Last Thursday, the City Council acted on the Mayor's recommended cuts to the budget. On an 8-5 vote the council adopted an amendment from Barb Johnson, Sandy Colvin Roy and Gary Schiff. This amendment shifted the cuts around so public safety would get $2 million less of a cut.
So where did the Council cut deeper in order to cut Police and Fire less? On Friday, the Star Tribune described the Public Works Department as a "certain loser" in the amended plan. They identified traffic signals, street lights, and lane painting as getting less upkeep. Again yesterday, the Star Tribune reported that the $2 million shift in cuts will "force deeper cuts in street and traffic-light budgets." If this doesn't seem like a complete explanation for a $2 million shift, that's because it isn't. I compared the original proposed numbers to the numbers listed in the Star Tribune Friday. As it turns out, the deeper cut to Public Works only accounts for less than half of the $2 million shift. The Johnson/ColvinRoy/Shiff amendment also cut deeper into Planning, Civil Rights, Health and Family, Finance - everything except the Attorney's office. I think this story deserved more detailed coverage in the Star Tribune. See for yourself. These are the percentages each department would be cut. The first number is the Mayor's original proposal and the second number is the Johnson/ColvinRoy/Shiff proposal that was passed 8-5. Mayor/Council/Clerk/Elections -2.07% -9.00% Planning -11.01% -15.00% City Coordinator -1.50% -9.00% Civil Rights -14.43% -19.00% Assessor -1.49% -4.73% Health and Family -7.25% -10.00% Human Resources -9.78% -10.00% Attorney -7.90% -7.90% Finance -9.81% -10.00% Information Technology Operations -7.46% -9.00% Public Works -14.06% -16.06% Fire Department -8.88% -6.66% Police -8.03% -7.05% Total General Fund Cut-7.95% -7.95% I left contingency, internal service funds, licenses and inspections off the list. They got no cut in either proposal. I can guess why for contingency, but I don't know why for the others. Michelle Martin Armatage 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
