The mayor does not deny that the controller’s numbers are wrong; he argues that it is not fair that former mayors had more federal money to help with the budget.
Whitmire and Hollins sparred over the analysis, which Whitmire described as “a political report” that wasn’t an “apples-to-apples” comparison with spending in recent years. Hollins told Whitmire to “refrain from attacks on the competence and integrity” of his office.
According to Melissa Dubowski, Whitmire’s finance director, the controller’s analysis didn’t take into account other sources of funding used for overtime spending in recent years, including one-time federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
“I think it’s misleading to paint a picture that the amount of overtime that’s happening has increased drastically from prior years,” Dubowski said. “It’s just the funding source is different, and it’s true that the general fund is having to absorb more because we don’t have those federal funds available to us.”
I appreciate the mayor’s efforts to avoid increasing property taxes, but I believe that the voters would have to approve that. I don’t think today’s economy is a good time to ask people to dig deeper into their pockets.
Mayor, you are running out of time. There is no magic wand, and money does not grow on trees. So, please let us and the council members know what your plan is. Mayor White was very creative in looking for ways to solve money problems, so why not give him a call?
