The Observation Deck

With the passage of the City Budget on Monday night, a total of $1.25 million was authorized to be taken from the Lakewood Hospital Fund to support the General Fund.

Responding to Councilman Anderson's question about prior transfers and advances from the fund, Jenn Pae stated that this was the first time since she has been the Finance Director that funds have been taken from the Hospital Funds to support the General Fund.

Pae explained that $750,000 would be taken from the Lakewood Hospital Fund to cover payments for 6 EMTs that had been moved from the the Hospital Fund to the General Fund in anticipation that rent from the hospital would cease in the near future (2018). Pae further explained that payment for the 6 EMTs had been moved to the Hospital Fund from the General Fund as a result of the 2008 financial crisis--the General Fund could not support them.

The $750,000 move was a reduction from the original $2.1 million that Pae and the Administration had requested to be taken from the Hospital Fund. One SLH member later commented that the reduction may have been the result of political pressure brought about by comments made here on the Deck. If so, great, but Pae did not cite a reason for the Administration's reduced request.

Nevertheless, Pae's comments suggest that the City has not fully recovered from the 2008 crisis--the taking of the $750,000 underscores that the General Fund apparently cannot support 6 EMTs without support from the Hospital Fund. Pae's comments and stated reasons for the $750,000 also suggest the average annual cost per EMT is $125K per year.

The Budget approval also involved authorization for the Administration to spend $500,000 for "Professional Fees" that Pae said would be taken from the Hospital Fund. More on the "Professional Fees" later.

So when Jenn Pae said the city finances were in good enough shape that we could easily weather the $1 million dollar loss of income tax revenue, did she LIE?

Are we now blaming the Great Recession of 2008 for our city's continuing economic woes?

Then, I guess we didn't need to fund a new medical office building; abandon decades worth of future hospital lease payments; dump 1,000 professional jobs that paid income tax; or, give-away millions of dollars to a new foundation.

Exhibit A tells us that we are going to be paid $32,200,000. Where is that money now? Why isn't it in the 2017 Budget?

Could it be that Exhibit A is still false?

Will this kind of nonsense ever cease? Are we still going to lie to the bondholders?