From the Anderson Herald-Bulletin:
After taking a week and working with the Smith administration to limit public safety layoffs next year, the City Council finally approved a budget for fiscal 2013 Monday night.
The $63.2 million spending plan unveiled by Mayor Kevin Smith last month called for the layoff of 20 firefighters, nine police officers, three employees in the office of municipal development, and three employees in the street department.
By the time the City Council voted on a final spending plan after two hours of hard debate and testimony, the number of layoffs had been whittled down to nine firefighters, three police officers — although that job cut will be delayed until September 2013 — and one municipal development employee.
In the end, no one was happy with the final results.
Smith said the budget will leave the city with no operating balance, “little if any contingency funds,” and ongoing uncertainty about how much tax revenue the city will actually receive.
While the presidents of the police and fire unions said they appreciated the difficult budget choices the council was forced to make, they continued to question the need for any layoffs up until the moment of the City Council’s 8-1 vote. Councilman Ollie Dixon, D-4th District, cast the dissenting vote against the budget.
“It’s been a long, long process to get to this point,” said City Council Vice President David Eicks, D-at large, who led the council’s effort to minimize public safety cuts. “The intent of this was to try and eliminate any layoffs.”
He proposed a total of $1.3 million in alternative cuts — from police and fire training accounts, a fire department building account, legal, municipal development, park and motor vehicle highway funds and what’s left of the city’s share of the repealed wheel tax — to restore as many positions as possible.
Dixon blamed the Madison County Council for Anderson’s budget woes, especially its decision in late February to repeal the wheel tax.
“We wouldn’t be having this discussion tonight if not for the repeal of the wheel tax,” Dixon said. “If we had the wheel tax, we wouldn’t be having to lay off public safety employees.”
...
http://heraldbulletin.com/local/x1400205589/Smith-administration-City-Council-reach-budget-compromise
