Mobile finance director challenges council to decide what's not ...

MOBILE, Alabama -- A looming budget deficit has drifted to the Mobile City Council?s back burner in recent weeks, but Barbara Malkove, Mayor Sam Jones? finance director, said Tuesday that the problem still hasn?t been solved.

Jones has predicted a shortfall of about $25.7 million in the city?s 2013 budget, unless the City Council agrees to a new revenue source or major cuts to services.

So far, Jones hasn?t been able to come up with the five votes he would need to raise the city?s sales tax to 5 cents on the dollar, as he has proposed.

If council members are unwilling to raise taxes, what are they willing to cut, Malkove asked them Tuesday.

Several council members have written in emails to constituents that the city needs to focus spending on ?essential services,? Malkove said, but what qualifies as essential?

Without a finance department, nobody would get paid, she said.

?I want input on what qualifies as ?basic,?? she said. ?To us, everything the city does is essential.??

Source: http://blog.al.com/live/2012/01/mobile_finance_director_challe.html

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