At Tuesday night’s (0ct. 6) Kent City Council meeting, Operations Committee chair Tim Clark delivered a clear message from the City Council to the mayor – it’s time to acknowledge the growing gap between the mayor’s budget and reality.
(See related story page 3, which includes comments from the Council.)
I’m glad to see that the Council is recognizing what I’ve been saying for months – that the budget numbers coming out of the mayor’s office simply don’t reflect reality. The city is in an economic crisis, and we can’t begin to fix it until we acknowledge the scope of the problem. Burying your head in the sand won’t make it go away.
The numbers are frightening. The city has spent $12 million more than we’ve received in revenue so far this year. Month after month, sales tax revenue has come in below the administration’s projections. To keep their budget balanced on paper, the administration is forecasting a huge economic rebound by the end of the year. It defies common sense and reality.
The cost of ignoring the problem gets bigger every day – more layoffs, more cuts to critical services, and a reduced ability to respond to a crisis. How will we handle a flood with no money in our general fund?
In the end, this story is about more than numbers on paper – it’s about the city’s ability to use taxpayer’s money responsibly and continue to provide services to our community. Unless we change the way the city does business, we won’t be able to do either of those things.
Jim Berrios
Candidate for Kent Mayor
Kent
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