Requests from city departments would push next year’s budget up by $12.3 million if officials want to maintain current levels of service, according to a draft of the 2012 budget.
The city released a draft of its departmental requests late Tuesday. It shows that the city would need $197.5 million to keep its current level of services for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The current budget is $185.2 million.
The Chattanooga City Council is expected to review two different budget proposals: one with a zero-percent increase and one that maintains current services. The council is expected to talk in detail about the budget requests on March 10.
For more information, read tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
Notice how the Littlefield budget shortfall is similar to the number of millions in tax dollar giveaways from Republicans in the area this past year. Failure to collect taxes on large businesses may promote cronyism and bring in RNC ad dollars to politicians who fail to stand up for their communities, but in both the long and short runs, those practices hurt us all. Another buddy-buddy deal from career politicos motivated by excessive self-interest created this problem.
No doubt, we'll have another Republican politician suggest we give away another six million dollars to his friends later on this week.
Or, maybe let his self-appointed neighbor on the County Commission hold onto six million for another quarter instead of "wasting" the money on schoolchildren. They could then raffle off the six million among their friends.
Just disgusting. Habitual failures to make practical decisions about equity. Notice that last year's budget reports show a $10 million dollar change in the reported figures, due to definition massaging. This means that the shortfall is actually $10 million dollars greater than reported above. Mayor Littlefield's fictional definitions of cost are not acceptable to taxpayers.
Collect the taxes on these large businesses. Remove Republicans and their sweetheart, buddy-buddy deals that promote selfish payoffs at our expense. We, the average citizen, will have to make up for these losses as Mayor Littlefield and his like give money away to their friends.
Vote to remove Mayor Littlefield and his cronies from office as soon as lawfully possible. Keep them out. And fix the @#$%^ budget.
Insist on observable, equity-oriented accounting. Reject these Bush-era, lying, debtor-economy promoting schemes of picking fictional definitions of value.
Remove Ron as soon as possible. Have someone who is trustworthy present and audit any and all budget proposals.
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