chowmeinsammich: Huge Red Monkey Ass See, Huge Red Monkey Ass Do (over and over and over)

The Legendary

Fall River Mandrill

Divided City Council passes
$232.7M municipal budget

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By Michael Holtzman
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jun 29, 2010 @ 11:19 PM
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FALL RIVER — The City Council adopted a $232.7 million budget Tuesday night that included dropping sewer rates the equivalent of $2.25 million, approving the municipal side of the budget 5-4 and the water and sewer enterprise funds by the same slim margin.

The level-service $84.3 million school budget passed 9-0 without comment.

The council majority adopting the $127 million municipal budget side were councilors Brian Bigelow, Pat Casey, Michael Lund, Raymond Mitchell and Eric Poulin.

President Joseph Camara, Vice President Linda Pereira, Leo Pelletier and Brad Kilby opposed it on a night with upwards of a dozen votes.

The fiscal 2011 budget, increasing 2.4 percent, goes into effect Thursday.

Taxes will increase the maximum 2.5 percent, and there will be increases in meals taxes, a range of fees from parking tickets to burial expenses and water rates will increase $28 a year for the average single-family home under Mayor Will Flanagan’s first budget he mostly had approved.

City Administrator Shawn Cadime said that two large unions — firefighters and Government Center workers — voted to accept equivalents of 8 percent pay concessions to narrow the gap between revenues and expenses starting July 1.

Local 1314 of the International Association of Firefighters voted contract approval 116-49 — although Kilby and Lund said they’ve heard the city agreed to huge increases in future years.

The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees at city hall voted 79-17 for a contract, while its units among matrons, civilian dispatchers and water department waters refused to take a cut, officials said.

The city remains short of the $2.3 million Flanagan was seeking in budget concessions.

One budget area Administrator of Public Utilities Terrance Sullivan will need to wrestle with is the reduction in the current sewer rate of $5.40 per ccf to $4.50 per ccf, while the stormwater fee remains $35 a quarter.

It will save a typical single-family homeowner $90 a year to $590, and costs of a three-family would fall an average of $270 to $1,490, Sullivan said.

“Looking at all the figures, it’s something we can live with,” Mitchell said, who like most councilors noted the relief citizens need in this economy.

Kilby, who said he could not support the overall budget, said he was satisfied Sullivan will work to cut his $18.5 million budget that increased nearly $3 million, he said.

The new rate, which differed from any a task force recommended formula the past two months, was approved on a 6-3 vote, with Casey, Lund and Pereira opposed.

Some councilors said they were happy to get the rate down, others said it should drop more.

Camara, who backed the $4.50 rate, compared it with the $2.54 of a year ago to refute Sullivan’s comments the state Department of Revenue said it won’t certify the city’s revenues without a higher rate.

“Something is wrong when you say they can’t certify that amount,” Camara said.

“I will reduce the (sewer) budget as much as I can,” Sullivan said. He also said he would try to convince the DOR he can meet the lower revenue projections.

On the overall sewer enterprise budget, Camara joined the other three councilors voting against it.

It was the same 5-4 margin to approve the $8.16 million water enterprise budget, with the two other enterprise funds for sanitation ($6 million) and emergency medical services ($3.5 million) both passing 8-1.

Pelletier opposed those also on general principals, he said.

“There’s got to be another way,” Pelletier said.

When the ordinance committee, meeting earlier in the night, recommended 4-1 to increase the water rates from 1.92 to $2.20 per ccf, Pelletier voted no, saying, “I just can’t support this. It’s just another added fee to the people.”

Sullivan said $263,000 in new debt fees required the increase.

The council agreed with a Lund amendment not to limit out-of-town water rates to the traditional 70 percent more than city users pay. He’s repeatedly stated those amounts are below market rates and should be changed. Those rates will go from $3.26 to $3.74.

On the municipal budget, Kilby maintained he was not supporting it because of union contract concessions that remain unclear and “massive increases” he heard the firefighters are receiving.

“I have major concerns if what I’m being told is what the contract is about,” echoed Pereira.

“I can say we have a contract that is on par with the police department,” Cadime said of the firefighters’ approved pact.

He said a few small union groups are ready to vote and public works employees with the Teamsters union remain bargaining.

Flanagan sounded satisfied with the approvals he received from the council.

“It allows us to maintain level services,” he said.

He noted there will be more street police — although the total number of the force is dropping through attrition — the fire department is greatly enhanced through federal grants and the DPW remains level funded.

“It’s a budget of survival in difficult financial times,” Flanagan said. “We’ll be able to focus on other issues affecting our city.”

“It’s a difficult budget,” Camara agreed, “but I just can’t support a lot of what’s in it.”

Camara disagreed with Sullivan’s sewer revenue projections. “He’s going to have more money than he’s going to know what to do with.”
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.

The striking and regal simian face of the Mandrill (above) who sits serene and poised
is truly something to admire. See how he holds hids head high! However, after the votes passing the Fall River FY2011 Operating Budget, I'm afraid we will be looking at the OTHER end of the Mandrill. There simply is way too much shame in these
human's game after last night. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the collective being of our entire crew of elected officials in Fall River - THE BIG RED MONKEY ASSES!

