Government Obligation and future costs.

© WithComment.com 2007

Elected officials believe they have their constituent’s best interest in mind when they vote on a program or a project that will spend some money now and in the future. Programs like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and Welfare have had both positive and negative influences on our society. However, all of these programs had a current expense and a projected expense when they were first created and all of them, without exception, have been wrong in its projection of future expenses. Not just wrong, but devastatingly wrong by factors of 10.

Thirty years ago the City of Urbandale entered a contract with the Urbandale School District to open and operate an indoor pool on the school property. The operation costs were split out 60% for the city and 40% for the school. The lease was for 50 years and apparently no one did a good job at projecting costs out that far ahead or envisioning the need for massive repairs down the road. Something I might add that every home owner knows they will need to have done when they buy a home and that is why we ask about the furnace, roof and water heater.

Now 30 years later the building needs 2.8 million in repairs. The school can only pay for it out of its general funds and so voted to support the park and rec.’s suggestion to close the pool and void the contract.

The school district will still be on the hook for 40% of the cost to close and demolish the building and apparently that number is unknown at this time, although usually the costs of all project outcomes are calculated so that the managers involved can determine the best course of action, in this case it was not.

It is becoming more and more clear that any project or program that any politician, either elected or appointed, wants to pursue must not only have the cost of today and 10 years from now, but the cost of renovations and population growth and changes decades down the line, otherwise we are just sticking our kids and grandkids with a bill that can not be paid.

Follow up: If the pool is closed the school district will get out of the lease. Why not just ask the city to renegotiate the lease? One that is user based and not a set percentage. Then the city can raise rates on public swimming to make up difference, have a vote on a bond for the repairs & improvements and for god's sake allow the school to have enough money in to teach our kids to read, write, solve math & learn how to learn.

Follow up to the Follow up: The city council punted on Sept. 25th and will now hold open meetings to get the opinion Urbandale's citizens on the issue. Dates TBA.

Chris Mendelsohn