Well?

Summer is coming to an end. Massillon City Council's well deserved Summer vacation is over as well. Only 3 and one half months left in the year. Our Tigers are already heading into week 4. So, is the City of Massillon broke, or not?

Back in June, June 18th to be exact, Auditor Jayne Ferrero told The Independent that the city would be short about one million dollars this year.

"We're on target for the budget that was passed, but we know that we did not budget enough in there for police and fire salaries. We know that" (The Independent, June 18, 2010).

Huh. What it is the take of our Mayor for Life?

"I feel confident the dollars will be there to make it through this year and we'll have the dollars to make it through next year" (The Independent, July 6, 2010).

And what does city council think?

They don't think. Finances are never discussed. Massillon City Council Finance Committee Chair Paul Manson never brings it up. Why? Because our Mayor for Life tells him it everything is fine. Don't worry, be happy.

Besides, city council is busy struggling with the titanic issues of the day, such as debating their much needed Summer vacation, and how to best thwart the renaming of a park.

So who is telling the truth? Auditor Jayne Ferrero, or Massillon's Mayor for Life?

Is the city short, or not?

You make the call. We already know the answer.

What is obvious is that with just a little over three months left in the year, nobody in city government is discussing city finances. Nobody.