Showdown looms over city budget

[WNYresident]

Showdown looms over city budget

The Lackawanna City Council has rejected many of Mayor Geoffrey M. Szymanski’s budget initiatives, including expansion of the city’s payroll, setting up a potential showdown over the 2012-13 budget.


The Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a budget of $23.6 million — or $816,965 less than the $24.4 million Szymanski proposed spending.

Read the full story in the Buffalo News

[WNYresident]

“The majority of this difference can be found in the reduction of additional personnel proposed in departments that we believe are not necessary and the city cannot afford,” Council members said in a letter to Szymanski.

The Council eliminated the proposed hires of four public works employees and a police officer, while also dramatically trimming the salaries of two part-time department heads.

What services did the personnel perform that council members believe are not necessary? What would the public works employees do?

What were the twp part-timers being paid seeing it was dramatically reduced?

Perhaps our town board in cheektowaga can learn from this.

[bluethunder]

The two part timers should have been gone when they retired. PERIOD. There's a lot more where that came from. Your tax dollars at work! For instance if you retire from a real job in the private sector say Ford do they hire you back at 30k a year with bennies etc.?

[highestpropertytaxes]

good point

[andreahaxton]

Stay tuned...........

Something going on with the actual amount we will be paying on our up-coming tax bills for City AND the LA school district............

There is a possibility of a BIG TAX SHIFT underway in Lackawanna....... taking about $2.00/1000 of assessed value off of what the businesses pay ( non-homestead ) in Lackawanna and adding it onto the citizen homeowners ( homestead ) tax bills.
We have to watch the LA school tax bills......so,
Stay Tuned!

I hope I am wrong................

[bluethunder]

Number one : Do you see any businesses really left? LA has the highest business rate in the county.

Number two: Now that the homeowners have to pay their fair share maybe they will actually care about where the money is being spent.

Number three: When you lower the business rate over a period of time more will locate here thereby eventually decreasing the tax rate overall.


Nothing shady here just common sense. If Radich never did this to begin with we probably would have been better off business wise to begin with. But unfortunately some office holders took advantage of this and were looking for votes come election time.