Financial Breakdown for Data provided in 2017 that is featured in a New Report from Truth In Accounting that was released on January 28, 2019 

2019 Financial State of the Cities
January 28, 2019

On January 29, Truth in Accounting released its third Financial State of the Cities report, a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of the nation's 75 most populous cities based on fiscal year 2017 comprehensive annual financial reports. 

This year, the study found that 63 cities do not have enough money to pay all of their bills, and in total, the cities have racked up nearly $330 billion in unfunded municipal debt. The study ranks the cities according to their Taxpayer Burden or Taxpayer Surplus™, which is each taxpayer's share of city bills after available assets have been tapped. Check out the data for your city at the State Data Lab.

Mesa, AZ

The Bills Mesa has Accumulated

State Bonds * $1,797

Other Liabilities * $267

Less: Debt Related to Capital Assets * $1,658

Unfunded Pension Benefits * $830

Unfunded Retirees' Health Care Benefits * $648

Bills * $1,885

• * figures in millions

Source: State Data Lab Mesa, AZ 

 

2017 Financial State of Mesa

(Released 1/29/2019)

Mesa's Taxpayer Burden.™ is -$5,800, and received a "D" from TIA.

Mesa is a Sinkhole City without enough assets to cover its debt.

Decisions by elected officials have created a Taxpayer Burden™, which is each taxpayer's share of city bills after its available assets have been tapped.

TIA's Taxpayer Burden™ measurement incorporates all assets and liabilities, including retirement obligations.

Mesa only has $1.1 billion of assets available to pay bills totaling $1.9 billion.

Because Mesa doesn't have enough money to pay its bills, it has a $812.5 million financial hole. To erase this shortfall, each Mesa taxpayer would have to send $5,800 to the city.

Mesa's reported net position is overstated by $175.3 million, largely because the city delays recognizing losses incurred when the net pension liability increases.

The city's financial report was released 186 days after its fiscal year end, which is considered untimely according to the 180 day standard.

 

Some Budget Pies For You to Look from this Fiscal Year 2018/2019

TOTAL CITY BUDGET $1.82B

There are four

Here's one that shows you where the money is spent in Expenditures, by Category >

 

 

 

 

 

< Here's another one for Bonds by Project Category

$203.7M

 

Note the large piece-of-the-budget pie for Wastewater and Water Treatment

 

Transportation/Streets eats up 12%

Parks

Public Safety

 

Here's one more

TOTAL AVAILABLE CITY RESOURCES

$1.82B

Looks like "A Balanced Budget" with the same number for Expenditures and Resources

Biggest source of resources:

Sales & Charges for Services: 565.1M

Intergovernmental: $243.2M

Taxes: $208.2M

 

NOTE: Use of Reserve Balance: $250.3M

This is usually a NO-NO in accounting practice

 

. . . and just another one

TOTAL CITY BUDGET BY FUND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Let's take a look at one credit-rating agency: Moody's
Source: Moody's Credit Rating/City of Mesa

Moody's Org ID:600023957

LEI:549300L1QYAKFHSIGE94

6 Digit Cusip: 590485, . . .

 

Here are four entries for 2019

Notice that some documents are locked. You need to subscribe to open them up.

These are the first four and most recent in 95 results. The first page in the list  1-50 goes back 2012 if you are interested in see the document types.

 

18 Apr 2019	Credit Opinion	Mesa, AZ: Update to credit analysis	Moody's Investors Service
18 Apr 2019	Credit Opinion	Mesa Combined Utility Enterprise, AZ: Update to credit analysis	Moody's Investors Service
17 Apr 2019	Rating Action	Moody's assigns Aa2 to City of Mesa, AZ Combined Utility Enterprise's Utility Systems Revenue Bonds, Series 2019A, 2019B, and 2019C	Moody's Investors Service
17 Apr 2019	Rating Action	Moody's assigns Aa2 to City of Mesa, AZ's GO Bonds, Series 2019	Moody's Investors Service

Just One of The Why I Live Here in Downtown Mesa: The Mayor Is Such A Goof

OK. This is a short feature; who's wants to play tag? Take a look - it's less than two minutes, and uploaded today by the City-owned and operated Mesa YouTube Channel featuring Hizzoner John Giles in a 2-minute "Quickee" meandering around Pioneer Park on a Saturday.

It opens up with no people in the background. Nice to see the mayor working on a Saturday and shopping for the family. 
Where's Johnny-On-The-Spot in this promo for the Mesa Farmers Market & Flea: lovely Pioneer Park where $12,900,000 was spent on a tract of land across Main Street from the Mormon Temple. The re-do on the project originally started with a budget of $6.9M and somehow escalated to the higher amount. 
John Giles does his do-round a couple of food trucks, a juice vendor, two organic farms that he breezes by quickly, and stops by Proof Bakery where he says his wife is "a Raspberry Person" only to be told that he's looking at are blackberries. So much fun!

