Four years ago City Councilman Scott Burns was handed a canary in a coal mine. He was budget co-chair during implementation of revaluation of taxable property that had been put off by Mayor Joe Ganim’s predecessor Bill Finch to avoid an apoplectic 2015 reelection cycle.
Ganim won anyway. Burns walked into a hornets’ nest of voters from his own neighborhood in Black Rock who were mauled by the redistribution of property tax assessments. It was angry and noisy.
Burns was sent packing in two years, but he persevered. He’s now back on the council as co-chair of the Budget & Appropriations Committee, replacing the recently resigned Maria Viggiano, in what shapes up to be a kinder, gentler process, assuming Ganim fulfills a 2019 reelection pledge to avoid a tax hike when he submits his budget proposal to the council first week in April.
City Council President Aidee Nieves wanted to pair Michael DeFilippo with a co-chair who experienced the budget process.
The months of April and May are demanding for the seven-member budget committee, particularly the co-chairs who review the mayor’s spending plan, interview department heads and host public hearings. This budget process is also tracking to place priority funding for city schools short-changed the past four years.
So welcome back to the council budget world, Scott. And who knows maybe this time a Cheshire Cat instead of canary.
Good luck Scott! It would be great if you could tell us how much Mr. Defilippo brings to the table and his overall attendance record both on the committees AND the CC. Hopefully you don’t have to meet him in the back room of the liquor store to go over budget numbers. Oh wait, that would be across the street at the pizza place so Mario could help.
Cheers!!!
Hey Rich, under the Tutelage of Burns, Ganim, Flatto the only thing Defilippo needs to do is bob his head, that’s if he shows up!
That’s about all he can do is bob his head up and down. If Mario tells him to do otherwise he has practiced moving his head from side to side as well. And yes, that’s if he shows up.
Last time Scott Burns was the co-chair of the Budget & Appropriations Committee Black Rock’s Taxes went though the flucking roof!
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That’s because of the reval when Black Rock held value. Not so much this time around.
Give the man a break. How is Joe supposed to build a cushion to fund future anticipated increases this year if he can’t play a couple of games?
He’s already lost Black Rock so why not hit them with another tax increase and blame it on reval?
Good news. State Legislature closed until further notice as of the close of business today. Caronavirus.