On Politics and Budgets

So, in the end, the City Council pared $131,000 off a $95 million budget. If you’re scoring at home, that’s about one-tenth of 1 percent.

Certainly, there was more budget discussion than in a number of years, including the threat to completely throw the budget back to Mayor Dan Mylott for an overhaul. There’s a little more money for schools, and some Free Cash was saved.

However, in the end, was it all worth $131,000 – or one-tenth of 1 percent? Let’s review:

The council fired the first volley, lambasting the mayor’s budget. “The spending is out of control,” Councilor Jody Joseph said. “The councilors that’ve been here for a while are as frustrated as they’ve ever been,” Councilor Thomas Donnelly said.

When it looked like Mylott’s budget was being thrown back, he all but dared the council to do it. He called the council’s actions “political rhetoric and media grandstanding,” and knocked the council for not having a “clear, defining plan for the budget.” Most memorably, Mylott noted, “The budget is not a negotiable instrument.”

Things calmed down some this month, but how can everything be hunky-dory now. There’s a sense that was nose-holding by councilors last night as they voted to approve (except Annie DiMartino. I’ll say it again, is she running for mayor? Because she sure likes to hammer Mylott right now). I’d really like to know what Mrs. Tran said to get Councilor Dean Tran to vote in favor (see comment from previous post for Tran’s views).

In the end, Councilor Stephen DiNatale may have had most right last month, when he said, “I'm not suggesting this is all achievable. But I think it was important to send a message to the mayor.”

So, was a message delivered? And was all this political battling worth $131,000? Will Mylott remember this message next year, or will he burn through some free cash and levy to the limit? In an election year, with the council really go after Mylott next year (who would be running for re-election himself), particularly if a member or two is running against him?

It seems the political warfare doesn’t match the final price tag on the cuts made. But maybe this was just an important battle in a longer duel that will bear fruit next year. Either way, a lot of hot air was blown over $131,000.