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It's hasn't been 'a people's park' for years even though the neighborhood on the north side of Main Street around the park is filled mostly with high-density multi-family housing. The Farmers Market has been downtown for years, on N Center Street and in a parking lot next to City Hall on Fridays when City Hall was closed. Not a good day when most people are working (except for those who work inside City Hall). Local home-based food producers have always been welcome participants in the annual October-April DTMesa Festival of The Arts

Mesa City Council Study Session TODAY Thu 25 April 2019

Surprise!
More "Face-Time" for MARK FREEMAN, the new District 1 Councilmember is right there sitting in the mayor's seat  this morning @ 07:30 in the Lower Chambers. What's up with that? Let's get down to business; this could be a long session for 4 Proposed City Department Budgets for next fiscal year. 
It's the usual council procedure to have the Vice-Mayor, David Luna, preside over these public hearings when the mayor is absent. He is responding "telegenically", according to what Freeman states at the start. This meeting has a duration of 2:01:07 and can be viewed in its entirety farther down in a streaming video uploaded to YouTube today.
There was a post here on this blog yesterday with inserts of links to the Meeting Details, as well as some excerpts and comments.
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Blogger Note: The Final Meeting Agenda was just published yesterday - one day in advance of this "Study Session".
There are 4 City Department Budgets up for presentation.
Budgets are complex and complicated.
Is one day really enough time for the public - or any six members of the Mesa City Council or the mayor - to find out about the four city department budgets on the agenda for this public meeting ahead of time: a 24-Hour Notice??? .
Readers of this blog might like to pay attention and see, absent the mayor except for participation "telegenically" - how the presentations are made and what comments and/or questions councilmembers have to say - or ask - in the discussions.
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We can see the presentation for four department budgets.

• Code Compliance
• Transportation
• Transit Services
• Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities [PRCF] 

They all look different and are prepared by each of the city departments. These are ongoing annual budget reviews that will continue until the end of May. . . so get used to them, or at least pay attention.
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What is A BUDGET HEARING?

A meeting that is usually open to the general public to discuss a business or government budget. People can ask questions and get answers from elected or salaried city employees.

You have the right-to-know - and judge for yourselves if the City of Mesa Government - the people you elected as your representatives on the City Council - are doing their job to represent your interests. If you don't communicate with your district member, they can always listen to "special-interest" groups that might not be the same as  the public interest . Your government has the duty and responsibility to be open, transparent and accountable.

_________________________________________________________________________
Looks like most people are heavy into suits-and-ties this morning.

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Fast-Acting Feds Execute Raids, Seizures, and Warrants In Baltomore Mayor's Home + Offices in City

Whow! Whoever said the feds can't act fast when the time is right. This is a story with a lot of twists-and-turns
"There's a *ton* happening in the Baltimore area right now that merits news coverage even if City Hall, the mayor's two homes and multiple other locations hadn't been raided by the FBI and IRS today. Whew! "
That's the latest breaking news from crime reporter Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton)
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Blogger Note: There's been a *ton + more* that's been going on Baltimore for more than the last two years, starting with that Freddy Gray Beat-up in the back of a police van . . .
_________________________________________________________________________

A team of reporters worked on this news-flash filled with on-the-spot filming by television crews. It chock-filled with details

FBI, IRS search Baltimore Mayor Pugh's home, City Hall, more

Gov. Larry Hogan: 'For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign'

Updated: 7:33 PM EDT Apr 25, 2019

WBAL TV

BALTIMORE —

"The FBI and IRS executed search warrants Thursday at several locations in Baltimore, including Mayor Catherine Pugh's homes and City Hall.
Pugh's attorney, Steven Silverman, said the mayor is not lucid and that she still suffers from pneumonia and has since developed bronchitis.
The searches began around 6:30 a.m. Thursday and include the following locations:

• Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh's two homes in northwest Baltimore
• Baltimore City Hall
• Pugh's lawyers' office
• Offices of a nonprofit Pugh founded, and the home of the organization's executive director
• Home of former mayoral aide Gary Brown Jr.

Several agents from the Baltimore Office of the FBI and the Criminal Division of the IRS executed a search warrant approved several days ago by a federal judge. The agents searched Pugh's home on Ellamont Road in northwest Baltimore, which she purchased apparently with cash in December 2016 for $117,000 without a mortgage.

The agents were seen entering and exiting the home, as well as garages that may belong to the home or a neighboring home. Agents retrieved a large boxes from the property, some labeled "Healthy Holly books".
> Pugh drew scrutiny after it was learned that she purchased the home during the same time period that the University of Maryland Medical System paid her nearly $250,000 through her Healthy Holly LLC for tens of thousands of children's books. The 11 News I-Team has learned the deal has little public accounting.
> Pugh's LLC received $100,000 from the medical system in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, and in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, according to state filings.

Agents search several locations linked to Pugh

> Around the corner from the Ellamont house, agents served a search warrant at the home Pugh has owned since 1988 that she uses for her business address. Neighbors said they have not seen Pugh at the home for about five weeks.

> Another set of agents executed a search warrant at 4910 Park Heights Ave., which is used by the nonprofit Maryland Center for Adult Training, which has ties to Pugh.

On its board were three top aides to the mayor, who have subsequently been fired by Ex-Officio Mayor Jack Young.

> The FBI also executed a search warrant at the home of Gary Brown Jr., one Pugh's aides who was fired Wednesday. Brown was prosecuted by state prosecutors in 2016 for illegal campaign contributions to the Pugh campaign in 2016.
> Nearly two dozen agents were also at City Hall, where they were seen removing boxes of potential evidence related to Pugh.
> The FBI/IRS also executed a search warrant at the offices of lawyers representing Pugh, a source familiar told the 11 News I-Team. It is very unusual for a lawyer's office to get searched, and there is a very high bar for agents to cross to get a judge to authorize such a search because lawyers have many clients who are all protected by confidentiality provision.

Renewed calls for mayor to resign

The developments Thursday have further increased calls for Pugh to resign, including from the governor.

Pugh Attorney Steve Silverman says she is not lucid. She still suffers from pneumonia and now has developed bronchitis. He says she’s not focused enough to make a rational decision.