So sometime this week the City Council may hold a special meeting on temporary emergency budget appropriations, an item that did not make it to last Thursday’s agenda because a majority of council members said they wanted a review with a budget consultant first.
A three-month temporary budget expires March 31. Until budget passage, the city relies on temporary emergency appropriations month to month after the initial three-month period. Mayor Adrian O. Mapp offered the governing body a resolution for appropriations through June, representing half a year’s budget. But he wants more for certain line items, including 68 percent in salaries for his office. That line includes pay for the chief of staff, a title the council approved, along with a salary range, after Mapp won the November general election.
Mapp did not need council confirmation to hire a chief of staff once he took office, but apparently a council majority does not like his choice. It appears that he is including the extra funds for his office in order to secure the job for the person he chose, someone whom he considers essential to his team. He also included 77 percent in salaries for the Recreation Division, which needs a new superintendent.
Council President Bridget Rivers said the governing body needs to meet with the budget consultant over the appropriations in order to assure "a sound temporary budget,' but three-term Councilman Cory Storch said Thursday he never heard of a consultant dealing with the temporary budget. Historically, a consultant assists the governing body in its deliberations after budget introduction. The council unanimously agreed to introduce the budget Thursday, but has not scheduled any budget deliberations nor has it named anyone to the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee.
What is this all about? Is it a case of the executive branch messing with the legislative branch, or vice versa? Will a newly-hired budget consultant want to get in the middle of a politically-charged situation over temporary appropriations before budget deliberations on the introduced budget begin?
Action on appropriations for the coming month or months must take place by March 31, or the city will not be able to operate. Employees, even those with Legal Shield payroll deductions, will not get paid. Rivers vowed Thursday that the council will not allow the city to shut down, but when and how will this issue be resolved? There are important community meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving only four possible dates for a special meeting if the matter goes all the way to the last minute.
Whatever the reason may be for the temporary budget stand-off, it must be resolved, even if the parties don't want to state publicly why it came to this juncture. In fact, if a rumored prejudice is involved, better to resolve it without letting the world know how low things have sunk around here.
--Bernice
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