I received this yesterday but haven’t had a chance to post it until today:
September 15, 2009
As many of you know, the City Council has been wrestling with our 2010 budget for several months now. We have been working to balance the City’s budget like you have to balance yours……. Identifying needs vs. wants and being more efficient with the income you have available. During this challenging economic situation, the process has not been easy.
To this point, the City Council has already trimmed over $8.5 million dollars from next years budget. If sales tax revenue continues to come in below our expectations, it may be necessary to trim another $4 to $5 million to balance our budget. We’ve made significant reductions in our operating budget next year and identified over 40 positions that will not be filled throughout all city departments, including police and fire. In the coming weeks, we may find it necessary to lay off 20-30 more employees. This all equates to a drastic cut in service to our constituent taxpayers.
During this process we have focused on being open and transparent. With this in mind I’d like to solicit your input as we move towards making final decisions on next years budget. This will not be a scientific poll by any stretch, but an opportunity to provide me with your thoughts on a few budget related questions. I will share your responses with the rest of the City Council and the City Manager.
These are tough times but I am confident the City Council will make the right decisions to get us through this with the least amount of additional cost to you. And we hope to get this done with the least amount of job losses possible. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Feel free to pass this on to other concerned citizens.
Please click here to take this short, 3-question survey
Jim Ardis
Submitted my responses. Having only three questions seems…. inadequate. I left a virtual essay in the comment section. For me cutting police and fire is a non starter. I don’t think the police department was adequately staffed before the economic downturn. And code enforcement… there’s a department that has been woefully understaffed and structurally flawed (call driven enforcement) for years because of the lack of funding.
It’s called Push Polling when none of the choices are the real best answers. I urge everyone to use the comments section instead.
Exactly right PeoriaGuy.
1) Is it shorter to Detroit or by plane?
2) Would you rather pay me more to do something or do nothing?
3) Does the Mayor of your home town think you are an idiot or just stupid?
Addicted to wreckless spending, stop spending on failed businesses and business profiles
WT?????