By:Chris Munzing
"The budget is a living, fluid document," Remo said. "But three months into a good budget, you shouldn't need to be making as many transfers as we are."
Remo cited the recent flurry of council majority-approved transfers, including $152,000 moved into temporary salaries in the sanitation department at the Oct. 5 council meeting, and $24,040 into regular salaries in street maintenance and information technology at Tuesday's meeting, as proof that the current budget was developed to serve a different purpose - the Republican-led administration's promise of no tax increase in the budget. "[The budget] was put together to accomplish political gain instead of being done to run the city properly," said Remo, who voted against both transfers. "I fully support the work force of the City of Long Beach, but my vote is a protest against a budget in disarray."
Theofan, however, said that moving money around is necessary when dealing with a city budget in which anticipated revenues and expenditures for the year need to be estimated and submitted before the year begins. He said that he anticipated several departments coming in with extra revenue at the end of the year. "A budget is made for modifications," Theofan said. "It's a living thing, and given the tightness of the budget, we're going to have to move some money around."
Theofan said that the money being transferred into the sanitation department is needed to pay summer-season employees to work through the winter. He added that transferring the money now is the smart move, because the city knows the problem exists. "If we have the ability to fix the problem now, why shouldn't we?" he said.
Remo, however, said that the money for these workers' salaries wouldn't run out until January, and that changes to the budget lines should wait until around that time. "These are not emergency transfers," Remo said. "We still have two-thirds of the budget left to go, and there was enough money in the budget to pay these people through January. We would be able to have a better idea of where the revenues and expenditures are at that time."
"We're being proactive, not reactive," said City Council President Jim Hennessy. "Lenny's playing politics, and we just don't have time for politics. We've offered solutions, and the only solution offered by [Remo] is to raise taxes. And that's not something that's on the table. Period."
Hennessy added, "And the city's finances are still a disaster. But it was under [the previous administration's] watch that this all happened. We have a lot of issues, and I'm willing to work with everyone on the council."
Remo also questioned the budget line for sanitation vehicle repairs, which started out as $150,000, but had $50,000 transferred out and put into sanitation salaries. Approximately $40,000 of the remaining funds has already been spent, less than four months into the fiscal year. "We haven't even gone through the winter yet," Remo said. "We always end up doing housekeeping in the last quarter of the budget, when you have a little better handle on the budget, but we're doing this blind, because we don't know what the winter will bring."
Tuesday night's meeting also saw the council's official appointment of Theofan, the corporation counsel, as acting city manager, though some concerns were raised about the amount of work he will be taking on. In addition to his roles as the city's chief administrator and corporation counsel as well as counsel to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Theofan will also be the acting tax assessor, the acting head of community development and the acting city planner.
Council members agreed that Theofan should look to the departments he is now in charge of to take on some of his newfound responsibilities. He agreed, and said that he would look into it.
Comments about this story? CMunzing@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
