Two vital cogs
Regardless of how the votes may end up regarding TABOR and excise taxes, is it time to take another look and create a budget committee to really scrutinize the Lewiston City Budget?
Many will recall that I opposed creating this committee and may question why I now favor it. In fact, I have always been in favor of such a committee, but there were two stipulations which needed to be included that Mayor Larry Gilbert would not agree to; thus, I voted against it.
In my opinion as an accountant, two vital cogs must be in place.
First: The work of the committee must be completed before the council is provided the budget. There cannot be two groups working on the budget and making requests of staff at the same time. A better concept would be having the budget committee review the current budget from October through early December, then make recommendations to the council when it gets the budget in late January. Their time spent would provide a heavy recommendation for the city council to keep in mind as they continue discussions.
Second: Require those on the committee to have a background in either accounting or municipal government. Political patronage has no place on this committee, it must be staffed with people who understand accounting, work with large budgets and have an eye for financial details. The finished product each year will better reflect a diversity of what needs to be done, weighed against what can be done.
Robert Reed, Lewiston
City Councilor, Ward 7
RpsNoMore says
Conservative Concedes in Upstate Congressional Race
A staunch conservative conceded defeat to a moderate Democrat early Wednesday morning in a hard-fought contest for New York State's northernmost Congressional seat, a race that exposed divisions among Republicans over how far outside the party's base they should reach as they look to rebuild.
With 88 percent of precincts reporting, the Democrat, Bill Owens, was leading with 49 percent of the vote, while the Conservative Party candidate, Douglas L. Hoffman, had 45.5 percent.
As for "the country changing," a few boutique issues and races for governor doesn't mean the Republicans who nearly drove America into the next Great Depression are doing anything but hunting around for their next subject to smear.
That's all they can do, they're devoid of anything but serving the most ignorant with meaningless divisions. Elect enough Republicans and eventually the demage to America won't be repairable.
Oh, and in Maine ... how to the wingnuts claim "victory" when TABOR lost, among other issues the wingnuts favored.
Such small minded people, these wingnuts.