Board of Aldermen — 3/21/17 Page 4
Alderman Moriarty
| just repeat that during prior response to remarks by the Mayor, aldermen have asked the Mayor questions in
the past.
President McCarthy
And you will have the opportunity to do that when we debate the bill.
MOTION BY ALDERMAN DEANE TO ALLOW ALDERMAN MORIARTY’ QUESTION TO BE ASKED AND
ANSWERED BY THE MAYOR
MOTION FAILED
Division Taken 7-7
Alderman Lopez
| missed the late hand raise.
President McCarthy
Go ahead, Alderman Moriarty.
Alderman Moriarty
The question stands.
Mayor Donchess
Because the current way that this is being handled does not conform with the City Charter or state law. The
wastewater fund is a single consolidated enterprise and yet pursuant to an ordinance passed, which everyone
actually who testified about this in the committee, including the original sponsors, agreed is irrational. The
ordinance that we are dealing with is irrational because it says part of the wastewater fund is within the
municipal budget and part is not, even though it is supposedly a single consolidated fund. In order to make
this conform with the Charter and state law, the proposal here is to make it a true enterprise fund, move half of
it out of the combined annual municipal budget where the other half already resides and treat it as it should be
treated under the Charter and under state law. And, | haven’t’ proposed a budget yet and we just started
working on it.
But given the exercise that we did in December when we said what would happen with a flat budget for these
departments, which is the result under the Cap, there’s only $3 million under the Cap, there’s $2 million of
pension, there’s $400,000 from Pennichuck, there’s a 11% electric rate across the entire city, and if we want to
take over the dam and actually make money that will increase expenses, and those increases will exceed the
Cap. The four things alone will exceed the Cap.
If you play the tune that not doing anything won’t result in very severe cuts, | think that’s not the way it will play
out. In the middle of a heroin crisis, | don’t think we should lay off 20 cops. And, | think we should have full-
day kindergarten. In the midst of a situation where the fire department has taken on the Safe Stations program
and is saving dozens of lives right here in our community, | don’t think we should close a fire station. If you
think this out to the end, to the end game, to the end of the road, and if we can deliver a tax rate that is at least
reasonable under all of this pressure, and all of these demands, | think this is a reasonable step to take.
