The City of Muskogee is paying the piper for some awful management decisions nearly twenty years ago. The City is about to be on the hook for over $29,000,000 in judgments on three lawsuits over derelict properties that were condemned and demolished by the city in 2007.
Apparently, multiple mayors and city councils have punted on wrapping these particular cases up, to the point that what was probably "damages" well under a million dollars have now turned into over twenty nine million dollars that Muskogee taxpayers are now somehow going to have to pay. I wonder how much of that sum is interest – and legal fees.
The impact to Muskogee taxpayers, and property owners in particular, could be extreme. Among the options some have floated include a temporary 25% property tax hike.
Here's a letter explaining the situation from the man with the most unenviable job in town right now, City Manager Kendal Francis:
