Northwest Indiana Discussion

Northwest Indiana's Leading Discussion Forum
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:52 pm

All times are UTC - 6 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Cal City Says We Have to Pass It So They Can Read It
PostPosted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 3:29 am 
Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:08 am
Posts: 4781
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illi ... c536c.html

Council: Mayor crossed a line

Calumet City officials vote to stop budget proposal posting

CALUMET CITY | Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush said Thursday she merely tried to give her City Council colleagues a jolt toward preparing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that is likely to see severe cuts in municipal spending.

But the council saw the mayor's actions as overstepping her legal boundaries, and they approved a measure forcing the mayor to back away from plans to make a copy of her proposed budget available for public inspection.

Specifically, the council voted 7-0 on the measure that opposed Qualkinbush's intent to make her proposal available through the city clerk's office.

Fourth Ward Alderman Brian Wilson, who also chairs the finance committee that will spend significant time in coming months putting together the municipal budget for the fiscal year beginning May 1, said it would not be right to him to have to answer questions from the public about details of the mayor's proposal when he himself has not yet seen that proposal.

At stake was Qualkinbush's intent to make what she called her "recommendations" for the budget, including what specific items should be cut, available for public inspection through the clerk's office. At the beginning of Thursday's council meeting, she announced that people could see her budget proposal during the normal business hours for the clerk's office.

That led to the outcry from aldermen, who said they think she should first present her recommendations to the council. "Instead of posting this, it should be sent to the Finance Committee," 3rd Ward Alderman Thaddeus Jones said. "We need to come up with a clear analysis of our finances."

Sixth Ward Alderman Nick Manousopolous agreed. He said the fact that the budget will likely undergo many changes between now and its final form on July 31 will make any public posting pointless right now.

"You're posting a budget that probably won't take place," Manousopoulos said.

For her part, Qualkinbush admitted the budget will undergo significant changes, in large part because of the uncertainty of funding from state government.

The only certainty is that the state will significantly cut funding, but Qualkinbush said she can't offer a true figure as to how much less money Calumet City will receive.

"I'm trying to get us to move along" by preparing a budget, Qualkinbush said. "We do have a lot of work to do. There are a lot of cuts that will have to be made, particularly in personnel."

Complicating the city's financial picture are tax revenues for this year, which are less than anticipated when the last budget was put together. City Treasurer Gerald Tarka said as of Feb. 28, the city faced a $2.7 million deficit with two months remaining in this fiscal year.

Qualkinbush said she was not surprised her colleagues are frustrated at the budget uncertainty.

"I agree with that frustration; I can't get solid numbers myself," she said.


Frankly I say it should be posted for all to see 2 weeks before submitting it to committee. The people have a right to weigh in before it's a done deal.

_________________
If you voted for the Dems don't be surprised when things don't turn out quite as you were led to expect. Some might call it pure Marxism. But the problem with Obama economics is there's not enough money in the world to make it work.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC - 6 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group