By Shereen Siewert
WESTON — Debt per capita for the village of Weston will shrink by more than 32 percent in a two year span, budget projections show.
Wausau Finance Director MaryAnn Groat on Tuesday presented city council members with Wausau’s debt projections, comparing those to other municipalities. The packet of information showed the village of Weston with a debt per capita of $3,032, significantly higher than Wausau’s end of 2017 projection of $2,599.
But the debt per capita numbers from other municipalities, as presented to the council, are from 2015, Groat told Wausau Pilot & Review on Thursday. The year was not specified in the documents issued to the council.
That matters because Weston has lowered debt significantly since 2015, Administrator Daniel Guild told Wausau Pilot & Review. Groat did not contact Weston’s finance department to verify figures, Guild said.
Weston’s general obligation debt limit is projected to be 13.24 percent by the end of 2017, the lowest in more than 20 years, according to village documents.
Wausau’s general obligation debt limit was nearly 58 percent at the end of 2016 and is projected to grow to nearly 75 percent in 2017 unless the city eliminates or restructures some of its debt, according to Groat’s presentation.
Debt per capita in Weston dropped by nearly 16 percent in 2016 to $2,554 and is projected to drop even further in 2017. An estimate prepared May 10 shows the village will carry a per capita debt of $2,060 by the end of the year.
“Our general obligation debt limit for the village of Weston is estimated to be 13.24 percent as of Dec. 31, 2017, the lowest level since the village was incorporated in 1996,” Guild wrote, in an email to Wausau Pilot & Review.
A general obligation bond (GO) is a municipal bond backed by the credit and taxing power of the issuing jurisdiction rather than the revenue from a specific project. General obligation bonds are meant to be paid through taxation or revenue from projects.
The Wausau City Council will consider a refinancing plan on Tuesday.
