I think it's time for some honesty and some reality.

Most of the shortfall was derived from the lack of an improper tax rate. There
is no way the schools, never mind the City as a whole, could be run with what
they were given the last two cycles. Unfortunately, the School Committee
folded like a $5 suitcase and did not present a proper dose of reality to either
the Council or, more importantly, the public at large.

The same thing has happened to the general budget. The Council, in an election
year, got a little over aggressive. The size of the shortfall, as compared to
the size of the budget, is within tolerance.

The public feels "cheated" because they were sold expectations that could only
happen under the best conditions. If there's anything we need to get back to in
our budget process, especially concerning the School Committee, it's simple
honesty.

Bad news in June gets swallowed a lot easier than "shortfall" news does now.

Have a great weekend
Bobby

psaund1229@... wrote:

Re: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnowingNewport/message/692

The short fall, audit, school short fall, etc What am I missing? All
of these are monitored by responsible people being paid by city government.
Why is it we heard about these things after the fact? Why is it that I've heard
most of this stuff from some concerned citizens that have the expertise to
help but have not been asked? Why is it if we have the people with the
experience and skill to assist the city, we are going out to the Navy to find a
Mediator? I like the idea of putting the problem in priority order, why do we
need to hire someone to do that? Mike, we have a lot of people with experience
and good ideas, how do get them to step up to the plate and help? That is
without getting their heads taken off.

Paul