Today is June 18th and the new fiscal year starts in less than 2 weeks.
No one except the mayor knows what is going to be done.
I watch the City of Everett’s website, waiting for – at the very least – a draft of the FY 2021 budget.
Nothing, as we have come to expect.
As Shakespeare said: Nothing can be made from nothing.
Not a single thing about the upcoming budget has been posted.
This state of affairs is not the way to run the city when the financial situation has become so potentially perilous.
The embattled DeMaria administration spends far too much trying to have the taxpayer pick up the tab for his legal bills and not enough time working to improve the quality of life of the good people of Everett.
At the June 8th City Council meeting the mayor talked about his discretionary account for legal services, but I could find no mention of that account in the City’s FY2020 budget.
The Office of the City Solicitor had a $100,000 line item for outside legal counsel but, with two full-time positions: a City Solicitor at $111,000 and an Assistant City Solicitor at $71,000, which is presumably for Mr. Slattery.
The young and talented Mr. Lattanzi, is an attorney apparently serving as the chief administrator for the Parlin Library.
I see no mention of his position as an Assistant City Solicitor unless he is the Acting Director of the Parlin Library which would mean that he should be devoting a full 35 hours of his work week to that function – which we all know is not happening, despite what the City’s budget might represent.
To get a little better understanding of the City’s finances, I decided to look for the City’s financial statements.
Despite the fact that we are literally on the eve of fiscal 2021, the last financial statements posted on the City’s Finance Department’s webpage is for fiscal 2017, the fiscal year which began on July 1, 2016.
Which begs the real question is the DeMaria administration hiding something or is it simply inept?
Or has the budget making team forgotten about the budget?
And, by the way, when searching for the “Amended FY 2020 Budget” on the City’s website, remember that “amended” is spelled with one “M” not two.
Someone should correct that if they have a moment to spare.
Signed,
Josh Resnek