Lackluster economy is tough on cities

The Everett city council must decide today whether to adopt the mayor’s plan to balance the budget or spend down the surplus to offset a deficit. This has an all too familiar ring.

A few years ago, our state had a large budget surplus created by the dot-com boom. It chose to fund a host of projects and programs that felt good to the voters at the time. When the Boeing bust, Tim Eyman and the dot-com bomb hit, we fell almost $1 billion in debt. Those same projects and programs disappeared and we went into crisis mode. We are only now beginning to come out of it. And whatever peoples’ view of the federal tax cut, few dispute the fact that it turned a rather large surplus into a very large deficit.

The mayor’s proposal is not without pain, especially for the very fine people who have lost their jobs. But we are in a period where local government budgets are under attack by a lackluster economy and yet another citizen initiative. The situation demands caution. It will be at least a few years before we truly know what a predictable revenue base is for our community .

Our council should view today’s decision in two parts. Part one is to adopt a budget that balances our known revenues with our ongoing expenses. Part two comes later, when the budget is predictable and stable. Only then should we as a community decide how any true surplus dollars are spent.

Everett

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