The City of Reading woke up today in a fiscal crisis.
It appears that city government under Mayor Tom McMahon, a Democrat, spent $2.1 million more than it budgeted in 2007. The funny thing is that McMahon, who was running for re-election in 2007, never mentioned any fiscal problems.
McMahon, who won reelection to a new four-year term, kept touting how he helped bring city finances back.
Today's Reading Eagle has an article saying the city administration (which I believe is headed by the mayor) knew about the potential crisis in 2007, but chose not to address it.
The city is facing a huge budget deficit and is talking about layoffs, cutbacks in service and a tax increase. Funny how none of this came up during the campaign last year.
Is it possible that a Democrat would lie to get elected. I am shocked.
I'm also wondering why McMahon's Republican opponent, Keith Stamm, didn't raise some red flags about the city's finances. I doubt it would have made much difference since the city is predominantly Democratic, but at least voters would have had a better understanding of the city's finances under McMahon before they went to the polls last November.
Democrats have run city finances into the ground. They control the City Council. They control the mayor's office. All the state legislators are Democrats. It's a one-party system. Without any checks and balances, the Democrats have run amok.
Councilman Stephen P. Fuhs, the only Republican on the council, told the newspaper he was surprised the surplus figure changed by $2.8 million between October and Dec. 31.
"Nobody told this body," Fuhs said of council.
Councilman Jeffrey Waltman, a Democrat, was even more blunt: "I don't know if it was an election-year budget or an accounting miscue, Waltman told the newspaper. "I don’t care if it rains gold on the city; we've got to know where the money is."
3 comments:
I did raise a red flag in one of my debates. Tony remember the reporters are also told what to write.McMahons favorite reporter covered that debate.
Has anybody thought to ask where the screaming headlines are about the deficit? Oh, yes, I forgot, this is Tom Terrific, the Reading Eagle's fair-haired boy. They broke 100 years of Reading Eagle tradition to endorse the man. Where was the fine critical reporting of our fine metropolitan daily when the Mayor was blowing sunshine up the paper's butt?
Keith Stamm raises a good point. The Reading Eagle is too much of a cheerleader for the McMahon administration.
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