A Metro Councilman has proposed an alternative budget to the mayor’s spending plan. It includes cuts across Metro Government, including a pet project of the mayor, but does not lower the proposed property tax increase.
In total, the cuts represent $8.6 million, a tiny part of the overall $1.7 billion budget. Nearly half would come from Metro Schools, which far and away gets more tax dollars than any part of Metro Government.
The most dramatic cuts would completely ax subsidies for Municipal Auditorium, the state fair and the Farmers’ Market. There’s also a $350,000 reduction to LP Field, $250,000 to Metro Transit Authority and $90,000 to Mayor Karl Dean’s Limitless Library program, which links school libraries to the city system.
Councilman Sean McGuire, who chairs the budget and finance committee, says – quote – “the taxpayer will not suffer in the form of decreased or diminished services.”
The cuts could reduce a proposed property tax by 4.5 cents. However, McGuire wants the money to go into the rainy day fund instead.
The Metro Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday.
Read McGuire’s proposal and letter to the Metro Council here.
For Mayor Dean’s part, he is not criticizing the substitute budget. His statement:
“While I believe the budget proposed by my administration reflected the needs of this community, I appreciate the process the Metro Council has gone through, including the emphasis placed on strengthening the city’s debt service reserves. If adopted, I am confident the budget as proposed by Chairman McGuire will also keep our city moving forward.”
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