UPDATE (2:23pm) Mayor Coogan will not be attending the emergency meeting tonight and the city council has canceled its meeting
The Fall River City Council will hold a special meeting tonight asking Mayor Paul Coogan to resubmit his FY 2022 budget for council approval after the mayor declared the council did not meet its obligation to approve or make changes to his spending plan before the statutory deadline.
At a meeting last night the council, sitting as the Finance Committee questioned Corporation Counsel Alan Rumsey and city council attorney Lauren Goldberg of KP Law as to whether the council’s vote last week to reject the budget constituted a legal action under the budget approval process. Mayor Coogan and Attorney Rumsey believe the council’s vote was not in accordance with the city charter and the budget became enacted last Friday, 45 days after the budget was submitted by the mayor. The mayor believes the budget will take effect tomorrow, July 1.
Attorney Goldberg provided the opinion that the council’s vote was, in effect, action on the budget, based on state law. She went on to say that differences between the charter and state law are not significant and that the parties still have time to work in the best interest of the city.
Council President Cliff Ponte summarized the frustration of other councilors, criticizing the administration for not cooperating and communicating with the council to address concerns over the budget.
The council tonight is hoping the mayor submits his budget for reconsideration or provides a one-month spending plan to cover expenses for the month of July so more discussion on the budget can take place. If the mayor declines, the meeting will be canceled and the council may explore an option to take legal action against the mayor in superior court seeking clarity on the council’s role in the budgetary process.
Video courtesy Fall River Government Television
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