“Mysterious” Budget Deficit Revealed: Fire the Finance Director

The Miami Herald reports that the City of Coral Gables has a huge ongoing budget deficit for this fiscal year (October 2008-September 2009) that will require immediate staff firings.

City Manager Pat Salerno said Thursday he discovered the $9.2 million deficit — about 7 percent of the city’s budget — last week and that he likely will eliminate jobs, among other measures.

Salerno also noted the city projects an estimated $7 million shortfall next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Both figures could get worse after June 1 — when the property appraiser releases preliminary property values on which taxes are based.

”Those could go down,” Salerno said, referring to an expection that property values decrease this year. “That could further increase the projected shortfall for next year.”

The current budget shortfall is due to decreased revenues and increased personnel-related costs, said Salerno, who learned of the shortfall on Friday, the day two reelected commissioners were inducted.

There is strong concern among citizens that the deficit was “discovered” on the day of the re-election of the new commissioners. Among other things, it is possible that the outcome of the Sanabria-Anderson election might have changed if this budget shortfall was known at the time of the election.

It is surprising that any good finance director would not have known the existence of this deficit early in the fiscal year. In this regard, the Director of Finance would be a good candidate to be fired.

Coral Gable PAC Message: Post-Election Challenges for the New City Manager

These are the most important parts of the letter sent to the citizens of Coral Gables on the issues and challenges to the city government:

For eight (8) years we have been demanding that the City reform its pension system. No action has been taken on this at all. We are choking to death with the present pensions and will surely drown if the present system continues.

The commission is about to enter the budget planning phase. The shock will be that the budget is going up and revenues are going down. Is there any leadership at all?

We have a new City Manager who has proven that he is a strong and capable administrator. How he deals with the pension crisis, the budget crisis and the now comfortable incumbents will determine the fiscal and, in many ways, lifestyle future of Coral Gables.

We urge the City Manager to take control of the budget process. We urge the City Manager to review the department heads and assistants in every department of the City. In the past eight (8) years there have been no changes (except Building & Zoning). We know there is incompetence rife through all of the departments. By replacing and chopping beurocrats in every department we can save money both in payroll and in better planning with better and more qualified personnel. This will not be easy as there is an unhealthy friendship between and among the commissioners, the assistant Managers and the department heads and assistants and the rest of the beurocracy [sic].

We have a City attorney and an assistant and yet the legal bills of the City are overwhelming for a City of this size. We have luxuries throughout the City including police and other departments that are not necessary. There will be less building, there will be less planning. Now is the time to chop at the top from the planning department and review Building & Zoning.

So it is welcome Mr. Salerno. We wish you the best. Welcome again Commissioners and Mayor. We hope that you take this opportunity to work with the new Manager to reform the City from top to bottom.