Democrats Focus On Budget

TB Fails Cut Spending 909
It appears town Democrats play politics like football. When you see a hole, go through it! What Democrats see here is a fiscal report from the Town Comptroller that affirms a two year projected deficit of $149,000 in the General Fund and no way or intention of closing it without either massive tax hike or layoffs, neither of which is particularly palatable in a political campaign.

With all the waste in town hall, between health insurance giveaways and an employee with so much time on his hands he used a town car to campaign against his boss who once voted to rehire him, Democrats see plenty of places to cut the waste and eliminate the deficit.

The bottom line in all of this is that Evers, who must submit the Tentative Budget at months end, is in a corner. Any claim to a balanced budget that does not raise taxes would be subjected to the smell test of "Was the deficit erased on the spending side from last year or is spending unchanged and covered by the revenue side?" If the later, then the budget simply ignores the deficit and that, equally simply, is illegal under State General Finance Law.

So here is Democratic Chairman Dan Ashely's shot across the Town Board's bow. We wonder what Evers GOP running mates Kelly Hoffman and Joe Bott think about the deficit? We'll probably find out only after they consult with Evers Conservative opponent Mike Miner, who is also Hoffman and Bott's running mate. Go figure!

Candidates Begin to Announce Goals

The Record has added two entries in their Campaign Notebook. Josephine Ashworh and Jann Liberty are featured in these articles.