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Niles mayor: Revised financial plan falls short
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia admitted his latest revision to the financial-recovery plan will not get the city out from under fiscal emergency and will require yet another revision in 2017.
“It won’t resolve it right now because other steps have to be taken,” the mayor told The Vindicator on Friday. “We still have to settle [union] contracts, the Wellness Center is a big [issue], and we have to see what our money situation is next year.”
In October, the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission, which governs the city’s expenditures, demanded the mayor submit a revised plan by Dec. 19, two days before the commission’s next meeting.
“The commission and my expectations were for the city to eliminate deficit-fund balances and submit a plan for the maintenance and operation of the city building,” commission Chairman Quentin Potter said Friday. “At this point, [those] expectations stand, and [I’ll] have no further comment until we see where we are.”
Based on the mayor’s statements, his plan does not appear to meet the chairman’s expectations.
Council has to approve the plan before the commission receives it, but the plan may not even be submitted for a vote, said Councilman Barry Steffey, D-4th, finance chairman.
“I’m not going to sponsor that legislation,” Steffey said. “We need a tangible, achievable recovery plan, and that does not describe the document I read.
“It’s an architecture for fiscal failure,” Steffey said, adding another finance committee member, Councilman Steve Papalas, D-at large, told him he will refuse to sponsor it as well.
Council President Robert Marino was not pleased after being informed of the mayor’s comments.
“Why is he submitting something that he readily admits does not meet what is required?” said Marino, who sits on the fiscal commission with Scarnecchia. “As a commission member, I’m going to be forceful and ask [the panel] to institute the state rule that cuts spending by 15 percent.”
State law gives the commission power to limit spending to “85 percent of expenditures from the general fund for such months in the preceding fiscal year.” If imposed, the mandatory spending cut likely would result in layoffs and reduction of services.
“Members of council would prefer to see a long-term plan that addresses [financial recovery] sooner rather than later,” said Councilman Ryan McNaughton, D-at large, a finance committee member. “If what he says is true, then now what?”
“We cannot continue to drag our feet and go down this path any longer,” said Councilman Steve Mientkiewicz, D-2nd. “This is very disappointing, and the mayor is not doing his due diligence.”
The mayor declined to divulge specifics about his revised plan, but responded immediately when asked about possible layoffs.
“The plan does not contain personnel cuts,” he said.
Scarnecchia said he is still studying whether to maintain the city’s tax department or outsource tax collection.
Outsourcing tax collection was included in the first recovery plan submitted by the mayor’s predecessor, Ralph Infante. Scarnecchia dropped it from his plans.
Auditor Giovanne Merlo, who cut off spending for every fund that does not involve wages or benefits, said the city will begin 2017 with “a zero carryover in the general fund, [and] that’s as long as there are no surprises in the next 30 days.
“Budgeting is like weather forecasting,” Merlo said. “The 2017 budget is based on what we know today.”