Trying to make ends meet
Amsterdam’s Budget Review Committee is running out of time to put a budget in place and will meet tonight to discuss several proposed cuts in the spending plan.
To close a massive budget deficit, Mayor Ann Thane and city Controller Heather Reynicke proposed eliminating a voter-approved cap on the water rate, a measure defeated last week by the Common Council.
With $300,000 to make up, 2nd Ward Alderwoman Julie Pierce asked the department heads to simply trim 5 percent off their budget requests. Tonight, the committee will look at proposed changes in the police, recreation, clerk and public works departments that are expected to fill that gap.
Some of the proposals include:
* Increasing the fines and forfeitures revenue line item by $90,000 in the police department
* Cutting police personnel department expenses by $114,000. Chief Greg Culick said this can be accomplished by not filling a position that will be vacated due to a retirement. In addition, there is also an officer out on disability whose position can be forfeited, Culick said, so another officer can be hired at a lower pay grade to fill that spot. No layoffs would have to happen.
* The number of vegetation workers would be cut from four to two.
Previously approved cuts include removing the animal control officer and the janitor at the public safety building. The draft budget still includes a 10 percent contribution from some retired city employees.
Quick take: We can suppose it’s better late than never, but it looks like there’s finally some real work being done on the budget. A lot of the general nuttiness of the process could’ve probably been avoided, however, if committee members didn’t mess around with the tax cap (which was never coming off) and other time-wasting measures. One also has to wonder why department heads weren’t asked to make the cuts from the start, as all of them appeared before the committee months ago to review their individual budget requests.
Comments are closed.
Charlie,
We’ve been down this road. There was never an attempt to put forward a balanced fat free budget FROM THE BEGINNING. Department heads were asked by the Mayor to submit a Wishlist budget that’s were the fameous 62% deficit started from. So the Mayor and GD could push the envelope to make matters look worse along w/ the assistance of the Controller so they could secretly meet behind closed doors with there real plan of eliminating the 3% tax cap.
You can have all the spring flings you want but what matters most is that this Adminastration is nothing less than a sham wow on the tax payers. Shame on you people for not safe guarding our tax dollars and instead spilling out more lies.
What the h**l does the spring fling have to do with any of this? The spring fling was a success. The idea that somehow holding a spring fling or cleaning up the city or beautifying the city is somehow connected to budget and administrative problems is bogus. Karl Baia brought the same issue up on another blog. Criticize where necessary but give credit when credit is due.
Dan,
are you serious because you may not understand the City budget has everything to do with the ability to have a spring fling, clean up the City and beautify it. Hello we as tax payers pay for those things or do you not know what taxes pay for! Maybe if you knew what line items are for in budgets and how it sets money in place to be used towards the things you mention. Have you ever looked at the full City budget I have on on many occasions and know the system of which its suppose to function.
More important Dan is the fact they can organize a spring fling but can’t organize a budget to run by.
btw Dan have you ever read the city charter and understand it why because my point is simple spring fling a success yes managing the city a failure. Its that simple!
Dan,
One last thing critize on the correct post and give credit on the correct post because you are not reading all post. If you would of seen I gave credit on the correct post and on this a different post made my point about this fruitless Adminastration, so read before you rant:)
Luis, Would you enlighten us on how taxes were used for the Spring Fling. Please give us a list of items and the amount spent on each item.
As long as you bring it up, the “volunteers” were paid by the mayor and there were more cops present than I thought we had on the force. Which I don’t criticize because it was a fine community event. But it certainly wasn’t free.
I have to agree with Luis on this. The dept heads should have submitted a bare bones budget, and then they should have been present for the balance of the budget meetings to answer questions. It would have helped when cuts were being made to items the council knew nothing about. Times are tough all over the country and an across the board pay freeze should have been discussed months ago by the administration and the unions. Instead the mayor and controller hang their hats on a tax increase because they failed to do their jobs.
Bob, I was on the committee for the Spring Fling. It was my understanding that any cops at the Spring Fling would be those who were already on that shift. As far as any volunteers being paid, I never heard anything about that. Would you mind submitting the proof?
The expenses of the Spring Fling were paid for by business sponsors and vendor fees.
As someone who did a lot of business that day, I can also attest to the fact that more sales tax was collected in Amsterdam on that day than has been collected in a long time. Some of that does make its way back to Amsterdam.
I suggest you ask Ms. Hetrik.
If you are asserting that the volunteers were paid, then I don’t need to ask Karin because you must have the proof. You are too good of an attorney, as I can testify to from personal experience, not to make an assertion without being able to back it up with proof.
Mr. Going,
NONE of the people on the committee (volunteers) were paid one dime for this (Spring Fling)event. We raised all the money needed through very generous sponsor donations. You should retract your statement, because it it completely false. Thanks for yet another rumor.
Aw, come on. Really?!?
One more point, Bob. I collected nearly $100 in donations and sales of the souvenir book for the Historic Amsterdam League on Saturday and more was collected elsewhere. A lot of this money will be going to help repair City Hall.
And, by the way, I collected $1.20 in sales tax for the sale of my last copy of your book on World War 2.
As I said, I make no complaint about the event or anyone’s participation in it. The fact of the volunteers being compensated out of the mayor’s budget was widely discussed at the time of the winter event, and the point was made at the time that it included work on the Spring Fling.
At the time, the Common Council initially held up payment, then went ahead and approved it, notwithstanding that elected officials are prohibited from contracting with the city, something the Citizens Review Board would probably be interested in investigating were it not for the fact the volunteers constitute 2/3 of the Citizens Review Board.
But that’s ok. As long as everyone had a good time. And I always appreciate sales of my books.
And the amount, as I recall, was $800. Karin’s admission of this may be found at http://rgoing.livejournal.com/465285.html, so please don’t call me a liar.
OMG. Mr. Going,
Are you referring to the 800? Please figure out how much that boils down to from September – December , and then from February – May (working 5 days a week, by telephone, travel, purchasing items with our OWN money, paint (OUR OWN PAINT, brushes, rollers, pans, brooms, rakes, trash bags, and items purchased by my sister & I to put in empty storefront windows for example $380. for 2 new maniquins) We paid a lot more out of own money than you know. Please let me know what you come up with as per how much an hour I was paid after MONTHS of hard work and dedication to make this Spring Fling (and Winter Mixer) successful events? I would like to know – I’d do it myself, but I am exhausted from all the hard work over the past few months and since you seem to know everything, I’m sure you can figure it out. I’ll be suprised to hear what you come up with.
Do I really need to pull out the padlock on this thread? Honestly, what does the Spring Fling have to do with the budget proposals being considered by the Budget Review Committee?
Padlock on.
Good grief, people. Some of you (including the comments no longer allowed up) are like frigging sharks.