Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan is pointing to state law and the city’s charter in declaring the FY 2022 city budget adopted despite a city council vote last week to reject the spending plan.
From the Mayor’s Office
2022 City of Fall River Budget Adopted
(FALL RIVER, MA- JUNE 27, 2021)- The City of Fall River’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget hasbeen adopted. The budget, which was formally presented to the City Council on May 11th, 2021 will be in effect on July 1, 2021. Despite the City Council’s rejection of the total budget at the June 22, 2021 City Council meeting, Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L. ch.44 §32) and the City of Fall River’s Charter (Article 6, Section 6-4) state that if the City Council does not take action on any budget items within 45 days after its receipt, the proposed budget goes into effect for that fiscal year.
The vote of the City Council last week to reject the entire budget was ineffective in stopping the the FY 2022 budget from being enacted. A vote of the City Council to reduce or reject the
budget in its entirety- or a vote to reduce categories of spending by a total amount or percentage without voting to reduce particular line items by specific dollar amounts is invalid. The Council
chose not to act on any of the recommended line item amounts by approving, reducing, or rejecting individual line items. Due to expiration of the 45 day time period following the budget’s May 11th receipt, the original proposed budget has been adopted.
The City Council has held hearings, as well as participated in meetings with the administration and department heads, to grant them the opportunity to make specific changes to the budget.
Mayor Paul E. Coogan had the following remarks on the matter:
“I would like to make it clear that the City Council has had ample opportunity to suggest revisions to the budget. During the City Council meeting on June 22nd, councilors offered suggestions regarding areas to increase or reduce the budget, pursuant to a vote. I regret that none of these ideas were acted upon by the Council in a timely fashion.
“As our legislative branch, it is the responsibility of the City Council to understand the timelines and procedures relevant to the passage of the budget. I expect that the City Council president and members may attempt to shift blame to the administration, however, the budget process and its approval are governed by municipal and state law.
“As July 1st approaches, we must plan to maintain current operations and City services as we begin the new fiscal year. This budget was crafted with the goal of better serving all of our residents, and I would like to thank all of those who were a part of the drafting of this year’s budget- especially our City department heads.”
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