Initiate Process to Explore Whether to Issue Pension Bonds - YES

Fiscal responsibility is one of the central values I campaigned on, and this vote speaks directly to that issue. Corte Madera is unique among cities in that we have a path to full funding our pension debt—but we're not out of the woods yet, and we are always on the lookout for ways to put our Town on even more solid financial footing.

That's why I voted to initiate an exploratory process that will investigate the pros and cons of refinancing our unfunded pension liabilities as pension obligation bonds. While we must wait for the final report to determine whether it makes sense to go ahead with this process, there is a strong possibility that doing so could save Corte Madera hundreds of thousands of dollars a year while providing the Town with much greater predictability in our yearly pension expenses. That predictability is key to sound financial planning, as it would insulate our annual expenses from the vagaries of the stock market. More on this in the coming months, but in the meantime, we are continuing to gather information—when dealing with such weighty financial matters, you can never be too prepared!