Lansing Mayor Verg Bernero has released his new budget proposal for the city, and the cuts are so deep that you have to wonder how he would have handled Michigan’s fiscal mess if he had been elected governor in November.
Perhaps all those people denouncing Rick Snyder’s budget plan – with some regretting their vote for the Republican, and others supporting a recall – might want to think again. Snyder’s plan may be less dramatic than the plan put forward for Lansing by Democrat Bernero.
The Lansing mayor’s plan to eliminate the city’s projected $20 million budget deficit would cut as many as 78 positions from the police department and as many as 71 from the fire department. That’s right – 149 police and firefighters in one fell swoop.
The Lansing State Journal reports that Bernero’s plan for the 2012 fiscal year also would eliminate all of the city’s neighborhood watch and school liaison officers, and close as many as three fire stations. Bernero described it as the “worst-case budget” in a presentation Monday to City Council.
The proposal also includes cuts in road, sewer and parks maintenance.
The cuts could be less drastic if voters agree to raise the city’s property tax limit, if the state’s revenue sharing doesn’t decline, and if the city can negotiate cost-saving measures with its unions.
As for the revenue sharing issue – is Bernero going to blame his draconian cuts on Snyder’s draconian cuts?
