Letter to the Editor - Budget Study Session

Posted by Admin on Thursday, July 17, 2008, 9:15

This news item was posted in Letters category and has 1 Comment so far.

Kirkland Views received the following letter to the editor from Robert L. Style on July 17, 2008:

Dear Editor,

7/15/08 Budget Study Session

The results from the focus group were a farce. Almost all of the unnamed individuals did not know about the budget shortfall, not even what capital improvements meant. Unnamed individuals are not accountable. Who would take fiscal advise from someone who didn’t know or understand the budget problem?

Spoon-feeding the focus groups information that required increased fees and taxes resulted in statements like, “$9.65 increase is not going to “break the bank.” Were the focus groups told about the $46 million budget surplus this year that the city blew? I doubt it. The budget shortfall was created because the city overspent by $9.65 per household per month. The question should be, why should the taxpayers have to make up for the council’s mismanagement? The first thing the council needs to do is to reduce the requirement for households to spend an additional $9.65 per month.

At the study session, the two Councilmembers that made the most sense were Greenway and Asher. Ms. Greenway realized that the City Manager’s staff was presenting information that was biased. The city manager is in a CYA position and is doing all he can to provide the Council with guidance instead of the other way around. He should be presenting information that represents all of the council, not just a few. If any guidance should be given to staff, it should be at a formal council meeting with citizen input.

Mr. Asher made statements that reassured me of his understanding of why we have governments and their purpose. Not degrading response times of fire and police must be a priority. Also, he inferred that the city’s way of doing business resulted in a budget gap greater than the forecasted $13.8 million. He’s right.

Councilmember McBride suggested that maybe the utility tax should be raised more than needed to take care of future increases in spending. It shows she believes in an unrestrained budget.

As of now, there is no evidence that what staff has proposed is going to solve the budget problem. The City Council needs to represent the citizens of Kirkland, not staff.

Sincerely,

Robert L. Style

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1 Response to “Letter to the Editor - Budget Study Session”

kirkland busy body

24 July, 2008, 13:49

Dear Editor,
I have watched Mr. Style for years throw out numbers as if they were fact. I have spent the last week trying to find where the City had a $46 million dollar surplus this year that they blew. I also couldn’t find where the combined surplus over the last 5 years would add up to $46 million. My research shows that even if you took all the one time funding over 5 years that the total is well short of $10 million. I also couldn’t find where the total sent to reserves would amount to $46 million. I am intrigued as to where Mr. Style got his numbers and if accurate how the City managed to hide, squander or find a home for that money?

KBB

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