Im not saying that I agree with the Mayors budget that was just presented, and Im already working to change some things, but I will say that I witnessed one of the bravest acts that I have seen by an elected official. Mayor Bracey, when faced with the choice of raising taxes or making painful cuts to our government, just presented a budget that did not raise property taxes, even though we were facing a deficit of over $7 million! This extremely controversial budget cut over 75 employees, including 46 police officers and 8 firefighters. Unless you are working with the budget, you may not realize how desperate a situation York City is actually in. Over the last 10 years the Administration and City Council have worked to reduce discretionary spending. Public works has been cut from over 80 to around 50 employees. Firefighters have been cut from over 80 to below 60. There is almost no fat to trim. I will be working over the next month to see if there are ways to sell off assets (buildings and vacant spaces) and reduce other departments. The Mayor continues to be in negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police to see if agreements can be made so we can reduce the amount of police officers that will be laid off. For those that have commented, yelled, and screamed about York City taxes... Welcome to the Reckoning. Feel free to leave comments, but those who actually look at the budget will be given deference. You can review the budget here: yorkcity.org/user-files/file/2015%20Budget.pdf .
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:58:15 +0000
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