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Perez: Budget Hijacked By Council Few

By Jeffrey B. Cohen

May 30, 2009

Saturday continues as Friday ended, with more budget rhetoric back-and-forth in advance of Sunday's council meeting.

In a press release (attached below), Mayor Eddie A. Perez urged the city council to act Sunday on a proposed $535 million budget. Not doing so, he said, would have "catastrophic" results. On Thursday, five of the nine council's members were leaning against the budget. On Saturday, Perez said the budget was being "hijacked by a few members who, after six weeks of changes and compromises on the budget by all sides, appear to be putting politics before the people of Hartford."

The council meets Sunday at noon.

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DEADLINE LOOMS FOR COUNCIL

TO PREVENT HUGE TAX INCREASE

---NEWS RELEASE---

(May 30, 2009)--- With less than 36 hours to go before the City Charter mandated deadline for the City Council to pass a budget, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez is calling on the Council members to get to work and pass the compromise budget before them. The Council's failure to pass a budget will require, pursuant to the Charter, the City to implement a larger budget than last year with a mil rate increase estimated by the City Office of Management and Budget of approximately 16 mils.

"The City Council has two simple choices, do the job the voters elected them to do and pass the compromise budget before them, or dodge their responsibility and let the Charter mandated tax increase of about 16 mils go into effect. Though we all dislike portions of this budget, it is far better than the catastrophic tax increase mandated by Charter. Council cannot allow this process to be hijacked by a few members who, after six weeks of changes and compromises on the budget by all sides, appear to be putting politics before the people of Hartford. Our residents deserve a City Council that puts them first," Mayor Perez stated.

The Mayor has called the City Council back into session at Noon tomorrow (Sunday, May 31st) so that they can pass the $535 million budget with a mil rate increase of 5.44 mils prior to the midnight deadline set by Charter.