Budget Opportunities

The City of Kissimmee will have its budget workshop tomorrow and this meeting is open to the public. This is not a televised meeting so the only way you can watch what is going on with your money is to attend the meeting. The floor is not open to the public, but you are able to hear what the commissioners are thinking which can give us regular folks some idea of why the are going to vote one way or another. This time around, because of the property tax reforms from the state level, the budget process will be difficult and present challenges we have not asked a commission, or staff, to face in a very long time. WayneWho believes that this process is an opportunity for the City of Kissimmee to shine, if egos can be checked at the door.

First: We think that it is important to discuss as much as possible during this workshop, and the regular commission meetings to follow. There is a tendency by the commission to bypass boring topics to speed up meetings, but in this case, we believe that this would create more distrust in the budget process. We would say, drag it out, and say your peace.

Second: It is not the job of the City Commission to teach the people a lesson about what happens when you ask for tax relief. It is the job of the City Commission, to find the best way to work with the budget they have. It is also the job of the City Commission to understand what services are the most important to the residents. Police, Fire, and the construction and maintenance of roads are the services at the top of the list. Cutting of services is going to happen, but what service need to be cut is where the question lies. Removing positions from the police and/or fire departments is questionable at best and should not be a politically motivated maneuver. Keeping the forces at full strength is your primary role as commissioners. Cutting, reducing, not filling, adjusting, or doing anything that will lower the number of police officers or firefighters off of the street should not be an option that is considered. We hope this makes sense to those who read it.

Third: Funding parties, groups who throw parties, trips that inspire parties, or anything else that does not directly relate to the day to day business of government should only be funded after the primary responsibilities of government, and the people, are taken care of. We have elected you to make difficult decisions just like any CEO would have to make when the company they work for is put into a financial crunch. You told us you could make the difficult triage decisions you are now faced with. The public expects nothing less.

Fourth: Intergovernmental meetings and dealings should not mean the public is removed from the process. At the end of the day the different governments in this community work for the citizens and not each other. Taking property off of the tax roles to let the school board build a school on it in the middle of an area the community has designated as an area for redevelopment tells your residents that you have plenty of money to fund more officers with. Government working for government is a problem, not a solution.

We believe that the Kissimmee City Commission can and will do the right thing for the community. We believe that this budget is an opportunity to show true leadership driven by the commission.