Slick budget maneuver planned?

There is speculation that the mayor will attempt to approve the budget for the upcoming fiscal year at the last meeting of the current city council, rather than at the first meeting of the new city council, as has always been done in the past. The two public meetings will be held back to back on Tuesday, May 1 at 10:00 a.m.

Some aldermen and aldermen-elect are said to have questions about the size and composition of the budget as proposed by the mayor.

Why should the new city council be hamstrung by a budget approved the the old city council? The new city council will have to live with this budget and they should be the given the opportunity to consider and vote on it.

Read about Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

New Feeney job included in budget?

Mayor Kopczick presented a budget to the aldermen that includes a brand new $40,000 salary expense line-item for the Finance Department.

This new item is ambiguously labeled as "Salary - Administrative Staff." Curiously, all of the other salary expense line items - except this one - identify specific job titles.

Could this be the new job rumored to have been promised to Brian Feeney?

City proposes $21.7 million deficit budget; $670,000 earmarked for landfill blunder

The Morris Daily Herald reported that a tentative budget for the next fiscal year was presented to the city council. Mike Farrell, who seldom misses an opportunity to disguise editorial as news, reports the story under the misleading headline, "Morris Finances Strong."

But read past Farrell's ill-fitting headline (thanks for your opinion, Mike), and we find the following tidbit:

"Revenues for the fiscal year are estimated at $25 million and expenses at $46.7 million."

According to my math, this would be $21.7 million of deficit spending in the upcoming fiscal year. Read on a little further, and we find this:

"Costs related to Community Landfill closure, including attorney's fees, are estimated at $670,000."

And this is only for one fiscal year. It looks like it will be another banner year for the lawyers feeding at the City of Morris public trough.

Morris Herald article