I have written extensively about John Whitmire, stating that he is way over his head. Well, he keeps on affirming my belief of his inability to run a city like Houston. He has managed to damage Houston’s credit rating in six months, which is one heck of an accomplishment.
S&P Global Ratings, one of the nation’s three major credit-rating agencies, recently changed its outlook on Houston’s municipal bonds from stable to negative.
The decision stemmed from the city’s increased financial obligations resulting from the firefighters’ settlement, according to Katy Vazquez, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings. Under the billion-dollar agreement, the city has issued taxpayer-backed bonds to finance $650 million in back pay to firefighters and has promised up to 34% in pay raises over the next five years.
“We already have a significant chunk of the city’s budget that is spent just on debt payments,” Hollins said during a Monday meeting with the Chronicle’s editorial board. “That’s money that is either coming out of your pocket as a taxpayer directly, or it’s money that we could be spending on something that more directly benefits you and your family.”
Hollins attributed the negative outlook to the Whitmire administration’s failure to develop a financing plan for the firefighters’ deal.