The Lake Worth Budget

Comment Up

Nothing new occurred last night during the Second Public Hearing on setting the millage of $5.49. With the Fire Rescue, it brings up the total millage to $8.95. The budget was approved, nothing changed. This commission believes that it is perfectly A-OK to rob reserves to balance the Budget. Commissioner Amoroso even stated that he does that in his own business when he is short. The problem is, reserves are never replenished and it is money that belongs to the taxpayers.

Vice Mayor Maxwell wanted to know where all the multi-millions went during 2006 through 2008 when property values were sky high, saying that there was an unprecedented amount of money that is gone. After complaining about all the missing money, he then went on to state, "You can't take it with you. Sometimes you have to take reserves and plug a hole." If  Maxwell would hire an Internal Auditor, perhaps we could find out where the money went.

Taking money out of reserves to balance the budget is no way to run the city. To take money out of the Simpkin Trust for library operations is breaking a Trust set up for library capital improvements. To take $700,000 from the billboard settlement money that has been shifted around from a dedicated fund to operations, is no way to run our city. We can’t continue to rob Peter to pay Paul.

My suggestion last night was to continue funding the conservation fund through our Utility and put that 1.4% back into the utility and then transfer the same amount of money to operations instead of using our savings. It is a small monthly utility tax and it is based on consumption--those who use more KWh pay more. It is a way to raise revenue without hurting the average consumer who is paying only $1.96 per 1,000KWh. We can then eliminate it next year from the utility bill if we can. Also, cutting the electric bill by 5% is too much this year when we have a budget shortfall. Cut that 5 in half and take money of like amount and transfer to operations until such time property values go up to a sustainable level to fund our operations.

Negotiate with the Unions. Roll back pension benefits and change retirement to age 65. Collect the past-dues on our utility bills amounting to millions. Collect from those cities owing us on the sub-regional sewer system. Cut more. Do not fund new positions this year. Do with what we have. Do not spend more than we receive, a concept that fell on deaf ears last night.

Although McVoy and Mulvehill voted against the budget because of steps that were not taken last year on the fire assessment as well as robbing from the reserves, I want to state one more time my thoughts on this fire assessment. It was an unfair tax because rich and poor would be paying the exact same amount to fund pensions for the fire department. It was not an assessment for services but for pensions. Taxes need to be equitable based on property values and/or income or in the case of a conservation tax, consumption.