Budget talks are beginning now. I like to post this nugget every year….
City debt obligations by year:
2016/2017 – $475,300 [Toups]
2017/2018 – $660,385 (+39%) [Talbert]
2018/2019 – $746,171 (+13%) [Talbert]
2019/2020 – $872,995 (+17%) [Talbert]
2020/2021 – $864,768 (FLAT) [Talbert]
2021/2022 – $978,784 (+13%) [Monroe]
2022/2023 – $1,400,004 (+43%) [Monroe]
Other tidbits:
Debt obligations up 195% in 6 years (20% per year)
IT Department – up 47% in 6 years (7% per year)
City manager department – up 107% in 6 years (up 13% per year)
Population of Lampasas up approximately 6% during this time (1% per year)
Debt obligations rising 20x faster than population growth!
City Manager spending rose 13x faster than population growth!
IT Department spending rising 7x faster than population growth (and they STILL allowed a costly ransomware attack to cripple the City!)
P.S. – Parks and Recreation spending is up only 3.4% over SIX years:0.61% increase per year