by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
When it comes to the City’s budget, City Council member Lad Daniels thinks the City should only take out what it can put back in.
Daniels introduced his “budget neutral” bill at Tuesday night’s Council meeting. As he prepares to guide it through the Council’s committee process, Daniels hopes his colleagues view the bill as an opportunity to embed fiscal discipline into the City’s budget process.
The bill essentially prohibits the City from buying on credit. The City would be prohibited from spending beyond its budget limits without first finding a funding source. Otherwise the spending would have to be offset by cuts elsewhere.
“We’ve been dealing with tight budgets regularly and I think it’s important that we learn to live within our means,” said Daniels.
The bill would require the City to pay for recurring expenses with recurring revenues. Dipping into cash reserves would become much more difficult and the City would be barred from paying operational expenses with borrowed money.
“He shouldn’t be using a credit card to pay people’s salaries,” said Daniels. “We can’t keep introducing programs and worrying about how to pay for it later. I can’t do that at home, my wife would kill me. And we shouldn’t do it with the City’s money either.”
The City has closed budget gaps in the last two years by dipping into reserve accounts. That approach is not sustainable, said Daniels. His bill would require approval from 15 Council members to spend from reserve accounts.
Daniels has the mayor’s office’s support for the bill. Spokesperson Misty Skipper called it a “step in the right direction” as the City looks toward another tight budget year approaching.
“We commend Councilman Daniels for introducing this prudent legislation,” said Skipper.
The rest of the Council will have a chance to give its input over the next two weeks as the bill works through the committee process. Daniels expects some members might have philosophical differences with his bill. But he thinks there’s a general recognition on the Council of a need to adjust the City’s budget process.
“There’s no question that there’s an attitude on the Council that we want to practice fiscal discipline,” said Daniels. “That’s clear if you’ve followed the Finance Committee’s review of this year’s budget.”
Just the discussion prompted by the bill will force the Council to evaluate its spending priorities ahead of next year’s budget process, said Daniels.