HERENTON’S LAST BUDGET FARCE?

THE BUDGET FARCE IN MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY

The recent budget farce in the City of Memphis was acted out and the result is the confirmation that our government is run by an incompetent administration and a majority on the City Council that has never run a business and has never seen a public job that they do not love.

The annual farce started with our Mayor who predictably presented a $617 million dollar budget that was higher than the year before ($580 million). The City Council initially was determined to get tough with the Mayor this year and demanded that he cut the budget by $50 million dollars or about the amount that they previously cut from the Memphis City Schools. That cut is in litigation and may come along to add to our already existing highest in the state property tax rate. The Mayor's answer was the old trick that he has used before, presenting a budget with cuts in public safety, senior citizen centers, libraries etc. The City Council, of course, rejected this and then determined that they would go through the budget line by line and make the cuts they wanted.

After weeks of meetings of various subcommittees, they were able to come up with $14 million in savings. (Remember the old maxim about a camel is a horse designed by a committee). The defining characteristics of "design by committee" are needless complexity, internal inconsistency, logical flaws, banality, and the lack of a unifying vision.

Then enter Jim Strickland who at least had a plan and a unified vision, but alas, he did not have the seven votes. There was no majority to cut the pay raises for employees (3% on top of 5% the year before last). There was no majority to cut their own pay and those of top overpaid and incompetent City crony employees. There was no discussion of cuts in benefits which allow a 15 year employees to have off 13 weeks a year with pay. There was no discussion of the condition of the defined benefit pension plan and the deep losses in the plan's assets. (Please note that Keith McGhee, chief administrative office at a salary of about $145,000, is retiring at age 43). There was no discussion of the promised retiree health care benefits which has an unfunded liability of $823 million dollars.

We are cursed with an incompetent and self interested administration and a City Council with a majority that cares only about preserving their jobs and those jobs of City employees and have no interest in the tax payers of the city of Memphis. Unfortunately, the County Commission is very similar in structure and operation.

The end game is that the City and County will continue to lose population and tax base similar to many other cities in the country. Wake up America. We need to clean house and elect reform candidates who will put the interest of the tax payers first and operate government like a "for profit" business.