Debt service (principal and interest payments) will cost the City of Brady over $1 million this fiscal year. It is not apparent from the city budget exactly how much the city owes. It only shows what the payments are.

However, the Texas Bond Review Board has a database of all municipal debt outstanding in the state that can be searched by city. Here is a summary of Brady's outstanding debt as of 8/11/2011:

Notice that the first four items totaling some $8.5 million are Certificates of Obligation that do not require voter approval. Unless people attend every City Council meeting and scrutinize the budget carefully or the local media reports it, it is easy for the City Council to let debt accumulate unnoticed.

The $4 million Certificate of Obligation shown on line four raises questions that we have been unable to answer. The fact that no interest is shown indicates it is Commercial Paper, issued at a discount. Commercial paper is usually due in less than 270 days, but the maturity date (May, 2031) shows this is a 30 year loan. When we have an explanation, we will report it.

The current budget indicates that the Brady City Council does not intend to reduce the debt burden that drives up utility surcharges. In fact, they intend to borrow another $465,000 this year. Presumably, this will be another CO or vendor financing since there is no Bond election pending.