It discussed the City of Champions' entry into the fiscal quagmire.
On Oct. 8, the state auditor placed Massillon in “fiscal emergency,” citing substantial deficit balances in city funds as the main reason for the designation. Years of continuous debt carried by the city and inability to pay bills were other factors. (The Independent, 10/19/13).
Years of continuous debt carried by the city...
They must be wrong. That can't be true.
Everyone, but everyone knows the truth.
The real truth.
Our former sovereign, the Once & Future Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One ran our town magnificently for 24 years. Except for one error, when he listened to "overzealous golfers" who forced him to expand the Legends of Massillon golf course, all was well in our fair city.
The "dollars were there" and things were humming along perfectly until "that woman," the usurper, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry stormed the castle walls, and took Massillon from a bounteous kingdom of plenty, to the barren wasteland of debt and fiscal emergency, all by herself, in a mere 17 months.
If there is debt, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry must have created it.
"Cheer Leaded" us into it, according to some.
So, our crack research staff thoroughly studied the audit, available for all to see at Ohio Auditor Dave Yost's website.
http://www.ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Reports/2013/Massillon_Fiscal_Declaration.pdf
We needed to show the world once and for all how "that woman" put us in debt.
From the Audit;
We reviewed the outstanding indebtedness of the City as of May 31, 2013, which consisted of fourteen debt issues. A summary of the City’s outstanding debt is presented below:
Fourteen debt issues?
How could Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry have done all this in just 17 months?
Oh wait.
She didn't.
Someone more extraordinary helped.
$9.5 million dollars alone in "debt issues" for the golf course and Hampton Inn alone.
Golf Course Construction Refunding Bonds - 2002
Interest Rate - 1.5-7.16 Issue Date - November 1, 2002 - Amount $7,281,233
Housing and Urban Development Section 108 Loan - 1999
Interest Rate 6.75 Issue Date - August 1, 1999 - Amount $2,250,000
(The Hampton Inn)
14 debt issues.
14
Wow.
2015 can't come soon enough so that our former mayor can return to the scene and fix all the fiscal problems.
Especially the ones he created.
