The budget hearings these past two nights have been pretty routine, with the tough discussions being put on hold until Tuesday, June 8th. So far most of the presentations have focused on numbers that are being held pretty close to last year's budget with only a few notable exceptions. The real excitement was at the end of Wednesday night's meeting as the Mayor brought up issues related to the city website.
The only two areas of the budget to see large increases have been Health and Life Insurance Costs and Legal Fees. The insurance costs are understandable in this environment, however there has been virtually no discussion related to these significant cost increases or ways to address and manage them. The increase in legal fees in related to the upcoming contract negotiations with the various city unions. The city is expecting these negotiations to be potentially costly.
The lack of any increases in salaries and wages in most departments is also of note. It is not yet clear if they city is actually expecting to freeze all salaries and wages for the coming year or if this is just a starting point. Whenever these matters come up during the hearings, the Council has been asked to save the discussion until Tuesday, June 8th. It would seem that this is going to be a major issue since the budget is almost a half million dollars in a deficit with these items frozen, so any increases would only worsen the problem. It appears that the only department with an increase in wages or salaries budgeted is Economic Development.
The first two hearings were very informative, however I was the only person in the audience both nights. I would strongly encourage others to show up, especially as the hearings move into the Council having to make hard choices and further discuss how to resolve our financial situation. The City Administrator has been very gracious to provide me with a copy of the budget to follow along with the presentations, so this year's hearings have been much easier to understand than in previous years. Also, the Mayor has a history of asking for opinions and thoughts from the audience. So if you would like the chance to possibly be heard or to at least better understand the City's finances, come at 7 PM on Tuesday, June 8th to City Hall.
While the budget itself may not always be the most interesting topic, the Council has been having updates and discussion on other matters as well at the end of each meeting. These discussions have been quite heated and show the divide between the Mayor, Council members, and other elected officials. While the topics may not be of the greatest importance, it is a valuable opportunity to see how the Council works together and how they act when not on camera.
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