To their credit, Winder city officials changed the town’s budget process last week after this newspaper pointed out they were not in compliance with state law.
EDITORIAL: No time for a rubber stamp council in Winder
The city will now hold a public hearing seven days in advance of a final vote and publish that hearing seven days in advance, both required by state law. In addition, the city council will now reportedly attend the hearing and not just dump that duty off to a low-level city employee.
But it’s not enough for the council to just attend a hearing. Council members must also be engaged in the budget process by asking for a detailed presentation of the budget from staff and asking questions about some of the budget recommendations.
And there are a LOT of questions to ask.
As outlined elsewhere in this edition, the FY2010 proposed city budget raises a lot of issues about staffing, raises and pay cuts that are unclear in the budget draft.
For example, are fire department salaries being cut? That’s what the budget indicates. And during this time of austerity, should the council budget, including some pay rates, be increased?
Times are tough and extra care has to be taken by local governments with their upcoming budgets. A mistake could prove to be devastating a few months from now.
To prevent that, the Winder City Council has to get off the sidelines and become more engaged in their own budget process.
This is no time for a rubber-stamp board.
But it’s not enough for the council to just attend a hearing. Council members must also be engaged in the budget process by asking for a detailed presentation of the budget from staff and asking questions about some of the budget recommendations.
And there are a LOT of questions to ask.
As outlined elsewhere in this edition, the FY2010 proposed city budget raises a lot of issues about staffing, raises and pay cuts that are unclear in the budget draft.
For example, are fire department salaries being cut? That’s what the budget indicates. And during this time of austerity, should the council budget, including some pay rates, be increased?
Times are tough and extra care has to be taken by local governments with their upcoming budgets. A mistake could prove to be devastating a few months from now.
To prevent that, the Winder City Council has to get off the sidelines and become more engaged in their own budget process.
This is no time for a rubber-stamp board.
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