I'm not sure what is meant by this because the city's books are audited each year by an independent accounting firm, and their report is made available at a public meeting each year in January. To an individual, this is a lot of money, but for a city the size of Abilene, this is the lower end. The city's debt is paid back annually and accounts for only 7 percent of expenditures.
All bonds are on a set payment schedule for principle and interest due each year.
Interest is not calculated on the unpaid balance as a credit card. Over the last six years, the City Council has issued new debt without raising the tax rate to repay it. This has been accomplished by carefully structuring the debt so that it does not create a burden on the taxpayers. My deep thanks to those giving information relating to our needed library. The need is evident.