This just in from Mayor Bob Coble:
City Council met today to continue to work on the 2010-11 budget. Thanks to Steve Gantt and staff finding greater efficiencies, we are able to add $500,000 to the Police Department budget for overtime. We will also add 15 police officers this year.
I am attaching the budget calendar. I am also attaching the link from the City’s website to the March City check register that shows all expenditures through March 31st:
http://www.columbiasc.net/depts/finance/downloads/Truth%20in%20Spending%20March%202010.pdf
I am also attaching the link to the March financial statement:
As I have reported before, the City’s rainy day fund as of June 30th will be (estimate) $11.5 million or 11% of the general fund. Additionally, the City has $19.4 million in GASB 45 reserves. Moody’s counts GASB 45 reserves as part of the rainy day funds or unallocated reserves. In addition to the City’s reserves being at the appropriate level, the current budget’s expenses are more than $5.5 million under budget. The City’s March financial statements are online. The City’s check register is online. All City bank accounts and investment accounts are reconciled. Moody’s reaffirmed in 2009 the City’s excellent credit rating for the general fund and the water and sewer fund.
I will keep you updated as the budget progresses.
As y’all know, Mayor Bob has been eagerly keeping us up to date as the city — which had let its finances get into an awful, embarrassing, inexcusable mess for several years — has dragged its budget back into much better shape. Interim manager Steve Gantt has done a fine job, and I’m happy for Mayor Bob that he’s able to report good news on his way out the door.
I doubt that the city’s fiscal troubles are entirely behind it, but still — if I’m Kirkman Finlay III, running pretty much entirely on how awful the budget situation is, I wouldn’t be too thrilled at this news at this time.
Aw, gee–y’mean Kirkman might have to actually think of another plank for his “platform”? Y’mean a plan for a brighter future isn’t just “Lock up the checkbook”?
How the city is able to turn around this quickly shows that the economy had little to do with the deficit. Mismanagement by the majority on city council is unequivocally the source of the problem. Therefore, the employees in public works should not be expected to take a pay cut to make up for the jackassery at city hall. But that is exactly what is being proposed. When Mayor Bob apologizes to the employees for his poor leadership, then I will listen to his good news. Until then, he should be thanking Kirkman for at least calling the mismanagement to his attention, or we would have been in much worse shape.
Well the word on the street about ol’ Mayor Bob getting his sunshine pumper working again appear to be true.
I’ll take sunshine pumping over one-note gloom-and-despair selfish cheapskatedness any day.
Kathryn – It’s not difficult to create sunshine when what you’re really doing is correcting careless mistakes which should have happened in the first place.
Better to correct them than not.
Bob didn’t cause the mess single-handedly. He had plenty of support. Granted, he makes himself the responsible party insofar as he keeps seeming to claim credit for the good stuff.
True, but bragging about it to make yourself look better is pure politics. It’s like in my job, I can create a disaster with a push of a button, then 5 minutes later push a couple more buttons and make myself look like a genius… same thing here.
I always thought Mayor Bob should hand out bobble head dolls of himself that only bob up and down because he never said no to anyone asking for a handout to pay for their pet project.