First, congrats to Mayor Bob on his big celebration yesterday! Now, to his latest e-mailed “City Update,” in which he continues to insist that we acknowledge before he leaves that he and the present council are getting the city’s fiscal house in order:
I wanted to give you a budget update from this Wednesday’s meeting. We are making great progress in bringing in a balanced and effective budget. The current shortfall in next year’s budget is $2 million. The proposed budget includes a $2 million “cushion fund” to be used throughout the year as a contingency fund (not our rainy day fund-that is fully funded). During the current budget we have a cushion fund of $800,000 and have used $90,000 with two months to go and no expected additional need. Additionally, the current budget is $5.7 million below expenses. City Council and staff believe a smaller cushion fund would be appropriate. We will get a report on May 12th on the savings from early retirements, eliminating vacant positions and other efficiency measures that will most likely save between $500,000 to $1 million. Staff will also present a list of possible reductions in various City function for Council consideration. Additionally, Council is considering a capital fund to replace police, fire and public works vehicles. We will finalize and approve the budget in June.
The City has taken a number of steps to reduce expenses over the last year. We adjusted health care benefits; we changed the way we calculate overtime; we eliminated a number of unfilled staff positions; and implemented a number of common sense provisions from an efficiency study. The proposed budget includes an additional $500,000 for police overtime, and 15 new police officers from stimulus funding. The budget fully funds all fire suppression, prevention, and staffing levels, including fully restoring both engine 8 and Engine 9 to service. I will keep you posted.
Robert D. Coble
Good news has many parents. Bad news is an orphan.
Where were all these updates when the city was paying the same vendors multiple times?
Well, he’s trying hard to make it right. Something I worry about going forward… did you see the story about how Finlay and Coble (now at least) are the ones who understand what’s happening with the budget, and now they’ll be gone?
I suppose the others will figure it out, but I hope things don’t fall apart again before they do.
Why no mention of the need for the property tax increase? Why can Bob Coble only give details on good news? His aversion to talking about reality when it’s not good (except in the most general of terms) is amazing, but absolutely predictable. The public and the media should recognize that they only get part of the story when Coble goes to the press to announce something.
What will Finlay do now that he has no reason to get up in the morning. Has the guy ever held a job? I read an interview where he got into the restaurant business on the advice of a personal friend because he didn’t know what to do with himself. He owns two restaurants which I frequent, but I have yet to see him in the places. Finlay appears to me to be a poster-boy trust fund baby who pouts when he doesn’t get his way. Maybe he could help Columbia’s revenue by getting his property (by the way is surrounded by the city of Columbia on every side) rezoned from agriculture (dirt cheap taxes) to municipal (ever increasing taxes).