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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Hard Times Require Budget Hard-Liner

By Richard Romero
Candidate for mayor
          As the old political saying goes: When you borrow from Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on Paul's vote. But what happens when it's time to pay Peter back?
       A la Bernie Madoff, Mayor Martin Chávez wants taxpayers to believe we can magically operate city government with borrowed money and the bill will never come due. But when you live beyond your means, there will always be a steep price to pay in the future.
       To prevent this from happening, we need a dose of reality and an honest assessment of our balance sheet.
       For starters, the mayor's 2004, 2009 and 2010 budgets borrowed money from future bond elections to cover general operating costs.
       The disastrous consequences are obvious — not only can this fiscal irresponsibility lead to future tax increases, but we now find ourselves with only half of the income that otherwise would have been available to provide for the long-term repair, replacement and expansion costs of our roads, parks, community centers and other public facilities.
       For example, the Paseo del Norte-Interstate 25 interchange reconstruction could have been financed with property tax revenue that has been diverted to the city's operating budget.
       In fact, these consequences are already bearing down on us. According to a recent report by the Trip National Transportation Research Group, Albuquerque has some of the roughest roads in the nation — resulting in car owners being soaked for an average of nearly $600 a year in vehicle repair costs.
       What's more, Chávez has added new layers of politically-appointed managerial positions to many service departments. On top of that, the budgets for the Mayor's Office and office of the Chief Administrative Officer have increased by 12 percent this past year — and by nearly 100 percent over the past five years!
       At the same time, the General Fund decreased by 4.5 percent.
       Simply put, we are facing a historic economic crisis, and now, more than ever, is not the time for budgetary shell games and a bloated bureaucracy.
       Fortunately, there are common sense solutions to these problems.
       All current operational budgets should be based on realistic revenue estimates and not influenced by an incumbent's wish list of high-profile projects that we can't afford.
       To stop digging a deeper hole, there should be no additional shifts of property tax revenues from capital projects to basic services in next year's budget.
       Likewise, future operating costs should not exceed gross receipts tax revenues.
       A fiscally responsible mayor should set priorities with the council and build a budget around those priorities. Instead, we have a dysfunctional relationship between the two bodies, and the result is the mayor's absurd notion that we can slow the bleeding by eliminating “vacant” jobs.
       A real solution would be to reduce the number of high-paid political appointees. As leader of the New Mexico Senate, I trimmed 54 patronage jobs from the Senate payroll. It's time to put City Hall on a similar diet.
       I'm in this race because I sincerely believe that an entrenched incumbent who's unable to manage our finances responsibly is the last thing Albuquerque needs in these difficult economic times. Operating within our means while lowering administrative costs and the number of high-paid political appointees will be a fresh start.
       With deficit forecasts growing darker by the day, it's time to get serious about the financial mess we're in.
       The politically easiest course will get Paul's vote. But Peter — the legacy of fiscal mismanagement the mayor is passing to future generations — is not going away.
       

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