March is just around the corner and with it comes March Madness and the Madness I refer to is the budgeting process that all state government agencies go through this time of year. 2010 will be especially challenging as our country slowly inches out of one of the worst economic periods in decades. Couple that with the notion that West Virginia typically lags national recoveries, the Toyota debacle could have a negative state/local impact if the Buffalo, WV plant is closed even for a short period of time, federal budgeting suggests fewer funds are available and health care/retirement costs are shooting through the roof. Holy smokes Batman, Gotham City needs close attention!!!!
Our mayor and city council will be addressing the budget process over the next few weeks and I truly wish them all well as the task ahead is challenging. Buckhannon is faced with declining revenues and increased costs. The state has mandated that local governments pick up an additional 6% of employee retirement benefits and the cost of city employee health care continues to rise. I'm sure there are city infrastructure projects and continuing programs all needing funding.
Budgeting ideas that have been brought to my attention since I expressed an interest in running for city council include: do nothing, annexation, increase health care deductibles, reduce services, have employees contribute to health care, find a new health care provider, increase taxes, apply criminal offender public works hours to city projects and the list goes on. I don't even know if the last suggestion is legal.
There is no single correct answer and the best answer for our city will most certainly not please everyone. I hope our city leadership will aggressively seek budgeting solutions that are fundamentally sound and for the long range. A short term budget band aid will do more harm than good.
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