By Dick Lindsay
The Berkshire Eagle
Food for thought from  | |
| “If I were Chief for a day I would immediately form an Incident Management Team (IMT) comprised of all components of the department. The goal would be to develop an Incident Action Plan (IAP) to address the current and even future budgets (two to five years out) through creative means. My feeling is this approach may limit the extent of any current painful mid-year cuts while also positioning the department for future growth.” — Bill Delaney in Opportunity During Tough Times? | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council wasted no time Tuesday night approving nearly $1 million dollars in budget cuts to keep Pittsfield fiscally sound.
The spending reductions are necessary to cover a $750,000 shortfall in local revenue, officials said.
While the councilors endorsed the $952,000 in spending reductions without any debate or discussion, several after the meeting, like Councilor at large Kevin J. Sherman, said voting “no” was not an option.
“We all saw it coming,” he said. “It’s hard not to what with the poor economy.”
Ward 5 Councilor Jonathan N. Lothrop considered the cuts necessary giving the city’s cash flow.
“Trim a little now, or a lot later,” Lothrop said.
Mayor James M. Ruberto said the city’s revenue reduction is mainly due to city funds earning less interest in the bank.
“Local revenue the first four months is below what we expected,” Ruberto told the council, referring to fiscal 2009, which began July 1.
Councilor at large Peter M. Marchetti said he had two choices — “budget cuts or increased taxes.”
He added the council’s silence on the issue during the meeting said it all to the taxpayers.
“I wanted to make sure we don’t increase taxes,” added Ward 2 Councilor Louis A. Costi explaining his reason for supporting the budget cuts.
The City Council next month will set the tax rate for the current fiscal year and Ruberto said the figure should be what he expected six months ago, thanks to the spending cuts.
“We will not exceed the 4.1 percent residential tax rate projected in the June budget,” Ruberto said.
While the budget cuts will result in no layoffs of city employees, Ruberto said five city employee vacancies will not be filled, four of them involving public safety.
Pittsfield Police Department Captain-in-Charge Michael J. Wynn said on Monday he will not add two officers as planned. Acting Fire Chief James Sullivan said two firefighter positions that are temporarily vacant will remain so for a few months until the firefighters in those jobs return to active duty.
Police and fire overall are cutting their budgets by a total of $255,000.
Other city departments are reducing their spending in various ways.
Pittsfield Public Schools is saving the city $150,000 through a freeze on any discretionary spending by school building principals and other administrators, according to Superintendent Howard “Jake” Eberwein III.
Public Works & Utilities Commissioner Bruce I. Collingwood said delaying a study of an old city landfill and not hiring an outside firm to clean storm drain catch basins will save taxpayers another $133,000.
However, several department heads said Monday if further budget cuts are needed, then they will affect staffing and direct services to city residents.
Sherman said his main concern is the budget for fiscal 2010, which is seven months away.
“We need to open the books and really examine how we spend,” Sherman said. “Everything will be on the table for discussion.”
The city’s budget process will begin after Jan. 1, but usually it starts without input from the City Council. Ruberto said this year they will have to take part from the beginning.
Sherman agrees.
“In fact, discussions almost have to start today,” he added.
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