The County's Budget, Hardly The Bear Necessities!

Last Thursday evening the Monroe County Council voted to approve the 2006 budget. The budget was approved with a five to two vote, Republicans Marty Hawk and Trent Jones with the dissenting votes. Perennial complainer David Grubb spoke at the public comment segment to castigate members of the Council in his own special way, unfortunately Mr. Grubb was not the only irrational item on the agenda. The Council approved a budget with a $6.9 million increase or 15% increase over last year. Other than Mr. Grubb no one else showed up to oppose the proceedings, just the type of mandate that has lead to this ridiculously inflated budget. The other big disappointment of the evening was Council Member Sue (I’m not a politician) West voted with the Democrats. The budget would have passed without her vote so it is unclear what motivated her to ally with the side of this liberal spending machine.

The Democrats hailed the budget as one of the best in years with an unprecedented level of input and cooperation. With a four to three majority it appears the Democrats provided the input and the Republicans provided the cooperation. The concerns are vast and many as we enter an era under Democrat control. Concern was shown but certainly not heeded about the dangerous practice of spending down cash reserves to the tune of one million dollars. Formerly the Auditors office under the able leadership of Barb Clark provided the County with a healthy cash balance, one that cushioned against the need to borrow to meet the County’s obligations through the lean months leading up to the States mid-year dispersement. If Barb Clark were still the Auditor I'm sure you would have heard her chastising the Council for even thinking of such an ill-advised scheme. Instead with Newmann at the helm in the Auditor’s office the rough seas are rising faster than the Council’s 2006 budget as she offered little opposition to the process.

With the bite of a rabid pit bull one item that is going to take a chunk out of next years funding plan is the county's fleet maintenance budget. Ignoring soaring fuel costs, the council in all its infinite wisdom approved a 2006 budget that is actually $13 less than the current budget. All the while being faced with $3.00 a gallon fuel and knowing the current budget is already on empty with four months still to go. While the Democrats were straining Thursday to pat themselves on the back for this budget it was done knowing it has more holes in it than a roll of Swiss cheese. When the County’s fleet budget is depleted and it can no longer fuel the trucks to plow the roads we can all thank this Council for all of its hard work and then swallow hard when they force an additional appropriation on us.

The newly elected Democrats ran in the last election on a platform of increased spending in the area of social services. They came through on their promises and in a big way with a $300,000 increase in funding for Options for Better Living. Many voters had reasonable expectations their promises would be kept by offsetting expenses or cost savings in other areas but that certainly wasn’t the case. Their vote was never meant to be a mandate for unlimited spending but when the County’s budget exceeds the annual cost of living index by double digits you can bet someone didn’t do their homework. A good question to be asked at this point is how many people will have a 15% increase in their income next year, likely very few? Remember regardless of what the tax rate is in 2006 it is being artificially buoyed by cash reserves. Whether your feeding the budget or feeding a bear, once you start feeding it, it never goes away and it just keeps getting bigger.