About Last Night

First off, I didn't watch last night. I was finishing up The Sopranos (as you can see below). Considering its greatness, I regret nothing.

That said, the question of the day is, where is the $760,000 going to come from? The council cut $35,000 last night. That's less than 5 percent of what needs cutting. Only 95 percent to go. At some point, a fairly sizable cut is going to come down. Hopefully it's not in the School Department. I have a feeling it might be.

Here's the thing: The council doesn't have a choice. The mayor gave them a do-or-die choice on the trash fee, and they called his bluff. Now they have to pay the consequences of their actions.

The chickens are coming to roost. Those last few years when the council railed against the budget but then essentially passed it untouched are coming back to haunt them. By ducking some tough decisions in the past, there are even tougher ones now. Trimming salaries isn't going to get this done.

Interesting, the council seems to be warming up to the task. They don't need to be proud of these cuts, but they should take ownership and stand by them. They need to get the message out that they are taking back control of the city finances and making them right. They need to appear like they are making the right choices, and have the gumption to it no matter the cost.

In terms of this particular budget, the council is forced into this hand by Mylott's decision to try to work the trash fee into the situation. They weren't wrong to reject that fee. But they aren't blameless in the overall situation. How they handled past budget played a role in the current situation. They need to now move past that, take responsibility for the city's finances, and not get hit with the label of being the "mean" council that whacked everything in sight.