Starkville has paid off a large chunk of its park system’s late electric bill since the summer takeover of the once autonomous department and is positioning itself to pay off all arrears this spring, Mayor Parker Wiseman said Tuesday.
Documents provided by Wiseman show the city has paid off Starkville Parks and Recreation’s arrearages from previous fiscal years — a balance that totaled $63,177 in June — and has $102,980.79 remaining to pay on the amount it owes from the current fiscal year concluding Wednesday.
Those figures are approximations as Wiseman said a final bill should arrive soon and drive the total owed to about $125,000. The city is expected to pay off an additional $90,000 once it closes out its books at the end of the fiscal year, he said.
Entering into Fiscal Year 2015-2016, which begins Thursday, Parks is expected to owe about $35,000 for FY 2014-2015 after the $90,000 payment is made.
“The long-term arrears are gone, but I have to verify all of the yearend numbers to make that payment,” Wiseman said. “I do not yet have enough information to make the call on the final payment’s precise amount.”
Satisfying SPR’s outstanding debt to Starkville Electric Department became a top priority for Wiseman after the takeover.
In June, he announced an aggressive plan to pay off the department’s late bills by spring 2016 by doubling monthly payments — on average, a monthly Parks utility bill is about $23,000 — through the summer and end of the current fiscal year.
The city will reduce its total monthly payments to about $7,000 above average beginning next month.
“The key to doing this sustainably is not doing it all at once,” Wiseman said. “While it is extremely urgent and pressing — we want all arrearages satisfied as soon as possible — the danger of paying it too fast is that you fall back into a cycle where you can’t keep up with payments. The (payment) schedule we’re on now is tracking where I want it to be.”
Financial issues within SPR emerged in 2013 after audits showed the department was grossly behind on its electric bill. Aldermen went on to approve a $100,000 funding increase for the independent Starkville Park Commission, but the board was forced to approve a $60,000 bailout last year when budget projections showed SPC would not be able to meet payroll and other financial obligations.
The city’s adopted FY 2015-2016 budget sets aside $450,000 for SPR utility payments.
When asked how the city was able to wrangle SPR’s electric arrearages better than the independent commission, Wiseman said, “I can’t speak to that. I can only tell you it’s a very high priority for me and the board that we satisfy all arrearages as soon as possible.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.