KC Spending Cuts Pay Off In Strong Fund Balance

Kansas City, MO – The Kansas City, Mo., finance department verified Wednesday that after two years of major spending cuts the city has money in the bank. And the mayor and council members immediately started talking about how much more the city should borrow.

The 34.2 million dollars the city has in its general fund today, day one of its new fiscal year, is about 8 percent of this year's budget. That's the largest balance in a decade, and the city's credit rating is also at its highest in ten years.

But cities run on borrowed money, and Mayor Mark Funkhouser said it's the signal the city can start issuing general obligation bonds on a regular basis again.

The mayor says, assuming the current total debt level, Kansas City can authorize million a year in G.O. debt - perhaps sixty million - and still remain stable.

Fifty million dollars is the amount of debt the city paid off this year.

The finance and audit committee didn't move on the mayor's suggestion, but did recommend taking a low-interest ten-million-dollar loan from the Airport Fund to pay some of what the city owes on TIF obligations.