"It was unclear Tuesday how much of the $13.5 million would come out of the general fund.
County minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban requested that calculation from the budget/finance office on Tuesday afternoon.
The increase in pension subsidy is particularly painful because the county faces a $29 million shortfall next year.
Public Financial Management, the county’s financial recovery consultant, has proposed extreme measures ranging from the elimination of 150 workers to a 29 percent property-tax hike to fill the void."
This problem will get worse in subsequent years as the funding requirements increase.
There are no easy answers. This problem exists in the majority of states and counties around the country. It generally has gone unnoticed but will be front and center in coming years as people begin to realize they are responsible through their state and county taxes to fund these shortfalls.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that for the majority of states, I don't think a federal bailout is necessary. For a few, it might be, but it may be small enough that they can fund it without a stimulus bill,
The Feds are already bailing out the states,
23 states are currently borrowing money from the federal government to pay out their unemployment claims. So far, Idaho owes $71 million and California owes $4.5 billion. And in the coming months, 14 other states - including Nevada - are expected to join them.
But, just like any loan, the money comes with a fee.
"In terms of borrowing, we don't have to start paying interest until 2011," says Anderson. "But the going interest rate is 4.6 percent."
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