Regarding the 2020 City Budget

Tonight, at 6:30 p.m., there is a special meeting of the Common Council to consider the proposed City budget for 2020. Last night, there was a public hearing on the budget. The Board of Estimate and Apportionment (mayor, Council president, treasurer), all the commissioners and department heads, and a handful of alderman were present, but there was only one member of the public present: me. I had no questions about the budget, but, as a property owner and taxpayer, I should have commended the BEA for holding the increase in the City budget to just 2.2 percent, but since no one but me was there to report it, making that statement here is just as good.

Before Mayor Rick Rector adjourned the public hearing, Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) said she wanted to review some budget items, specifically the amount of money budgeted for the dog control officer. Rector explained that the hearing was the opportunity for the public to comment on the budget, and her concerns might be more appropriately brought up tonight when the Council meets about the budget. 

Garriga has a history of concerns about the dog control officer. Last year, before the Council passed the resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract for 2019 with Wes Powell, the dog control officer, Garriga insisted that he "come in and speak with the Council," which he did on December 10. Last night, Garriga suggested that too much had been budgeted for the dog control officer, which is puzzling because Gossips has confirmed that the annual fee to be paid to Powell in 2020 is $7,200, the same amount the City has been paying for his services for the past ten years. Perhaps more about the issue will be revealed at tonight's meeting.
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