Just finished the pre budget release interview on television about the spending plan to be proposed tomorrow by the City Manager.
That new reporter from Texas, Jessica Shaw, grilled me and tried to move me off the Obamaesque platitudes....Dang that mainstream media trying to ask tough questions !
I think the comparison she was seeking was with the headline yesterday about St. Lawrence County and a $9 million shortfall...
My point is the spending plan is not a set it and forget document, it is something that's updated as events warrant....That is what the City has done in the past nine months.
I cannot imagine that any alleged shortfall in Canton is really something no one knew about until the WDT uncovered it one Saturday morning.
City finances have been the subject of public discourse for months and everyone knows state aid is down...sales tax is sluggish but recovering and expenses in areas like pension funding are up. Some positions have been vacated and left that way for the time being and maybe permanently. Purchases have been put off or cancelled....End result is we don't get a headline about multi-million dollar shortfalls.
That doesn't obviate the need for structural changes in the way things are done and I will be interested to see what proposals the Manager may have in that area.
So I am content to see what is proposed and look forward to working with the Council, the manager and staff in the weeks to come to refine the proposal.
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