Saturday, February 17, 2018

Wisconsin Dells Massive Municipal Debt and Tolerance For Risk

The City of Wisconsin Dells is a small resort community with a population of less than 3 thousand people. The primary revenue producing industry is a 90 day summer tourist season. The bulk of the buildings are historically significant being more than 100 years old. The geography cannot be described with out using the word ravines.
The Municipal debt load is greater than 30 million dollars.  Knowing the huge amount of money that is owed is beneficial when considering the measure of risk associated with desired projects. The money the Municipality owes and the tolerance for risk can be communicated through an inverse relationship.  The more money that is owed the less the tolerance for risk with the presentation of larger than life projects.

Inverse relationship means as the amount of money that is owed increases (rising interest rates on a greater than 30 million dollar debt) and the tolerance for risk decreases.  From a historical perspective residents can identify projects that have not produced the return on investment the Municipality hastily pursued in an all or nothing fashion.

The City of Wisconsin Dells is now functioning at a stage where fiscal conservancy is essential - and desired projects need to evaluated in a way that assures the residents have an understanding of evidence supported outcomes. Simple things like who is going to benefit and how often.  How is the project monetized to assure sustainability.  Please vote Louis Kutzke for mayor of the City of Wisconsin Dells on February 20th.

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