Dear Editor:
Several months ago, the city council gave Mayor Fulop $31.5 million of overpayments of the MUA. This money will be paid over a 13 year period of which $4.5 million is in this year’s budget. The budget shows the public was duped out of the MUA money. There is a surplus greater than $25 million, so why take the MUA money? Ratepayers will have continual increases in water and sewerage charges every year with no relief in sight.
During the budget hearing, I asked the Business Administrator about the funding for the terminal leave of employees. The Business Administrator said there is no line item for terminal leave because the city plans on bonding around $6 million with the consent of the council. This plan is not prudent, already the public is stuck with $712 million for municipal debt, $47 million for school debt and $31 million for water debt; we cannot afford the perpetual bonding for terminal leave.
The budget is now in the hands of the city council so I urge the council to cut $4.5 million from the budget and to use the surplus for the terminal leave. That will still leave the city with a surplus around $14 to $15 million.
If the city can afford to give sweetheart tax abatement deals to developers, they it can afford to treat regular taxpayers fairly.
Yvonne Balcer