Picnics, graduations, baseball and vacations. It's Summer in Massillon!
And what does Summer in Massillon mean?
Summer, as we all know, means that it is time for the City of Massillon's Annual Financial Crisis!
For those unfamiliar with this annual Summer ritual, here is how it works.
Massillon's Mayor for 207 days, Frank Cicchinelli, submits a budget that is unbalanced. To make the math work, so that expenditures do not exceed revenue, the mayor shorts the salary accounts for city employees, most notably the police and fire fighters. He doesn't budget for things like police and fire overtime, hoping that there won't be any crime or fires on off hours.
In June, the City's Auditor, Jayne Ferrero, announces that the city is (pick a number between one and three million) dollars short.
The mayor is "shocked" by this announcement, and demands that the auditor recommend spending cuts, and that city council finds new "revenue streams" (that's government speak for higher taxes). The mayor acts like this is every one's problem but his own, and seems to forget he submitted the unbalanced budget in the first place.
City council this year, well, at least some of them, trimmed the expenditures on the budget our Mayor for Six and Three Quarters Months submitted. He fought these cuts kicking and screaming, but they still were not enough to truly balance the budget.
We anxiously wait for Auditor Ferrero's pronouncement of the annual financial crisis. It is June, and it is time for this rite of Summer.
We even have it marked on our Massillon Review calendar.
June - Annual Financial Crisis.
