It is difficult to overstate the stress on future budgets which this fiscally irresponsible, logrolled package of projects will induce.

Bowing to the pushback on the lack of operations funding to accompany hundreds of millions of dollars in capital projects, Holt has pushed the idea of setting aside roughly $100 million of MAPS4 dollars and investing the money to achieve what he hopes to be an average annual rate of return of 4% or roughly $4 million/year to pay for the operations of these roughly $1 billion in projects.

There are several problems with this approach.

First, it takes years to collect the $100 million while trying to complete the 16 projects. This leads to a lost decade of increased pressure on the budget without a corresponding increase in funds for operations.

Second, the endowment fund will perform the worst at exactly the time when we would need it the most; during a recession/depression. Every downturn in the OK/OKC economy leads to sharp cuts in services by the City of OKC and it is usually departments such as parks and transit which get hit the hardest. A dedicated fund for operations (such as the 1/8 cent for the zoo etc..) would provide funds for operations even in a downturn while the endowment fiasco is potentially going to have a negative return during such times and for the privilege of losing money you get to pay a management fee to the banker administering the fund.

Third, the council is not being honest about the continued stress on the budget from the MAPS3 projects. Months ago the council met in small groups to discuss the fact that, for the second year in a row, the Boathouse Foundation was requesting millions of dollars from the City's general fund to plug hemorrhaging budgetary holes; roughly $3 million is being sought this year. The Mayor/Council are keeping this hidden from the public presumably until after the MAPS vote in December. In other words, 75% of the expected return of the MAPS4 endowment fund to pay for the operations of the $1 billion in MAPS4 programs would be eaten up by the Boathouse Foundation shortfall alone.

The MAPS 4 program in which a maximum number of constituencies were appeased (logrolling) in an attempt at securing passage without adequate funds for operations is incredibly fiscally irresponsible and there will be great pain to be endured during the inevitable future economic downturns.

A dedicated quarter cent for operations would have gone a long ways towards fiscal responsibility and protecting us from the pain headed our way.