Let the budget shell games begin
To the editor:
The scene opens at Council’s budget workshop Messrs Mason and Stewart present to Council, reinforcing their claim that Council’s budget target of $116 million will lead to public safety risks and massive service cutbacks… classic scare tactics that are used to defend unpopular budgets. They show charts that indicate Florida’s “roll back” rate statutes will forever constrain our ability to raise taxes that are necessary to operate the City. Mr. Stewart’s declaration that staff will now “do less with less” is in full play.
Member Day urges (and urges) Council to call a special meeting to ensure that staff’s new Public Service Tax is enacted by the June 1, deadline. Mayor Burch declares that, “we are not gonna make this city a shell.”
Meanwhile, Member Brandt repeats his request for staff to produce “span of control” ratios – a key budget tool that may reveal a “top heavy” organization that would lead to non-threatening budget cuts. Member Bertolini immediately challenges Brandt’s prudent inquiry and demands that he provide specific justification that warrants this apparent intrusion into the secretive world of city staff. What possible objection could there be to seeking these facts?
Now for the truth The $116 million budget target is in line with our actual operating expenses as we entered the year 2006, at the top of our hyper-active market. Did we suffer from Mr. Stewart’s “less with less” syndrome or unacceptable service levels then?
Absolutely not.
The “roll back” statute, in reality, provides a 4.5 percent revenue increase over 2009. It then enables the Council to add another 10 percent each year. Inflation adjustments and new construction would be added in, as well. How many of us would celebrate a 15 percent annual revenue increase, if justified? Most likely everyone except the hired help and some of the leaders who work for us. Beware, if the Public Service Tax is enacted, it will soon be followed by four more taxes totaling $20 million, or perhaps much more.
A closer look at two of Mr. Mason’s revenue line items (Other Sources and Miscellaneous Revenue) shows an income shortfall of nearly $6 million vs. 2009 revenue. Eureka those two vague descriptions may just lead back to budgets that are still bulked up with staff levels and overhead from 2007 that are no longer justified. Staff needs to do its job.
It seems it was very easy to justify budget increases by 127 percent and staff increases of 102 percent from 2003 to 2007, while population only increased by 31 percent. Reduce the budget by at least 15 to 20 percent. Restore trust and return to fiscal responsibility.
Oops, sorry try to forget about those last few statements. I mistakenly quoted excerpts from Mayor Burch’s 2007 campaign platform in the press. Whatever happened to those “truth in advertising” laws?
A recent Breeze editorial said it best – toss down to staff the gauntlet of definitive directiondemand more efficiencytoss out the scare tacticsput new taxes on the back burner and propose a budget we can all live with. The Sky Isn’t Falling.
Gary King
Cape Coral