City Administrator Bibi Taylor said Thursday the administration will not seek extraordinary state aid for FY 2011 to avoid the delay in budget passage that usually comes with the request.
The new fiscal year began Thursday and Taylor promised to present a budget to the council for introduction by August or September. Without having to wait for word on state aid, the city could conceivably pass the budget well before the third quarter, which is when the FY 2010 budget passed. By that time, payment of salaries and expenses left little leeway for cuts.
But Councilman Adrian Mapp said the decision puts the city "between a rock and a hard place."
Mapp said he doesn't like waiting to hear from the state, but he does like the "discipline" imposed by last year's Memorandum of Understanding with the city. The MOU tied acceptance of the funding to strict reins on spending for food, travel and other discretionary items. Click here for an earlier Plaintalker post on the subject. Part of the agreement was that any future application or acceptance of extraordinary state aid, now called "transitional aid," would carry the same caveats.
"It pretty much restricts unnecessary spending," Mapp said.
The governing body has clashed with the mayor over funding for special events and other non-essentials.
Councilman Cory Storch asked whether the governing body could impose similar restrictions on the administration's spending, but Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson said, "My gut feeling is, no."
As the council approved a temporary budget for the first three months of FY 2011, Storch questioned whether it allowed for contract settlements. Taylor said five of six union contracts expired on Dec. 31.
"So this may not reflect the true cost?" Storch asked.
"Correct," Taylor replied.
As passed, the temporary budget reflects only what was expended per quarter last year.
The budget process will be for the administration to review departmental requests and make modifications before presenting the proposed budget to the governing body for deliberation and final decisions. In recent years, the council has relied on its own Finance Committee and a panel of citizens to review the budget before taking action. The final bit has been to wait for the state Division of Local Government Services to announce the special aid amounts. The FY 2010 budget for the year beginning July 1, 2009 did not pass until February of this year.
--Bernice Paglia
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It does NOT mean the city would NOT get the money. Just that the State Aid would be included in next years budget.
ReplyDeleteI still feel that a budget the is due for July 1, but isn't presented until Sept. or Oct. is the wrong thing to do. I know what my family budget is well before I start making expenditures. Not so with our city. This begs to be changed, because it shortchanges the tax payers and leaves little time to put money saving measures into effect. It doesn't matter if "that's the way it's done." Doing it this way in this economy is inviting disaster.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the administration doesn't have to wait for state aid. It can apply without including it in the budget submitted to Council for 2011 FY. If it is granted then there should be an amended budget including the aid and new allocations. That is am increase not a chnage.
ReplyDeleteLet's see...we have a local Assemblyman who is more worried about blowing smoke, adjusting mirrors, dodging bullets, toeing the bloated State Democratic Party line and partaking in bashing the new Governor and a Mayor hand picked by him that wouldn't get out of the way of a moving car unless he told her to do it. I ask everyone...who thinks Plainfield would get a single red cent from a more austere NJ State Government headed by Governor Christie? True, since it's illogical to think we would, I am sure Jerry believes we may, hence Sharon does too. Newark Mayor Cory Booker showed what being smart in politics is by embracing Governor Christies hard cap of 2.5% on property taxes publicly and not joining the party lemurs of the Democrat State Party. I bet you he gets aid for Newark..even if only a little..he'll get it. Plainfield??? NOT.
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