Patrick Williams was again contacted by two other citizens with questions and concerns about the Shreveport area. The first question focused on the financial stability of Shreveport and the second question focused on the unfunded liabilities and what Patrick’s plan is to address it.
What do you mean by “you’re going to ensure the our financial stability of the city is strong and that our departments are run efficiently and effectively”?
We need to quickly determine the true financial situation of the city and what areas need the most attention. This will call for a complete financial audit and an efficiency/effectiveness audit. I know unfunded liabilities and unfunded infrastructure are two of the largest issues that have the greatest impact on the financial stability of the city, but we also need to know what programs in our city are inefficient. We can reduce costs through increasing efficiency and increase revenues through effective enforcement and collection programs.
What are unfunded liabilities and what is your plan to address them?
The pension and health care plans of the city have approximately $200 million in unfunded liabilities and must be addressed to ensure that the programs are sustainable for future generations. We’ll need to address current and future benefit packages, current and future funding packages while keeping the overall programs as fair and equitable as possible. I will bring in some of the best financial professionals in the region to immediately begin making recommendations to ensure the programs are sustainable for the future and in the best interest of the city as a whole.
Please stay tuned over the next 5 weeks for more questions from citizens and answers from Patrick. Next week Patrick will be answering the questions about energy efficiency programs in the city and innovative technically programs.
Edited by Cadie Hancock
I Am With Patrick 