Thoughts on the Budget Meeting
By Editor at June 13, 2024 | 8:30 am | Print
The budget meeting last week was very telling in many ways. A lot of typical things happened but some good signs also came through.
First off it was good to see Democratic Alderwoman Tonilynn Collins think outside the box and come up with an idea to help resolve the budget increase. Unfortunately the idea was not sound and did not work. If the Council knew about it earlier it is possible something could have come from it. Still, it was nice to see someone offer something unique.
It was also good to see Democratic Alderman Michael Trueworthy vote for the budget and publicly say he will work with Mayor Erin Stewart to help fix finances. It is never good for the two sides to work against each other. It is especially bad when it comes to taxpayer money. We will watch Mr. Trueworthy to make sure he does as he said, but we are encouraged by his words.
The people who voted against the budget besides Ms. Collins were fellow Democrats Eva Magnaszewski, David DeFronzo, Adam Platosz and Shirley Black. They have the right to vote as they see fit. It just seems that if they did not like it, they would offer an alternative idea. None did.
Last year Republican Jamie Giantonio and Democrat Carlo Carlozzi voted against the budget. Both explained in detail why and offered solutions.
Politically, these five Democrats can now say they voted against a budget increase this year. They cannot, however, overcome the fact that they voted for a phony budget last year that had a disguised 8 mill increase.
How could someone vote for the 2013-14 budget with a built in increase and false revenues, but not this one that is transparent? That question will continue to be asked of those five right through to next election day.
