The almost 44 million dollar question before CSI continues…
A media release went out this morning from the office of Mayor Mike Bell announcing the second Citizen’s Special Investigation (CSI) of the City of Toledo budget group will meet today at 4:30 p.m.:
The Citizen’s Special Investigation (CSI) of the City of Toledo budget will hold their second meeting on Wednesday, January 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Large Conference Room on the 22nd Floor of Government Center. The team requested to meet at least twice weekly to move quickly on the budget reform recommendations and will continue to meet on Monday and Wednesday until further notice. The media is invited to attend the meetings .
The CSI team was recruited by the Mayor after his election in November to review current financial figures for the city, examine potential long-term cost savings and efficiencies, and propose areas of the budget where the city might realize immediate cost reductions. A roster of team members is attached.
Copies of files distributed to the team will be made available by hard copy at the meeting or electronically after the meeting.
The City of Toledo is currently facing an estimated $44 million deficit for 2010 which includes a $9 million carry-over deficit from 2009. The Mayor has proposed a series of budget reductions to open a dialogue with Council and the Unions in an effort to eliminate the deficit and maintain local control of the City’s financial direction.
Also included was a roster of those currently a part of the CSI Team:
John Alexander – Administrator – City of Perrysburg
Deborah Barnett – Huntington Bank
Brandon Cohen – University of Toledo
Charles Chambers – Chambers Business Consulting
Lawrence Conway Retired – University of Toledo
Don Czerniak – AFSCME Local 7
Dan Frick – Retired – Ernst and Young
Roosevelt Gant – R Gant LLC
Rick Gray – Key Bank
Wayne Hartford – IAFF Local 92
George Sarantou – Toledo City Council
Don Saunders – Retired – Toledo Edison
Dan Wagner – Toledo Police Patrol. Assn.
Considering the article in today’s Blade, (link to article), it will be interesting to see what future comments are made from Dan Wagner and others.
Call me crazy but this group does not seem to be well suited for this effort. While it is well meaning, the members might have been made up of professionals that do not have any personal interest and perhaps more suited to municapality budgets. Having said that, I hope they will be successful in their endeavor.
January 27th, 2010 at 2:15 pmI agree with Mike. With the different unions in Toledo unwilling to do anything that benefits the city as a whole, nothing will get done here.
January 27th, 2010 at 8:31 pmFor quite awhile the union leaders have been quick to reject any compromise that produced significant and lasting cost savings (in contrast to the negotiated deferral of costs last year). One of their easiest avoidance tactics was to point out that the City’s financials were unreliable and constantly changing. I think Mayor Bell has done a masterful thing by putting the union leaders on the committee. Now they are a part of a group that include impartial, non-municipal folks who must finally agree on what they believe is a fair representation of the City’s finances. This takes one of their favorite excuses for not coming to the middle away. Once they agree on the numbers, they cannot duck their share of the responsibility for fixing the problem if they wish to remain credible to the citizens. If they loose credibility with the citizens, then the administration and the council will have less reason to be concerned about satisfying the unions. In the worst case scenario, the State comes in to manage the City, and all bets are off and all local control is lost. If that occurs, and the unions were a key reason for it, they hurt themselves even more.
January 28th, 2010 at 4:12 pm