Reid Faults West in Budget Fracas

A discussion on temporary appropriations for the month of April devolved into a dispute over inclusion of a year's worth of costs for the mayor's office as well as high pension costs.

Councilman William Reid repeatedly accused the administration of trying to "pull the wool over our eyes" as Finance Director Ron West attempted to explain the budget appropriations Monday. West also caught flak from Councilwoman Gloria Taylor, who told West, "Say what it is you are doing and just be truthful."

"Don't be antagonistic," Councilwoman Vera Greaves chided West as he tried again to answer Reid's questions.

Reid, head of the council's finance committee for 2014, said he will be meeting with West Friday, but instead of having the April budget on the March 10 agenda, Reid said the council will probably have to hold a special meeting before the March 31 deadline to approve the temporary budget..

The council is still in the process of naming members of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee and is not anywhere close to budget adoption, so must make appropriations month by month to run city operations..

While the whole-year appropriation for the mayor's office did sound like something new and unusual in the budget process, the reason for needing to pay about $5 million in April for pensions dates back to 2009, when the council at the time agreed to a deferral plan that lowered taxes but incurred a future debt for 15 years starting in 2012. See post here.

In April 2012, the tab for the deferred payment was $5,199,585 for the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) and $1,407,810 for the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), just the first installment in paying back the debt incurred to keep taxes low in 2009. See post here.

Perhaps Reid forgot about the deferral plan. As for the $99,000 in the April budget for the mayor's office, a full explanation is in order.

--Bernice

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