The city budget as detailed in the very good City Page article is a
real challenge to City Hall, RT et al.
I don't know if there is budget soft ware for cities but there is
for banks and they allow the entity to target in on a p&l figure and hit it
to the dollar. The software puts the planner through every revenue and
expense item, allows adjustment that usually is not significant to the
citizen consumer but through the whole entity -or city- allows the budget to
come out right.
Instead of layoffs among city employees, they could just not do
rehiring and then do small accross the board paycuts. Even the CMs could
take small pay cuts on their own salaries that ballooned up in these 'fat'
years. And rental charges on such as the convention center, farmers market
and the theatre industry -the city has gotten into- could take some small
increases in revenue.
Before all that budget process though is some real revenue
oportunities such as the property tucked away in the MCDA could be -some of
it- offered for sale, which would bring in revenue on the sale but also
restart the properties on the tax roles.
I recall investigative reporting on city employees who would pull those
orange wagons out to some street, set them up like they were doing
infrastructure work and then take of for a two week fishing trip. I recall
those orange things sitting there everyday with nothing apparent happening
there.
I have heard the same old talk that 'well, they just have to raise
taxes'. That is part of the problem, they have just kept raising spending
every year for Christmas tree spending bills and then raise taxes until our
property taxes are far higher than small towns and surrounding states which
has then caused the rents to go up in dramatic fashion as shown in the
'first apartment' letters. It just wouldn't be facing reality to again
raise property taxes and would have larger future negative affects such as
driving people out of town.
James Jacobsen // Whittier
James Jacobsen // Whittier
TEMPORARY REMINDER:
1. Send all posts in plain-text format.
2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible.
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
