Following last night’s vote by the Fall River City Council to reject Mayor Jasiel Correia’s FY 2017 budget, the Mayor’s Office replied via the following press release:
Mayor Jasiel Correia today announces that he is directing his financial team to prepare alternatives for a Fiscal Year 2017 budget, due to actions taken by the City Council last night.
City of Fall River budget consultant Mary Sahady explains. “While the Council did take a vote intending to reject the FY 17 budget last night, this was an invalid vote. The legal requirement to truly reject a municipal budget is to reject each line item in that budget individually. That was not done last night. “
Sahady continued, “Also, while there was a vote to accept the School Department budget, the Council cannot carve out that part of the overall City budget, so that was an invalid vote, as well, according to state law. As we were today advised by the state Department of Revenue, if nothing further is done by the Council, the Mayor’s proposed FY 17 budget automatically takes effect forty-five days after the date the City Council received the proposed budget.”
According to Mrs. Sahady, the council does have the opportunity to correct their vote next Tuesday at the regular City council meeting by voting to accept the budget, legally reject the budget or to reduce the budget.
“If they do correctly and legally reject the budget, we will prepare our only alternative, a one-twelfth budget. If the Council rejects that budget, there will be no funds to operate the City budget between July 1 and July 9, which would be forty-five days after they received the budget from the Mayor.
Mayor Correia added, “We did everything possible to present a fair, fiscally responsible budget. The Council chose to reject it, even if they didn’t do it legally. But their intent is clear. I have no choice but to be prepared to respond to their actions, whatever they may be. I have accommodated every reasonable request. My door is always open to any councilor.”
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