May 2008 Archives

Dan Robinson ran into a wall of ice at the May 27 Takoma Park City Council meeting. Shusshshusshshussh, his fellow councilmembers and the city manager cranked up the frost-making machine the moment he brought up his proposal to reduce the city property tax rate.

He asked the city manager which would be the better approach to cutting back the budget - make an across-the-board reduction or identify specific programs to cut or eliminate? Shusshshusshshussh. Councilmember Clay said that when this question had come up in the past, the answer was that after employee positions, which the council are loath to cut, the next items on the chopping block are the council’s own priority projects. Best, she said, to go with the city manager’s carefully calibrated budget proposal. Shusshshusshshussh.

By amazing coincidence (snort!), just prior to hammering out next year’s budget, the Takoma Park City Council was hit up for hand outs by a series of committees and groups.

Not all of them, we admit. The Washington Adventist Hospital Land Use Committee is just forming up and more interested in getting members than money at this point. Safe Takoma, a cross-jurisdictional group (Takoma, DC and Takoma Park) that plans to work on crime prevention through youth programs, among other enlightened means, was more intent on working out a memorandum of understanding with the city than with funding - though funding will be needed ($75,000 budgeted so far).