JOURNAL BLOGS
Sometimes, there ain’t enough column space...
8
May 2009
A JFK moment in Wayne
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 3:54 PM | Comments
There’s nothing like a Friday night budget session to start the weekend off on a sour note.
But the Wayne City Council is going to start going through their 2009-2020 budget at 8 p.m. tonight and, given everything I’ve heard about it, it’ll be one of several important sessions to attend.
The city is looking at $4 million in budget cuts this year, in part because of the drop in property values, but mostly because of the changes at the Ford Motor Company plants along Michigan Avenue. Closing them down for about 18 months, taking out most of the machinery and idling the rest has left a big hole, to say the least.
I have long been irked at the city government here and the decisions they’ll be forced to make now will not be popular. They’re talking about cutting staff, services—just about everything that impacts the quality of life.
I often question their spending decisions—internally, if not in print or in a blog—but the sad truth about this budget year is that there was little they could do to avoid the depth of cuts. Even if the city council and administration had saved every penny they could for the past five, six years, there’s no way they would have built up a rainy day fund that could hand a $4 million hit to the revenue stream. The cuts might not have been as severe, the ‘brain drain’ caused by long-term employees and department heads opting for an early retirement wouldn’t have been as extensive, but it still would have been there.
What we’re left with here is a JFK moment (and no, I do not mean Just F. Kidding): Ask not what your city can do for you, but what you can do for your city. Pick up debris at the parks. Keep an eye out in your neighborhood.
And hope for the quick return of better days.
Comments
« Back to Bloggin' on the Edge
Feeds
