In budget crunch, is Council playing fair?

MAYOR NUTTER is dealing with a second gaping budget deficit in his second year running the city. But is City Council sharing the mayor's budget pain?

At recent budget forums around the city, many residents questioned the money spent to support the 17-member Council, which has enjoyed budget increases for the last four fiscal years.

So far, Council members have been more interested in talking publicly about what they don't want - higher property taxes, a fee for trash pickup, cuts to services - than offering to substantially cut their own budget.

Council members make six-figure salaries and are supported by an average of seven staffers. All but four drive city-issued cars. And the legislative session is only nine months long.

Still, Nutter must tread carefully while pitching the budget since he needs Council's approval for any spending plan.

Zack Stalberg, president of the political watchdog Committee of Seventy, said that Council should look on the budget crisis as an opportunity to lead.

"City Council is a handy whipping boy and some of that is not fair, but some of that has been earned on merit," Stalberg said. "I think they've got a great opportunity here to try to turn that image around. If there aren't signs of this, I think a lot of anger will come down on them."

For perspective, Council's budget makes up only about four-tenths of 1 percent of the city's $4 billion budget.

Council's budget is $17.8 million for fiscal year 2009, which ends June 30.

But Council always has more money set aside in the budget than it intends to spend.

Council expects to spend $15.7 million in the current fiscal year and return the rest to the city's general fund. In the last five fiscal years, Council has returned between 8 percent and 34 percent of its budget to the general fund.

So, in tight economic times, shouldn't Council stop padding its budget with extra money, which could be used for other city spending?

"Given the history of end-of-year surpluses in the Council budget, City Council should probably be taking a close look at their actual expenditures rather than just reducing the surplus," he said.

Stalberg called on Council to set an "honest budget."

"I understand the slush fund argument in normal times, but there's an opportunity here to really set an example," he added.

Council's most senior member and one of its rookies disagree.

Council President Anna Verna, who took office in the mid-1970s, said that a difference in opinion between Council and Mayor John Street showed the need for a reserve in Council's budget. Street and Council disagreed on filing a lawsuit. So Council had to hire an outside law firm rather than be represented by the city solicitor.

"In order to maintain our independence we need to have a bit of a cushion that we can turn back," he said. "If we don't have it, then we have to go to the mayor, especially during the last four months of the year. I think that challenges our independence."

Curtis Jones Jr., one of three Council rookies, agrees that the budget needs a surplus. Jones noted that the mayor's administration has a "vast reservoir of talent."

"We need to be a little more liquid by way of what our flexibility is, budgetarily," Jones said. "But the good news is, at the end of the day, if we don't use [all of the budget], we do return it."

Much of Council's budget is spent on salaries for about 200 employees. Budgeted for $13.3 million in salaries this year, Council will actually spend closer to $12.1 million due to unfilled positions and voluntary pay cuts taken by eight Council members.

Council had budgeted about $3.7 million for contracting professional help in fiscal year 2009 but expects to spend closer to $2 million for those services.

Those contracts include $36,000 for a public-relations consultant, $250,000 for a legal challenge on local gun-control laws, $460,000 for legal services and traffic studies on casino issues, $100,000 for a consultant on nuisance bars, $25,000 for computer consultants and $70,000 for a company to broadcast Council's weekly sessions on the radio.

Nutter's staff prepped for his budget address with public forums. City residents were given worksheets and encouraged to come up with a formula for a balanced city financial plan that focused on their priorities.

Those worksheets did not give the option of cutting the budget for Council. But many residents spoke about Council - trimming salaries, taking away city cars, reining in spending.

Asked why Council keeps coming up, Verna said that residents don't understand the job. She predicted a rough time ahead.

"It's because we work hard and people don't realize how hard we work and what this job entails," Verna said. "It's a bad time. It's going to be painful for everyone."*