Questions remain about city's accountabilty for bonds, ARPA funding

Do you know that our bond rating for our city can be affected by how we handle these bonds?

Do you know that it’s possible we are paying interest on some of the bond money when most of the project hasn’t been started?

Do you know we may have periods of brownouts, and we may have to put limits on when we can use water and how much?

Do you know that a proposed $2 increase in monthly utility charges affects low-income people more? And the $2 charge does not promote smart water reduction per our Climate Action and Adaptation Plan?

Do you know that this puts our city at risk for not having the infrastructure when there’s extreme heat or extreme demand as our population keeps growing?

Do you know if our residents fully understood this risk when they gave their feedback on how to spend the ARPA money?

Here are some action items the city should take:

1. Conduct a performance audit of the City Manager’s office and Water and Light Department as it relates to utilities.

2. Create a new deadline to have all bond issue projects bid and under contract.

3. Withhold all future capital improvement projects until new deadline is met.

I believe that $12.6 million has been spent on 120 beds for the homeless, mental health access, workforce support and affordable housing. I believe that the remaining $12.6 million needs to be spent on water and electricity infrastructure that affects the 120,000 residents and the homeless in our city. The ARPA money is supposed to be transformative for all the residents of our city.

Contact your ward representative with your thoughts about your future.

Tanya Heath is a Columbia resident.