The perils of excess

Happy days are here again!

It’s been a long, slow recovery from the global Great Recession of the last decade. Not so many years ago, income tax revenues in T-Town had dipped to a tad over $140 million.  By the latter years of the Carty III Administration, unemployment was in double digits in Lucas County, the Jeep plant was on complete shut down, and the budget was balanced by furloughs and layoffs of city employees, including police officers.

By the time newly elected Mayor Mike Bell took office in Twenty Ten, there was a massive budget hole. Bell risked the unceasing enmity of city workers, and his re-election, by slashing employee contracts through the controversial declaration of “exigent circumstances.” He also sold off city assets and drained every available cache of rainy day funds to stem the flow of red ink.

City unions fumed and waited, vowing to make up the loss once the economy returned to normalcy.  Current Mayor Mike Collins won election over Bell in Twenty Thirteen, partly by promising a new day of labor relations.  

The city’s tax income has rebounded significantly in the last few years and is projected at well above $160 million for Twenty Fourteen.  Jeep is working at full capacity, unemployment is down, and the city coffers are seemingly flush with cash.  

Which has inevitably led to a feeding frenzy.  As in, what to do with all those extra ducats?

Promises, promises

Early this year, the Mayor earmarked the money based on his campaign promises. He vowed to eliminate the reliance on road repair money to balance the general fund budget. He promised to reward the employee unions that supported him and took concessions in prior contracts.  And to re-open the West Toledo branch office of the Toledo Police Department on Sylvania Avenue. Oh, and don’t forget, he also intends to reduce the current municipal income tax rate in return for making it permanent.

Here we are a year later, and the West Toledo TPD branch is open. The largest employee union has a new contract that includes raises and the new budget reduces the reliance on road repair funds.  But the budget still needs a cool $11 million from those funds. The tax rate hasn’t been reduced.  Negotiations with Collins’ old union, the police patrolmen, have broken down.  And there’s no money for pools, precious little for recreation, and nothing for much else besides.

Wow, where did all that money go?  Like a kid in a candy store, it didn’t last long with the Mayor’s eyes all aglow.  And watch out, folks. Red light camera revenue, projected at over $3 million in the new budget, may be eliminated altogether by recent state legislation. State funding has collapsed.  Too many pigs at the trough, too little slop, and we’re stuck in deep swine doo-doo.

School daze

The same scenario should soon play out over at Toledo Public Schools, which has suffered from a long drought of cash in its coffers. Over the last several years, revenues from the state and from property taxes have collapsed even as costs have gone up. Like their counterparts in the City, TPS employees took contract concessions to prevent layoffs.  Some jobs have been left vacant, and purchases have been delayed to balance the books.

This November the tables turned, as voters approved the first levy for new money in almost 15 years. Capital will soon be flowing in, and everyone is lined up for their share.

The TPS Administration wants new digs at the old Riverside Hospital site, and it will take renovation dollars to make that happen.  New technology is needed across the district, along with new textbooks and innovative programs.

Relations between Superintendent Durant and TPS employee unions have been rosy on the surface. This was important to keep public support for the levy.  But now that there is money to be divvied up, watch how fast the kid gloves come off.  Every union will expect to make up for the concessions they took in the last round of negotiations. And then some.

It won’t be long until taxpayers will be asking, wow, where did all that money go?  Throw a starving person a few pieces of bread and see how long it lasts.

We won’t even get started on the County budget and their ability to raise revenues through a sales tax increase without the approval of voters. Suffice it to say, we don’t expect those dollars to last long either.

You thought a dearth of resources was bad? It’s nothing compared to the perils of perceived excess. It’s shark week in T-Town.  Watch the waters roil.

Happy days are here again!

It’s been a long, slow recovery from the global Great Recession of the last decade. Not so many years ago, income tax revenues in T-Town had dipped to a tad over $140 million.  By the latter years of the Carty III Administration, unemployment was in double digits in Lucas County, the Jeep plant was on complete shut down, and the budget was balanced by furloughs and layoffs of city employees, including police officers.

By the time newly elected Mayor Mike Bell took office in Twenty Ten, there was a massive budget hole. Bell risked the unceasing enmity of city workers, and his re-election, by slashing employee contracts through the controversial declaration of “exigent circumstances.” He also sold off city assets and drained every available cache of rainy day funds to stem the flow of red ink.

City unions fumed and waited, vowing to make up the loss once the economy returned to normalcy.  Current Mayor Mike Collins won election over Bell in Twenty Thirteen, partly by promising a new day of labor relations.  

The city’s tax income has rebounded significantly in the last few years and is projected at well above $160 million for Twenty Fourteen.  Jeep is working at full capacity, unemployment is down, and the city coffers are seemingly flush with cash.  

Which has inevitably led to a feeding frenzy.  As in, what to do with all those extra ducats?

Promises, promises

Early this year, the Mayor earmarked the money based on his campaign promises. He vowed to eliminate the reliance on road repair money to balance the general fund budget. He promised to reward the employee unions that supported him and took concessions in prior contracts.  And to re-open the West Toledo branch office of the Toledo Police Department on Sylvania Avenue. Oh, and don’t forget, he also intends to reduce the current municipal income tax rate in return for making it permanent.

Here we are a year later, and the West Toledo TPD branch is open. The largest employee union has a new contract that includes raises and the new budget reduces the reliance on road repair funds.  But the budget still needs a cool $11 million from those funds. The tax rate hasn’t been reduced.  Negotiations with Collins’ old union, the police patrolmen, have broken down.  And there’s no money for pools, precious little for recreation, and nothing for much else besides.

Wow, where did all that money go?  Like a kid in a candy store, it didn’t last long with the Mayor’s eyes all aglow.  And watch out, folks. Red light camera revenue, projected at over $3 million in the new budget, may be eliminated altogether by recent state legislation. State funding has collapsed.  Too many pigs at the trough, too little slop, and we’re stuck in deep swine doo-doo.

School daze

The same scenario should soon play out over at Toledo Public Schools, which has suffered from a long drought of cash in its coffers. Over the last several years, revenues from the state and from property taxes have collapsed even as costs have gone up. Like their counterparts in the City, TPS employees took contract concessions to prevent layoffs.  Some jobs have been left vacant, and purchases have been delayed to balance the books.

This November the tables turned, as voters approved the first levy for new money in almost 15 years. Capital will soon be flowing in, and everyone is lined up for their share.

The TPS Administration wants new digs at the old Riverside Hospital site, and it will take renovation dollars to make that happen.  New technology is needed across the district, along with new textbooks and innovative programs.

Relations between Superintendent Durant and TPS employee unions have been rosy on the surface. This was important to keep public support for the levy.  But now that there is money to be divvied up, watch how fast the kid gloves come off.  Every union will expect to make up for the concessions they took in the last round of negotiations. And then some.

It won’t be long until taxpayers will be asking, wow, where did all that money go?  Throw a starving person a few pieces of bread and see how long it lasts.

We won’t even get started on the County budget and their ability to raise revenues through a sales tax increase without the approval of voters. Suffice it to say, we don’t expect those dollars to last long either.

You thought a dearth of resources was bad? It’s nothing compared to the perils of perceived excess. It’s shark week in T-Town.  Watch the waters roil.