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They won't certify it
Mayor Harry Tutunjian and City Comptroller Deborah Witkowski said Tuesday that they would not certify the proposed 2009 city budget if an amendment moving more than $500,000 from various departments into a contingency fund was included in it.
The mayor and the comptroller believed the council didn't quite know what they were doing when they moved the funds because, according to them, the transfer of some of the money goes against fiscal law.
Other changes could jeopardize contracts the city has with independent auditors since Witkowski normally encumbers money for that purpose in a purchase order in January, for an amount higher than she has been left with after the council transfer, just to get on the auditor's schedule by mid-summer.
Council President Clement Campana, D-At Large, said that the council had not yet decided whether to override the mayor's veto of the amendment but the council still needed to provide more fiscal oversight on how the city spends its money.
Councilman Bill Dunne, D-District 4, said that the council had looked over the budget lines for unused funds before making their changes and could have moved a lot more money if they had wanted to be malicious.
The matter could soon end up in the hands of the state Comptroller since no one knows what will happen if the mayor and comptroller do not certify the city's budget.
Read more about this here on The Record's Web site.
The mayor and the comptroller believed the council didn't quite know what they were doing when they moved the funds because, according to them, the transfer of some of the money goes against fiscal law.
Other changes could jeopardize contracts the city has with independent auditors since Witkowski normally encumbers money for that purpose in a purchase order in January, for an amount higher than she has been left with after the council transfer, just to get on the auditor's schedule by mid-summer.
Council President Clement Campana, D-At Large, said that the council had not yet decided whether to override the mayor's veto of the amendment but the council still needed to provide more fiscal oversight on how the city spends its money.
Councilman Bill Dunne, D-District 4, said that the council had looked over the budget lines for unused funds before making their changes and could have moved a lot more money if they had wanted to be malicious.
The matter could soon end up in the hands of the state Comptroller since no one knows what will happen if the mayor and comptroller do not certify the city's budget.
Read more about this here on The Record's Web site.
Labels: budget, City Council, Tutunjian, Witkowksi
posted by James Costanzo at
10:35 AM
1 Comments:
Is it Witkowski’s responsibility to provide the city council with information that corrects the faults in their proposal, or is it her responsibility to stand with the Mayor and let the council flounder and fail?
Does she work for the City, which includes the city council, or does she work for the Mayor, who she rightfully supports?
How many times do you think talented people like Deb will put themselves in this position before they find a greener pasture?
The problem here is not the government, it’s the politics. When does the political mudslinging and headline grabbing stop and the common good surface. There are many good people that work for the city of Troy, like Deb. Let’s let them do the job while the elected officials enjoy their fight.
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