Crestview shows how to cut back
In a time of falling revenue, rising taxpayer discontent and tough talk about the need for local governments to cut costs, the toughest talk of all is coming from the City of Crestview.
Hoping to avoid a property tax hike and make up for a likely $3 million shortfall in the city’s 2010-11 budget, Crestview’s department heads have proposed cutbacks that are frankly startling. They’re suggesting a 10-day unpaid furlough for city employees, the elimination of about 15 employee positions, adoption of a four-day work week, a reduction in city contributions to family medical coverage and the scrapping of a 7 percent city employee pay raise.
Mayor David Cadle, who praised the department heads’ diligence in slashing expenses, acknowledged that “the public was beating up on them.”
Maybe the public should beat up on other officeholders, too. Crestview’s proposals make the cost-cutting ideas of other local governments seem timid.
Indeed, politicians throughout our region often talk the talk but seldom walk the walk when it comes to deep, painful budget cuts. Okaloosa County officials talked earlier this year about furloughs for county employees … but ended up ditching the idea. Fort Walton Beach officials have just given tentative approval to a 2010-11 budget that raises the city’s property tax rate … but contains no staff reductions.
Crestview’s property tax rate also is slated to go up. In July, the City Council set a tentative rate of 6.5 mills, up from the current 5.84 mills. (A mill means $1 in tax for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.) In light of the proposed spending cuts, however, Council Vice President Bob Allen guessed the city might not have to raise taxes after all.
Will Crestview stick with the department heads’ cost-cutting proposals? Or will it take an easier way out, such as by upping its property tax rate, imposing new fees or dipping into city reserves? We’ll have to see. The council is expected to adopt a tentative budget during a special meeting Aug. 27.
Northwest Florida Daily News
© Copyright 2010 Freedom Communications.
Category: Editorials
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Gee it must be nice to be working somewhere and be told you will have to take 10 UNPAID days off. That would certainly help any-one’s budget, don’t cha think?
Would you like to be laid off ten days from your job? Pick 10 extra days a year and close your store or your office or your restaurant? If it is such a wonderful idea why isn’t everyone doing it?
Do we close (or under man) the police or fire departments 10 days? Let me know if you do, I don’t want to have my fire then. One the other hand, if I am a robber it would be nice to know.
Another interesting question is how long/much does it take to catch back up when you have missed a day? Every looked at the Tuesday mail deliveries when there has been a Monday holiday? How much extra time (overtime?) does it take to get back even with where you were before the extra day?
We can keep on dreaming and saying that government and the schools and places like that can be run with less and less time, or people or money, but we all really know it won’t work anymore than running our own business, office or store would work that way. It’s just that government and schools are such easy targets.
National statistics show that SAT/ACT scores are down all across the nation this year and that our students can’t/don’t compete with those in other countries. Well, let’s see……YES, THAT’S RIGHT, we have been cutting back the schools now for about the last four years. Just time enough for us to begin to see the factual results of such cutbacks and don’t kid yourself that it is anything else.