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Finance staff seek to rescind $118.9 million in long‑standing unissued authorized debt
Summary
City finance staff told the finance committee they want to rescind $118,876,793 in authorized but unissued debt dating back to 1990 to ‘‘clean up the books’’ and to improve debt capacity; the committee referred the order to the full City Council.
City finance officials told the Committee on Finance on Wednesday they will ask the full City Council to rescind $118,876,793 in previously authorized but unissued debt, a balance that includes authorizations dating back to 1990.
The finance director explained the rescission is intended to “get the books cleaned up and taken off of there” while staff confirm that the underlying projects are complete or otherwise fully funded. Committee members asked how the city will avoid repeating the problem; staff said they will periodically contact departments about project expenses and review authorized unissued balances as debt is reissued.
Why it matters: large, long‑standing authorizations can affect the city’s reported borrowing capacity and appear in rating‑agency reviews. Staff said the change is more a matter of financial housekeeping than an immediate fiscal relief; it improves clarity around the city’s debt obligations.
What the officials said A finance presenter told the committee: “The city would like to rescind and authorize unissued debt balance totaling $118,876,793 The value includes authorizations that date back to 1990, and the status of the authorized donation debt continues to be a topic of discussion internally and externally, and, we'd like to, keep this purview or keep proactive, on this, and that's why we're asking for approval of this, so that we can get the books cleaned up and taken off of there.”
Committee members pressed staff on safeguards. A finance official said the city will reach out to department heads annually or more frequently to track project spending and that the city now conducts ongoing project meetings to avoid the sort of long, unused authorizations that accumulated in past decades. Another staff member said the problem largely reflected how some loan orders were authorized without later cleanups or accounting for reimbursements from state or federal sources.
Action By voice vote the committee voted to receive and place the order on file and to refer to the full City Council for approval. Staff said they will pursue a periodic review schedule — biannual or triannual at minimum — to prevent a recurrence.
Note on effect Officials cautioned the rescission itself does not immediately change outstanding debt service; it removes authorizations that had not been borrowed against. Staff said the action should modestly improve the city's apparent debt capacity and demonstrates tighter financial management in future reviews by rating agencies.
