Posted on Dec 7, 2023
No, Kansas City, Kansas, is not going bankrupt. So why is the mayor claiming that?
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Mayor Tyrone Garner said the Unified Government is headed towards "complete financial ruin," and wants to give the mayor's office more power. But the idea of breaking up Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County may not fix the underlying problems, and could make finances worse.
At a press conference in October, Unified Government Mayor Tyrone Garner issued a dire warning.
The government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, he said, was on a “pathway to complete financial ruin.”
Bankruptcy, he warned, sat just around the corner.
But the bond markets tell a different story.
Earlier this year, the Unified Government received a decent A1 bond rating with a stable outlook from Moody’s Investors Service. The UG also has not informed bondholders of any threat of bankruptcy. If Wyandotte County actually found itself on the verge of financial collapse, it would have been required by law to warn the investors who might buy its municipal bonds that the UG was a dicey bet.
At a press conference in October, Unified Government Mayor Tyrone Garner issued a dire warning.
The government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, he said, was on a “pathway to complete financial ruin.”
Bankruptcy, he warned, sat just around the corner.
But the bond markets tell a different story.
Earlier this year, the Unified Government received a decent A1 bond rating with a stable outlook from Moody’s Investors Service. The UG also has not informed bondholders of any threat of bankruptcy. If Wyandotte County actually found itself on the verge of financial collapse, it would have been required by law to warn the investors who might buy its municipal bonds that the UG was a dicey bet.
No, Kansas City, Kansas, is not going bankrupt. So why is the mayor claiming that?
Posted from kcur.org
Kansas City
Finance
Bankruptcy
Investing
Law
Posted 5 mo ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Residents have complained for years about high property taxes and burdensome fees attached to utility bills. Longtime residents recall the corrupt machine politics that dominated Kansas City, Kansas, before the city and county merged in 1997.
At the same time Garner sounds the alarm of a financial crisis that isn’t reflected by the bond markets — where billions in investments hinge on whether local governments can settle their debts — he’s pressing for giving the mayor’s office more power. That could include the ability to undo the merger that remade Wyandotte County more than a quarter-century ago.
Meanwhile, County Administrator David Johnston said major financial challenges need to be addressed in the coming years. But he said deconsolidating the joint city-county government structure may not fix the underlying problems. In Markley’s eyes, it could make the problems worse."...
..."Residents have complained for years about high property taxes and burdensome fees attached to utility bills. Longtime residents recall the corrupt machine politics that dominated Kansas City, Kansas, before the city and county merged in 1997.
At the same time Garner sounds the alarm of a financial crisis that isn’t reflected by the bond markets — where billions in investments hinge on whether local governments can settle their debts — he’s pressing for giving the mayor’s office more power. That could include the ability to undo the merger that remade Wyandotte County more than a quarter-century ago.
Meanwhile, County Administrator David Johnston said major financial challenges need to be addressed in the coming years. But he said deconsolidating the joint city-county government structure may not fix the underlying problems. In Markley’s eyes, it could make the problems worse."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
PO1 H Gene Lawrence Definitely Strange that the Mayor is Doom and Gloom, Cup in Hand, Shepard Boy Crying Wolf while the Investors are still Calling Kansas City Kansas a Good Investment. Odd!
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