Budget Public Hearing Comments (2/2/09) - Christopher Hart for Alderman, 6th Ward

Madam Mayor and Members of the Council
 
Thank you…for the many long hours you’ve spent, along with the city staff, working on budget development and the current budget proposal. As citizens, we can only try to understand what it means to take on these responsibilities in a time of incredibly hard choices. But what we can imagine are the difficulties of facing an unhealthy budget situation on the one hand … and on the other hand, asking a financially injured community to take on additional burdens.     
 
As much as it is a time of hard choices … it is also a time for involvement, for participation, for widespread ownership of the situation we’re in, and, for a thoughtful community to make its thinking part of the process.
 
In that spirit, let me offer the following thoughts on behalf of the people that have taken time to share their thinking with me:

• Any increase in property taxes at this time cannot be part of the solution.
• Merit increases above and beyond job security for our City staff cannot be part of the solution.
• Deferring tough decisions through the re-allocation of expenses cannot be part of the solution.

What can and should be part of the solution is to ensure that labor groups share in our sacrifices. And, we must face up to the hard choices to defer projects and expenses so as to protect services for those most affected in challenging times.
 
This is a turning point.
 
It is not possible to dig deeper into what we no longer have. When you no longer have rising property values … when you no longer have stable retirement funds … when you no longer have job security … it is time to redefine your economic reality.
 
We are not looking to you for a quick fix or a miracle cure. We are asking you to work with us to figure out our thoughtful … shared … sacrifice. The resources, the ideas, the tactics that we need are right here in this room. It’s just a matter now of bringing fiscal policy in line with our economic reality so that, together, we can protect what we value and cherish. Thank you.