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What a difference a year makes.
Last October, Mayor Irene Elia proposed a massive 27 percent tax increase in an effort to keep the creaky municipal government functioning and stave off bankruptcy. The city council gave her a good portion of it, and the people howled. There were calls for Elia's resignation, and there would have been a drive for her recall, were such a procedure legal in New York State.
This year, apparently realizing that the city's 50,000 residents can no longer continue to fund the same level of service that existed when there were 100,000 residents, the mayor has submitted what to us seems an entirely reasonable and realistic budget. Under the proposal, homeowners would see a tax increase of less than 1 percent, while businesses would see a decrease of 3 percent.
Now let the games begin.
Four council members have decided to step down after this year, and the 2002 budget will be the last important legislation they will have to consider before leaving office. They have the opportunity, before they step down, to make what under different circumstances would be a politically suicidal move -- approving Elia's budget largely as it has been presented.
Because John Accardo, Barbara Ann Geracitano, Tony Quaranto and Joe D'Angelo aren't running, they have an unprecedented opportunity to put petty politics and pandering to special interest groups aside and do what is right for Niagara Falls.
The outgoing councilmen do not have to worry about the support of the city's various labor unions, and they shouldn't be worried about supporting Elia's plan simply because it is Elia's plan.
Are they up to the task? We shall see.
Under the mayor's $107 million spending package, 40 city jobs would be eliminated, with virtually every department taking a hit. We hate to see anyone lose their job, but the hundreds of positions lost over the past year -- at Teletech, Nabisco, Occidental Chemical and elsewhere -- have been lost at least in part because city services here are simply too expensive.
The budget further proposes closing the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion, Centennial Ice Rink at Lackey Plaza, the LaSalle Facility, where a number of youth programs are held, and the Wintergarden. In the case of the ice rinks and the Wintergarden, the move is long overdue. A number of developers have approached the city over the past three years with proposals to privatize those facilities, and it's high time the city took one of them up on their offers.
With the school district finally wresting control of Sal Maglie Stadium from the city, and the convention center likely to begin a new life as a Seneca casino by this time next year, most of the money-draining, non-essential white elephants the city has maintained for years will be gone.
There are a couple of areas, however, where we think Elia's proposal could use some fine tuning.
To begin with, this is absolutely the wrong time to add two new positions to the city's bloated payroll, a $45,000 budget director and a $40,000 deputy director of public works. City Controller Maria Brown and her staff have done an incredible job of keeping the city afloat over the past two years, and if Paul Colangelo can't run the parks department by himself, Elia ought to give Ron Shiesley a call.
The $85,000 saved could go toward lessening the hit taken by the city's police and fire services a little, at least.
And speaking of the parks department, why not privatize the Hyde Park Golf Course as well? With all due respect to Tony Quaranto, no one has ever argued convincingly that the golf course isn't another of the city's loss leaders, a taxpayer-subsidized playpen for predominantly white, middle-aged men. Parks department workers who currently spend six months a year up there could be put to much better use in our neighborhoods, clearing rubbish-choked alleyways and mowing the numerous vacant lots owned by the city.
The one cut we would oppose, at least until other arrangements are made, is the closing of the LaSalle Facility. The Police Athletic League's programs have kept kids off the streets and out of trouble for years, and the money saved by the criminal justice system likely more than offsets the cost of maintaining the facility. We haven't seen anything to indicate whether the YMCA has been approached about the possibility of housing some of these programs, but we don't believe the city should pull the plug on what has been a real success story without making other arrangements.
We were somewhat concerned with Elia's request to defer part of the shift of the tax burden from businesses to homeowners, but after serious consideration believe the council should go along with her on this as well. The deferment would be a one-year only event, and businesses would still see a tax reduction.
For years, various mayors and members of city council have argued about who is more to blame for the political backbiting that has resulted in stalemate or Pyrrhic victory for one side or the other. The victims of this government by vendetta have invariably been the citizens of Niagara Falls. What a refreshing change it would be for a decent proposal to enjoy bi-partisan support. How exhilarating to see the executive and legislative branches of government working in concert for the good of the people.
While we would have preferred that more of the job cuts be from the ranks of middle management, the bottom line is that Elia has presented the council with a budget containing virtually no tax increase.
It is now up to them to pass it, and we would strongly urge them to do so.