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Steve Myers
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The big budget battle continued on Thursday night between Flint’s City Council and mayor’s office.
But this time, department heads are handing out pink slips, and the City Council is defending its decisions.
“The bureaucracy that is implanted in this budget is severe,” said Joe Conroy.
Flint’s government director is sounding off about the amended budget City Council adopted earlier this week. Their plan means 23 workers are being laid off come July 1.
“This budget the council has adopted is definitely going to impact city services in a negative fashion,” Conroy said
The council’s financial plan for 2005-2006 significantly reduces funds in the mayor and city administrator’s office, and it practically wipes out the city attorney’s staff.
“What their budget does is it leaves me as the only attorney for the city,” city attorney Trachelle Young said.
Young says the council’s budget leaves one lawyer to handle 45,000 cases piling up in 68th District Court.
And that’s not all. She says it also eliminates the department’s Victim Advocate Program.
That has served more than 1,100 domestic violence survivors this year.
“Domestic violence is an epidemic in the city of Flint. It hasn’t gone down. Hopefully in the future it will but so far it hasn’t, and our program is very much needed in the city of Flint,” said Melanie Jones, director of Flint’s Victim Advocate Program.
To be fair we got the council’s side.
“I’ve been on council seven years and I can say this is the most responsible budget we’ve passed,” Council President Johnnie Coleman said.
Coleman and Councilman Scott Kinkaid say the mayor’s administration is exaggerating.
They showed NEWSCENTER 25 some actual numbers. The council is giving the Victim Advocate Program $130,000. That’s every penny it requested.
They say it’s department heads who are doing the damage to staff.
“It’s a perfect document. It makes us all more accountable to the revenue and expenditures and prevent us from going into a deficit in the future,” Councilman Kinkaid said.
The city government director says the mayor may veto, but the administration wants to work with the council towards a political solution, and not a legal solution.
The Flint City Council says it has the numbers to override the mayor’s veto.
If that happens, we could see both sides back in court.
Full Story:
http://www.weyi.com/news/local/1617601.html |
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Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:59 am |
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