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.
This situation is not sustainable. To their credit, City Council and the city manager have made choices to pay down the debt. They moved $766,470 towards paying off the debt this year, and they have been making other choices to save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
These efforts deserve our applause. However, these efforts are not enough; they do not solve the situation of the city needing to borrow more money every year than it brings in. We must find ways to improve our budget to pay down our debt.
Accordingly, I have recommended that City Council create a budget advisory board. The purpose of this board would be to help the city find ways to save money, looking for places in the budget where we can spend less, and also looking for ways we can spend money now to save more costs later. We must make a serious effort to reduce our debt, and maintain our city.
I have asked City Council to discuss the budget advisory board idea at their March meeting, and to make a motion to create the board. To their credit, City Council seems to be shifting towards an attitude of more balanced budgets. I am optimistic that they will vote to create the budget board.
All of the members of City Council have other ways in which they spend their time, such as with family and friends. So they can use our help. There are accountants, business owners, and enthusiastic residents in Oak Ridge who can help with this important problem, and I hope that you will apply to serve on this budget board to help both your fellow citizens—and your elected fellow citizens—to solve this important problem.
Aditya Savara
Oak Ridge
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