Mayor to submit budget at special City Council meeting

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy will be submitting her fiscal 2010 budget to city councilors at a special City Council meeting this Friday at 4 p.m. at City Hall.

McCarthy originally planned to submit the budget at a special city council meeting on Monday, May 18th, but moved the meeting up to give councilors more time to deliberate before the start of the new fiscal year July 1st, she said. She had been waiting for the state to publish local aid numbers, she said.

“In fairness we have to go with the latest figure that we have,” she said. “I put in a budget; the only thing that will be unknown will be the revenue for state. The numbers are due out from the state this week.”

She will not formally discuss her budget proposal at Friday’s meeting, but will meet with the Finance Committee in June for a budget hearing, she said.

Some councilors are surprised McCarthy moved the meeting to a Friday, rather than waiting for the state’s final revenue numbers.

“I don’t know why we’re having meeting; it doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Councilor-at-large and Finance Committee Chair David Marcou. “I heard from a number of councilors they can’t make it—14 out of 15 of the councilors have full time jobs.”

Typically the mayor submits her budget at the last full City Council meeting before May 15th, he said. When councilors did not receive the budget Monday night—the last full meeting before this year’s May 15th—Marcou asked the city auditor to determine the exact state and city laws governing the budget process, he said.

“I asked a simple question and it’s turned into, ‘can you get eight to 10 guys and girls into a room to accept her budget’,” he said. “I wanted full clarification of what the rules are and the time frames are. Half of it is I want to understand the process.”

According to state law, the mayor has 170 days to submit her budget to the City Council from the “formation of government”, which began this year on January 1st. Her deadline this year would have been in mid-June. Once her budget is submitted, the City Council then has 45 days to act on it, McCarthy said.

Submitting the budget a few days earlier than planned will simply give councilors more time to act on the budget before the end of the fiscal year, she added.

While Marcou expects an answer from the city auditor later in the week, the question may become moot if enough City Councilors are present to accept the budget on Friday, he said.

The special City Council meeting is open to the public.

Special City Council Meeting
Friday, May 18, 2009
4 p.m.
City Council Chambers, City Hall

Next full City Council Meeting
Monday, May 25, 2009
8 p.m.
City Council Chambers, City Hall