Board of Aldermen 6-10-2020 Page 13
Alderman O’Brien
Mr. Chairman? May | rise to ask a parliamentary question, please?
Chairman Dowd
Sure.
Alderman O’Brien
You did not mention that there would be a time limit and we do have two testimony in favor and two
testimony in opposition. Would Mr. Davidson where he may have had to cut his point of view short, could
he speak again in the second half of the testimony in question?
Chairman Dowd
Yes.
Alderman O’Brien
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Dowd
Yeah | did mention at the beginning of the meeting as in all the Public Hearings recently, 5 minutes, we
don’t know how many people are on, how many people want to speak and you should be able to articulate
what you want to say in 5 minutes. But! always give the opportunity to speak again if somebody has a
second thought, particularly if there is somebody that says something in opposition and they want to refute
it. Again, if there is no one else in favor, any testimony in opposition?
Testimony in Opposition- None
Testimony in Favor
Chairman Dowd
Mayor Davidson, do you want to finish your thoughts?
Mr. Davidson Well yes, thank you for the opportunity. | won’t ramble on but | did mention to you my strong
feeling about the need for the contract. And it is tied to the Budget, you folks know that, you’ve got the
Budget coming up so you’ve got to keep that in mind too. We need the contract passed because they
deserve it. But then when it is passed, we need the funds to fund it. And you people have got to deal with
money that you don’t have. | am very aware that the revenues for the City and | am aware from my past
experience, the revenues for the City have been nil for about 3 months, compared to what it normally is.
Your State Revenues have gone through the floor, so when they come time to pass out to the cities and
towns, there is going to be a shortfall. So you guys are really facing a really difficult problem. But we can’t
worry about what is going to happen in the future by handcuffing what is right now. We still need to have
dedicated, professional, and needed men and women in the Fire Department.
So when it comes time for the Budget, you do know we are short with what you have in front of you now.
So when you take and do your considerations of the Budget, | ask formally for a number of what
$500,000.00 which was what was cut from the Budget would do the tax rate today, at today’s dollars. $500
K is $.05 cents per thousand. So when we are considering are the Fire Department worth getting a good
contract for the next four years and you’ve got a money issue you are facing with, please remember $.05
per thousand for the taxpayers. That is all | have and thank you and good luck in your deliberation.
