debt Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Baughn request: Sell golf course, Chamber property; request payments from tax-exempt organizations

May 12, 2013 By John Huotari 18 Comments

Trina Baughn

Note: This story was updated at 11:38 p.m.

Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn has proposed that the city sell Centennial Golf Course, and terminate the lease agreement with the Chamber of Commerce and sell the property.

Those proposals would convert city-owned assets into taxable properties, Baughn said.

Baughn has also asked the seven-member Council to consider setting up a team that could negotiate voluntary payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements with tax-exempt organizations that “are most able to afford paying for city services that are currently paid for by the taxpayer.” Those organizations could include Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Utility District, Tech 2020, Roane State Community College, and the University of Tennessee, Baughn said in a May 5 e-mail to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and City Clerk Diana Stanley. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: blighted properties, Centennial Golf Course, city-owned assets, debt, Mark Watson, Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, Oak Ridge Utility District, payment in lieu of taxes, PILT, Roane State Community College, tax-exempt organizations, taxable properties, Tech 20/20, Trina Baughn, University of Tennessee

Guest column: Strategizing a path to prosperity

May 6, 2013 By Trina Baughn 25 Comments

Trina Baughn

The problem

This month, the Oak Ridge City Council will establish your property tax rate for 2014 via the approval of our annual city budget. And though it appears that taxes will remain flat, our excessive spending levels are unsustainable and continue to hinder our ability to compete with surrounding communities.

In spite of all the new developments happening as of late, if council approves the budget as proposed, residents and businesses will continue to feel the financial crunch for quite some time. Not only will we retain one of the highest property tax rates in the state, but we’ll also retain one of the largest per capita debt levels in the region. (At nearly $7,000 per person, we have more than four times that of Knox County residents and more than seven times that of Knoxville residents). A dozen more chicken places and grocery store relocations won’t make a dent in the average Oak Ridger’s bills.

If we are to make any kind of progress, we need a strategy that aims to increase revenue while reducing expenditures. This column will focus on increasing our revenue base. I will address budgetary inefficiencies and waste in a follow-up piece next week. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Columns Tagged With: blight acquisition, city-owned assets, debt, exempt property, expenditures, golf course, nonprofits, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, payment in lieu of taxes, PILT, property tax rate, property taxes, real estate, residential properties, revenue, spending, tax abatements, taxable properties, Trina Baughn

Possible TVA sale a bad idea, president’s budget fails on entitlements, Republican lawmakers say

April 10, 2013 By John Huotari 2 Comments

Lamar Alexander

Bob Corker

Republican lawmakers from Tennessee were critical of the budget proposal released by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, saying it was overdue and failed to responsibly address unsustainable spending on entitlement programs.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said a proposal to consider selling the Tennessee Valley Authority could cost taxpayers money.

“This is one more bad idea in a budget full of bad ideas,” Alexander said. “There is today no federal taxpayer subsidy for TVA, period. There is by law no federal taxpayer liability for TVA debt. And after deducting its debt, selling TVA would probably cost taxpayers money.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: Barack Obama, Bob Corker, budget, Chuck Fleischmann, Congress, debt, entitlement programs, fiscal year, Lamar Alexander, reform, spending, taxes, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA

Guest column: The City Council should negotiate with EPA

March 15, 2013 By Martin McBride 1 Comment

At its next meeting, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider whether to attempt to negotiate a better deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the sewer upgrades or not.

About three and a half years ago, the EPA inspected the Oak Ridge sewer system and noted excessive rain water leaking into that system during storms. In April 2010, EPA sent the city a show cause letter which requested a face-to-face meeting to “show cause” why EPA should not intervene. Instead of meeting with EPA, the Council chose to phone in an informal response. Subsequently, EPA imposed a 20-page administrative order filled with expensive add-on requirements and a $170,000 civil penalty.

The total cost of the sewer improvements is in the neighborhood of $50 million. Paying for these improvements has so far required two major utility rate increases and a major increase in city debt. More rate hikes are likely.

Letter: Asks City Council to create budget advisory board

March 8, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

Our city has over $168 million dollars in debt—that is a 168 with six zeroes after it.

We, as the citizens of Oak Ridge, owe this debt. The number sounds huge. But the size of this debt is actually not unbearable. It is like a mortgage, we just have to pay a little bit each year—and we can afford to.

