City Finances Near Total Collapse
Tacoma’s Controller warns that general expense funds will run dry within six months as expenditures dwarf tax collections.
City Controller Jackson recently disturbed the serenity of the city council by stating that within six months' time, unless the council was careful with its expenditures, the city would not have enough cash in the general expense fund to buy horse feed. The controller submitted data showing that after paying outstanding bills and warrants, the city had only $5,670.08 available to cover the remaining six months of the year, despite having spent over $63,000 in the first half. The report highlights a rigid charter that restricts the use of various funds, leaving the city in a situation like a 'sailor adrift on the ocean with water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.'
“The city was never better off financially than it is at present. It is like a sailor adrift on the ocean with 'water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.'”
Municipal budget crises and the friction between public officials and city councils remain a perennial feature of Tacoma politics. The Controller's frustration echoes modern debates over levy lid lifts and the constraints of inflexible city charters.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.