Throughout my career, I have always attempted to be consistent and fair.
Having been gone for quite some time, I’m still trying to catch up and was just informed about the city of Franklin budget for next year. The Franklin Mayor and the Common Council failed to protect taxpayers, and deserve as much criticism as the Franklin School Board.
The tax rate went up 3.1%. That means nothing. It’s the tax levy that counts. Franklin’s tax levy, after going up over 5% last year, is going up 5.7% next year. That’s on top of the 5.9% tax levy increase the Franklin School Board dropped on taxpayers.
Deeply disappointing is that city officials and School Board members are using the same crying towel, singing out of the same budget hymnal.
You know the refrain. I’ve written about it extensively. The state just didn’t give us enough money.
That’s a copout.
That’s like admitting that the way city and School Board officials budget is to stand with hands extended and wait to see how much aid the state appropriates. Count it up. Then raise taxes.
Hell, a blind man could hammer out a budget using that technique.
The other excuse is that “this was a tough budget.”
I don’t want to hear that or any other excuse, unless you’re conceding that you can’t make tough budget decisions and that your only solution is to jack up taxes.
Did the Franklin Common Council consider any cuts in the Mayor’s proposed budget? Any?
Doesn’t look like it.
It appears they took the Mayor’s whopping tax increase budget and put the big ‘ol rubber stamp on it.
The aldermen did fold up like a card table after getting just a little heat and retained the un-elected, appointed Environmental and Economic Development Commissions. That saved us absolutely nothing. Big deal.
I’ve publicly stated that I like and respect our Common Council as a whole. But after approving yet another big increase when taxpayers have clearly stated that enough is enough, maybe it’s time for change at City Hall.
In the days ahead, I will provide a scorecard on what the people with authority to tax did to you, the people who pay the bills. It won’t be pretty.
Makes you wonder how these guys manage their own households, doesn’t it?
