Detroit — The City Council unanimously voted on Monday to override Mayor Dave Bing’s veto of amendments that will spare more than $6 million in general fund expenditures in the upcoming budget year.
Bing last week sent a memo to the panel saying he was rejecting its modifications to his $1.1 billion budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year. Among them, the council wanted deeper cuts to Bing’s staff and quicker implementation of a new health care cost-sharing formula.
Bing however did not turn down deeper cuts the council recommended for its own department and the consolidation of its divisions.
The council voted 8-0 Monday in favor of the override. A supermajority of six votes was needed. Member Kwame Kenyatta was absent.
City Council President Charles Pugh said it was critical to recommend some cuts.
“We’re in a fiscal crisis. Not cutting where you can would be irresponsible,” he said. “It was difficult for us to cut our own budget by one-third. That means there will be people leaving. There will be people losing benefits. We’ll be working harder with fewer people, but that’s the story all around the city.”
Bing’s in his explanation to the council last week said he was declining to reduce his own department’s budget by an additional $1.6 million, because expenditures had already been cut by more than 60 percent since he took office. By comparison, the council’s budget had been cut by 55 percent during the same period, Bing said.
Bing’s office didn’t not have an immediate response Monday to the council’s vote.
The mayor also rejected a recommendation to impose a new 70/30 health care cost-share plan by Oct. 1, saying it was “not feasible.” Bing had proposed that the cost-sharing begin Jan. 1, 2014. The early start will save $4.6 million.
The mayor had also vetoed a $38,000 reduction in the city’s subsidy to the Detroit Zoo as well as a $694,305 reduction in firefighting operations, a $205,695 cut to emergency medical services and a $1.4 million reduction in police operations.
The council originally approved the amendments by a 5-3 vote on May 24.
At that time, President Pro Tem Gary Brown and members JoAnn Watson and Brenda Jones dissented. Kenyatta was absent.
Pugh said Monday’s vote in favor of the override shows the council is “standing united.”
“This vote was important for us because we did not have a unanimous vote to pass the budget. But a unanimous vote to override the mayor’s veto means that the council was standing united in making our decision to set the budget the way we did,” he said.
Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr will ultimately have the final say on the city’s budget.
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From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130603/METRO01/306030349#ixzz2VJSkbrJl
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