Two high-dollar battles were put to rest at the Monday, May 18 City Council meeting when councilors resolved stewing budget issues.One hot item was the city’s $475 million operating budget for next fiscal year. The Council pretty much left Mayor Martin Chavez’ proposal intact but slashed more than $150,000 from advertising for the Environmental Health Department. Those ad campaigns promote city services such as Adopt a Pet, which happens to be a pet project of the mayor’s. Councilor Michael Cadigan also sliced $50,000 from cash to operate Warehouse 508, the city’s budding teen center, among other cuts. Councilors funneled this money into an additional $250,000 for Roadrunner Food Bank. Councilor Sally Mayer and several other councilors said they thought it was better to prioritize feeding people over advertising city services. They also allotted $80,000 to hire another auditor to keep an eye on city financial business. The rest of the Council supported Cadigan’s call to bring down the city’s hot air balloon as well—even though it is not funded by the operating budget. The balloon costs $60,000 a year to lease, and that money comes from Aviation Department fees collected from airlines. But this did not seem to matter, and the Council eliminated the balloon lease altogether.At the Council’s last meeting, it challenged Mayor Chavez to approve its version of the capital project budget, not his, or they would go to court. In an effort to avoid embarrassing litigation between branches of government, the Council passed an amended compromise. Chavez played nice and sent back the Council’s version of the construction budget with additional funding for four projects. So Warehouse 508 will get $300,000 added to its already budgeted $1 million for renovating the old Icehouse. An extra $2 million will go to the Los Duranes Community Center to rehabilitate its crumbling building. Westgate Community Center will get a cool million to make a few more improvements to the busy gathering place. The city’s budding four-acre Japanese Garden located at the BioPark will get an additional $1.4 million, which should finish off that project. Cadigan did not support this compromise with the mayor, though several other councilors chimed in, saying this was the best capital budget they’d seen in many years. Voters will have their say when they are asked to approve it in October.A last-ditch effort by Chavez to put a federally funded light-rail, streetcar or trolley back into the city’s long-range planning was met with defeat in a 5-4 vote. In his letter to the Council, Chavez even quoted President Obama, saying, “What we need, then, is a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21 st century. A system that reduces travel times and increases mobility. A system that reduces congestion and boosts productivity. A system that reduces destructive emissions and creates jobs …” Five councilors opposed the light-rail request but agreed to consider putting the question to voters.
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