Following a marathon session last night, the Fall River City Council voted 5-4 to reject Mayor Paul Coogan’s FY 2021 budget, citing the need for more time to seek alternatives to avoid using one-time money to fill budget holes.
With action needed to continue to fund city government past August 31, the council voted 6-3 to appropriate $40.4 million to pay the city’s expenses through the month of September. The city had been working on a month-to-month appropriation since the fiscal year began on July 1.
Following discussions with department heads on the details of the administration’s $312,6 million budget, some councilors felt rushed to approve a spending plan at only one meeting. Councilor Linda Pereira said she understood the concern, but delaying passage would not change the fact that there is only so much money available to spend after the revenue declines caused by COVID-19.
Others felt that the administration’s use of $2 million from the city’s stabilization account creates a structural deficit that will hamstring the city when it comes to formulating a budget for next year. City councilor Shawn Cadime said now is the time to make reductions to the spending plan, not next year when cuts will likely be deeper and impact essential services such as police and fire.
City Director of Financial Services Mary Sahady called for the council to pass the current spending plan, debating with Councilor Cadime that there are no other options to balance the budget available.
The council began hearings on the budget last week but sent the matter back to Mayor Coogan seeking more funds to fill vacant positions in the police and fire department. The administration was able to find money from the city’s employee and retiree health care fund as well as money from school transportation. The school department last week voted to send one-time money from the COVID CARES Act to help the city offset costs for school transportation.
There was no word on when the council will meet again to discuss the budget. Its next meeting is set for Tuesday, September 8.
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