The Dollars Will Be There

Someone ain't tellin' us the truth.

Back in July, Massillon's Mayor for Life doled out 4% pay raises to the various unionized employees of the City of Massillon. The police, fire, streets, parks, and solid waste department, and other bargaining unit employees will collectively be enjoying $500,000 dollars worth of pay raises.

Massillon Auditor Jayne Ferrero believed this would put a strain on the city's already unbalanced budget. The mayor said don't worry, the "dollars will be there."

"We'll be able to pay for these increases," Cicchinelli said. "I'm not concerned about it. We will be there. 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).

Auditor Ferrero didn't agree with our mayor's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" approach to the city's finances. She wanted city council to consider putting a police and fire levy on the November ballot.

"We need to be looking at revenue streams" (Auditor Jayne Ferrero, The Independent, July 13, 2010).

Our mayor for life said no. Things are fine;

"Cicchinelli is opposed to a levy... He also opposes increasing the income tax during poor economic times" (The Independent, July 13, 2010).

That was July's Frank Cicchinelli.

November's Frank Cicchinelli is singing a different tune;

"The city needs money, Mayor Frank Cicchinelli told Massillon City Council on Monday as he unveiled the 2011 budget" (The Independent, November 9, 2010).

"The need for additional revenue is not going to go away," Cicchinelli said, urging council to help find new money for the city" (The Independent, November 9, 2010).

Wait a minute.

What happened to "we'll have the dollars to make it through next year." Where is the Frank Cicchinelli who told Auditor Ferrero that we don't need no stinkin' levy as he quickly threw her idea to raise additional revenue under the bus?

Was July's Frank Cicchinelli lying? Perhaps it was the work of his evil twin.

Of course, the buck always stops somewhere else in Massillon. According to our Mayor for Life, it is the job of city council to "help find new money for the city."

Perhaps city council will ignore the mayor's pleas for new revenues and rely on the wisdom of July's Frank Cicchinelli, who told us "the dollars will be there."