But there is a key difference between this debt and a mortgage: With a mortgage, you pay off a little bit each year, and then you are done. Unfortunately, the city of Oak Ridge is not paying down its aggregate debt each year. Instead, the city is borrowing more money each year, just making the debt larger and larger.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Letters Tagged With: Aditya Savara, budget advisory board, debt, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council

Alexander: President failed to lead on spending cuts; ORNL, UPF should be shielded

March 1, 2013 By John Huotari 4 Comments

Lamar Alexander

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Thursday said the automatic federal spending cuts going into effect today demonstrate a failure of presidential leadership.

The senator also said he would like to minimize the impact of the cuts on important government institutions such as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, student loans, and the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 Security Complex.

Congress and the White House approved the automatic, across-the-board cuts in discretionary and defense spending— known as sequestration—about 18 months ago in the Budget Control Act of 2011. Considered unpalatable by many, the cuts were meant to encourage Democrats and Republicans to compromise on deficit reduction efforts.

That hasn’t worked.

Council approves $18 million in borrowing for sewer system repairs

February 25, 2013 By John Huotari 28 Comments

Trina Baughn

After more than an hour of discussion, the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved the borrowing of $18 million in low-interest state loans to help pay for a $23 million project to fix the municipal sewer system.

Council voted 6-1 to borrow the money at a 1.23 percent interest rate through the State Revolving Fund program, which is administered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

The work is being done to comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires Oak Ridge to repair all sewer system overflows by Sept. 28, 2015.

Alexander supports balanced budget amendment to U.S. Constitution

February 14, 2013 By John Huotari 3 Comments

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Wednesday announced he will be an original cosponsor of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“For eight years as governor, I balanced Tennessee’s budget, and other states balance their budgets—I don’t see why Washington can’t do the same,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

The second-term senator said the federal government is borrowing 42 cents of every dollar it spends, and that’s money the country dosen’t have.

Alexander, Fleischmann release statements on State of the Union

February 13, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann

In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Barack Obama called for raising the minimum wage, doing more to fight global warming, and reducing the deficit through spending cuts and tax increases.

The president also called for voting on new gun laws, reforming Medicare and the tax code, and working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child.

Guest column: Changing the economic development game in Oak Ridge

February 5, 2013 By Trina Baughn 14 Comments

There’s no nice way to spin it: The results of our city’s bad decisions for the past decade are catching up with us.

In addition to having high debt and property taxes, our sales tax revenues continue to decline, we are exporting more than $727 million per year in U.S. Department of Energy payroll (1), and we have a comparatively stagnant population growth. Even with all the new restaurants opening, these projects won’t fully replace the revenue we’ve lost from the countless businesses that have closed up shop or left town for greener pastures.

Continuing down this path is not an option. Thankfully, our city manager understands this and wants to strategize a more competitive position for Oak Ridge. He is proposing that we change our approach to economic development (2) by finding other uses for the $1-2 million we’ve been spending annually on nearly 20 different external organizations like the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Oak Ridge electric bond rating upgraded

January 17, 2013 By City of Oak Ridge Leave a Comment

Standard and Poor’s Rating Services recently raised its rating on Oak Ridge’s electric system’s revenue debt one notch, from “A-” to “A.”

“This is very good news for the City of Oak Ridge,” City Manager Mark Watson said. “Bonds for the city’s electric utility systems were upgraded and recognized for the stable outlook observed during Standard and Poor’s normal review. A better bond rating will have a positive impact on lower interest rate considerations in the future, if needed.”

Guest column: Recommends more negotiations with EPA, DOE on sewer system upgrade

January 13, 2013 By Martin McBride 2 Comments

Note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Oak Ridge City Council members, among others.

Dear Mayor Beehan,

Next Monday evening you will begin considering a major increase in the Oak Ridge city debt to finance the sewer upgrade project. This increase and the associated utility rate increases:

Baughn request: Sell golf course, Chamber property; request payments from tax-exempt organizations

Guest column: Strategizing a path to prosperity

Possible TVA sale a bad idea, president’s budget fails on entitlements, Republican lawmakers say

Guest column: The City Council should negotiate with EPA

Letter: Asks City Council to create budget advisory board

Alexander: President failed to lead on spending cuts; ORNL, UPF should be shielded

Council approves $18 million in borrowing for sewer system repairs

Alexander supports balanced budget amendment to U.S. Constitution

Alexander, Fleischmann release statements on State of the Union

Guest column: Changing the economic development game in Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge electric bond rating upgraded

Guest column: Recommends more negotiations with EPA, DOE on sewer system upgrade

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