I love the symbolism of the big red monkey ass! Just look at the one above...it's even shaped like a heart, a big red valentine's heart. Ohhhhhh, how sweet! Yes, I guess we all love the big red monkey ass because we like to have it thrust out at us every year, 24/7, 365 , in all of it's mocking majesty, and it certainly looks like it loves us back! Just see what our collection of big red monkey asses produced last night!

So much to rip apart, and so much big red monkey ass to mock us.

Let's start with the fact that this really ISN'T a budget. It's an out of balance mess that will require a miracle or two between now and, at the earliest, December, before it's balanced and when another round of mid year cuts across the board will probably be required to balance this tragedy of irresponsibility and political posturing. There is no way the DOR will allow us to print actual, as opposed to estimated, tax bills for FY2011 before it's completely balanced.

The City's accounts will not be reconciled, nor, do I fear ,will cash be reconciled, which is just as critical after the disaster in the Tax Collector's Office. You actually have to start to ask whether this continuing mismanagement of the City's cash and payment collections is being done on purpose, since we haven't been informed whether or not the well known cash imbalance from all other previous years, the whopping sum of approximately $1.5 million, has ever been ~~found~~ reconciled. Various Mayor's have been promising to solve this mess for YEARS. As the old accounting saying goes, "cash is cash is cash", it has to be accounted for TO THE PENNY! It's really the only item that does! All this monkey ass knows is that it's never a good thing when the "missing cash" was an issue right around the time the City had to install video cameras at the station in the Tax Collector's Office where daily cash drawers were cashed out and counted each day. The lack of any timely recording of payments against accounts receivable ledger accounts most likely went on in epidemic fashion for over a decade. That, and knowing how many old timers and immigrant families pay their tax bills and fees in CASH! The past truly is prologue even where big red monkey asses are concerned (Especially where our big red monkey asses are concerned, apparently!)

Monkey ass Cadime flat out states that the budget is out of whack by $2.3 million due to unmet salary concessions from bargaining units who seem unwilling to budge and accept an 8% cut in pay. The City has no City Accountant, no Tax Collector, and a Finance Director/Treasurer who has never been a Treasurer before coming to Fall River and is still learning where the men's room is, being here in the City going on four months. God only knows if ANY of the accounting schedules for the audit firm have been started. I'd almost be willing to bet that purchase orders (PO's) have been kept open. I swear, this gets worse and worse each year! (Most communities cut PO's off by June 1st to avoid departments wasting money by spending for things they do not need JUST TO SHOW THEY REQUIRED EVERY PENNY AWARDED IN THE BUDGET!)

A Veritable Cornucopia of

Big Red Money Asses

Yes, and we also have the utter irresponsibility displayed by President big red monkey ass Camara. All for politics and none for making sure things are adequately funded!.

Hero Camara refused to accept, and was supported by a majority of the other big red monkey asses, the revenue figure Supt. Sullivan said was needed to meet budgeted sewer operations within the Sewer Enterprise Fund. He was quite pointed about it as well, sticking that huge red monkey ass right in every citizens face, and wanting you to be happy about it! And I quote:

" Camara, who backed the $4.50 rate, compared it with the $2.54 of a year ago to refute Sullivan’s comments the state Department of Revenue said it won’t certify the city’s revenues without a higher rate.

Something is wrong when you say they can’t certify that amount,” Camara said.

“I will reduce the (sewer) budget as much as I can,” Sullivan said. He also said he would try to convince the DOR he can meet the lower revenue projections."

Sorry, huge red monkey ass Camara, DOR is on record stating it will NOT certify the City's FY 2011 Tax Rate if there are not sufficient funds to cover the carryover from the FY 2010 Sewer Enterprise Fund deficit (I believe approx. $ 600,000) and funds sufficient to both cover Federally mandated CSO direct and indirect costs and operations and additional operating capital, which was probably never adequately funded when the Sewer/CSO Enterprise was initially set up .

How quickly huge red monkey ass Camara has become such an expert on Enterprise Fund revenues in one year's time. HA! He was ready to swallow Correia's recommendations hook, line and sinker last year and now he's an expert? I don't think so. Nothing but pure politics on display, accepting a sewer rate they know will never satisfy the need for fear the voters will be upset by a vastly higher rate. That's called doing your job and making tough decisions, and being able to explain the need in a way most people can accept even if they can hardly afford it. Remember folks, this CSO federal mandate was brought about because generations of Fall River politicians refused to make these kind of tough decisions and allowed tons of rainwater runoff to pollute Mount Hope Bay. We are simply paying the bills now for what we did years ago. And the feds will never let that bill not be paid, and it will be paid on their timetable. Huge red monkey ass Camara knows this. This enterprise fund discussion is nothing but politics in it's most cynical and irresponsible fashion. So I guess that means it's a normal Fall River budgeting process! Look at that beaming, in your face, huge red monkey ass now!