I am hearing that there is an effort afoot among at least four Republican City Council members to begin discussing among themselves the upcoming municipal budget process. The objective is apparently to lay the groundwork for a more conservative budget than that which was passed back in June.
Let's hope this is a productive, collaborative process; and that all of the council members participating will act in good faith to achieve a good outcome for city taxpayers.
We have previously discussed the need for Republican council members to act as a team; and to somehow bring the Democrat-like Zack Matheny miraculously over to the conservative side. For this process to succeed, however, Mayor Knight will also need to "buy in". The process will need to be council-driven, not staff-driven.
Unfortunately, Nancy Vaughan has already signaled that her primary objective will be to protect spending. That leaves any chance of a good outcome in the hands of Knight, Matheny, Rakestraw, Thompson and Wade. Each of them has a critical role in deciding whether we will have a conservative budget. Each of them will determine whether the group will collectively prevail, especially in view of the "perfect storm" that might be organizing with respect to the city's revenues.
Let's hope none of these Republican members sticks his or her neck out to demand that any particular area of nonessential spending be protected. That could poison the whole process, and its chances for success.
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