Like slobs everywhere, Mayor Irene Elia and City Council Chairwoman Fran Iusi are exiting the scene, leaving behind a big mess for the rest of us to clean up.
The state comptroller's office, a majority of City Council members and city Controller Maria Brown have all publicly stated that Elia's 2004 budget is out of whack by as much as $1.2 million.
But Elia, who was defeated badly in the November election, and Iusi -- who lost her job as a glorified cashier at Tops Friendly Markets and could not run for re-election because it would jeopardize her unemployment benefits -- think they know better.
Prior to the election, Elia proposed a budget she knew would not cover the basic costs of providing services in the city during the coming year.
The so-called "balanced budget" was the centerpiece of her campaign.
Her opponent, Vince Anello, sent the budget to state Comptroller Alan Hevesi's office for review.
Hevesi replied that the budget was bogus, chock-full of rosy revenue predictions and unrealistically low cost projections.
Anello, along with Councilmen Charles Walker and Paul Dyster, took the responsible course of action, adjusting Elia's numbers to reflect some semblance of reality, while Iusi and Councilwoman Candra Thomason, who we hope finds the correct dosage of her medication soon, fought on behalf of Elia's delusional numbers.
Are the decrepit municipal parking ramps really going to make more money next year than they did this year, with the Senecas building a 2,500-car free ramp right down the block?
And what about that low bid Modern Disposal submitted for garbage hauling that came in $800,000 above what Elia had budgeted?
Elia says the budget she submitted is correct and, when it turns out not to be next year, you can go track her down in Europe and ask her about it.
City Administrator Al Joseph says the budget is correct and, when it turns out not to be, you can go track him down at the home he's already purchased deep in the heart of Texas.
Iusi says the budget is correct but, who knows where she'll be next year?
Finally, Thomason says the budget is correct, and she has one year left to serve on the Council before her inevitable shellacking next November.
Niagara Street oddsmakers are predicting she'll resign prior to that indignity, accuse every male in the city of sexual harassment and retire to a leisurely life of eating bonbons, watching soap operas and fixing her hair.
Meanwhile, every responsible government official involved in the sordid affair believes otherwise, including the accountants in Niagara Falls and Albany who tell us otherwise.
It's a fitting end for the disastrous Elia administration, one filled with spite, lies and deception.
Like those who leave used prophylactics on the Olcott beach or those without the stomach to carry their empty 12-pack up out of the Niagara Gorge, Elia, Iusi and Thomason have left the people of the Falls with a distasteful and unsightly mess that will be with us for years to come.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | December 16 2003 |