East Ridge has finished 9 of the last 19 years with a budget deficit, including a $657,000 deficit revealed this week, city records show.
"Where was the public outcry back then?" Mayor Mike Steele asked Wednesday.
It showed up Tuesday evening. About 40 residents jammed a small room at City Hall, where officials tried to explain how they sunk the city's finances into such straits.
City Manager William Whitson, who was hired in February 2009, blamed the latest calamity on a weak economy, a Sears store closing and "bad luck with the weather," referring to the costs of flood repair in 2009.
"This is not the first time it's happened," Whitson said Wednesday. "We can cut and set aside some funds but, you know, I think our revenue forecasting tools need a lot of work."
Others weren't so even-keeled about the situation. Councilman Denny Manning said he will advocate against renewing Whitson's contract when it comes up in February, and he said he may vote to eliminate funding for the city manager's staff.
He also said he's not impressed by Whitson's master's degree in public administration.
"I've got nothing wrong with professional people with education. Get all the education you can get," Manning said. "But if you can't do the job, then don't apply for it."
Manning also said he's tired of Whitson mentioning his managerial experience in Pensacola, Fla., while discussing city business with East Ridge politicians.
"If he brings up Florida again in one of our council meetings, I'm going to call him down," Manning said. "He doesn't get it. This is East Ridge, it ain't Florida."
Other councilmen defended the city manager, even after some residents demanded a state audit Tuesday evening.
"It's always a handful of people you see upset about East Ridge politics," Vice Mayor Tom Card said. "Ninety percent of people are content. After all the dust settles, everything will be all right."
Card, who is running for re-election in November, said the deficit was "blown out of proportion" since figures still are preliminary.
Steele, the outgoing mayor and only councilman who missed Tuesday's meeting because he's on vacation in South Carolina, said $4.1 million in city reserve funds will cover the gap.
"It might be easier sitting here in Myrtle Beach, S.C., than if I was over there having to dodge the mortars," he said. "But I can say the city is healthy."
Councilman Brent Lambert said he'll spend the next few days reviewing the upcoming year's proposed budget and cutting where he can. He said layoffs were a possibility, since raising taxes is "off the table."
"At some point, I think William has to be included in there," Lambert said. "I don't think it would be necessarily fair to start knocking off positions and not take a very hard look at his own position."
Councilman Larry Sewell, also running for re-election, did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Despite his newfound struggles, Whitson said he wasn't worried about job security.
"That's why I have a contract," Whitson said. "People that know me know I'm a solid, can-do, get-it-done person. We're going to do better."