A Low Point in Our Budget History

If you watched the budget hearings this morning, you heard the City Auditor Larry DeCoste state that the budget that was submitted by the Hanlon administration leaves us facing the possibility of a Proposition 2 1/2 override. In other words, the City Council cannot legally pass the budget as it was submitted. This is the first time that we've been faced with this situation. It is indeed a low point in our budget history.

The City Auditor was very candid about the situation we now find ourselves in. It is rare that we get this much honesty from this administration, and Mr. DeCoste should be commended for being forthright and brutally honest regarding this budget. He made valid suggestions regarding where it was possible to cut some of the money, including the need to cut jobs from the budget.

This begs the question -- why would this administration submit a budget that they know is illegal? Why would they not have made these difficult cuts prior to submitting the budget? The simple answer is -- they don't want the administration to be the "bad guys." If people are going to be laid off, they want to be able to say "hey, you lost your job, sorry, blame the City Council." It's not only fixed costs causing the enormous increase in this budget, as the Mayor tried to claim in his statement on May 31st -- this administration had the gall to submit salary increases of up to 6%!!!

The City Council has now put the onus back onto the administration, insisting that they take back the budget book and review cuts that could be made in jobs and salaries, as well as looking at school spending (school spending also accounts for a good portion of the budget increase). The City Council also has the responsibility of taking the budget book, reviewing it, and suggesting their own cuts.

The City Council will meet again on Tuesday evening and has requested that the Mayor, the auditor, the budget director, and the school department business manager appear to discuss cuts and answer additional questions that may present themselves after further review for possible cuts.