City’s Budget Asks For 40 New Staffers For $3 Million
09/11/2008 02:46
Yes folks, you read
that headline correctly. Administration has
presented a budget to council requesting they
hire 40 new positions at a cost of over $3
million.
What the hell is administration smoking? Have they even read the financial news for the past month? Have they no idea whatsoever concerning restraint? Or are they just plain incompetent?
Here are a few quotes from a story in Saturday’s Gazette which you can read here.
“City council is having a hard time swallowing the 40 new staff positions proposed in the 2009 budget.
If approved, the 40 full-time equivalents (FTE) would boost the complement at city hall to 534. That raised eyebrows from the very start of this week’s budget deliberations as taxpayers face an 8.97 per cent property tax hike this year.
"It’s too high," Mayor Nolan Crouse said of the staffing positions. "We’ve got to find a way to cut back — and I would say substantially. I just do not accept it."”
And then this:
"[New positions] represent well over $3 million. That’s a lot of new spending," Jones said Tuesday, just minutes into the first budget meeting. Council would be in a better position to make staffing decisions after hearing all the departmental presentations, he said. "With our economic situation, I surely believe with the new spending we should sit down and look at that thoroughly together."
And further:
“During early presentations, city manager Bill Holtby used words like "tight" and "lean" to describe the budget. The budget was driven by council priorities, he said, noting direction has been to maintain and in some cases improve service levels.”
And then, thankfully:
“Crouse said this council’s desire to look into the details, coupled with the economic situation, will make for further scrutiny as budget deliberations progress.”
At least Crouse is
tuned in to current economics. It is painfully
obvious Holtby and crew are not.
How much longer will this council stand for an administration that is so obviously hooked on spending that they will take us all to the poor house if we don’t rid ourselves of their ring leaders?
I hereby dub them, “Robbin’ Holtby and his Band Of Wary Men.”
