City Council Meeting Audio 11/28/06

Today you get two... two... Two meetings in one!
Because it's budget season. I will not have all of the budget hearings this year. And for the first time in the same amount of time I missed a City Council meeting. It was a special session on November 15, 2006, it was combined with the Administration's budget proposal. Hey, its was bound to happen.

The format for the combined meetings is different this year. The Council meeting is held first and the budget workshops are after the adjournment. This effectively keeps the public out of the budget proceedures.

This meeting was a full house marathon for 2 reasons-- The water works lease was slated for vote, and the public safety budget session also occured. The fire and public works unions were well represented along with the police brass.

The water works discussion is a must-listen. The lease is such a large and important endeavor, and it requires as much scrutiny as we can muster. Because it has to be done right. AFSCME Local 447 was well represented by their parent organization District Council 33, but that did not keep some Council members from lambasting the District President for his promise of action if his membership gets unfair treatment. The vote was tabled until Tuesday, December 5, 2006; but as almost anyone involved will tell you-- it's already a done deal.

$252,700
The stress and confinement of budget time makes for some great deals in the City.

Council Meeting Audio (1 hour 51 mins 12.7Mb)

Budget Hearing Audio (1 hour 14 mins 8.4Mb)