That’s how a budgeting process should go.
We saw the Newton City Commission pass a budget last week after long debate, community feedback and compromise. It was truly a singular event. And we’re proud of all involved for the effort, and they deserve credit. All of this was done on the record, not at a service club or donut shop. You could tell because there was genuine debate, disagreement and eventually compromise. Motions passed. Motions failed.
But eventually the city passed a budget that included a small, 1 mill tax increase, cut some proposed staffing costs, cut back on proposed transfers out of utility and sales tax funds and made an attempt at planning for the future. That’s politics, and when it’s done right, no one leaves totally happy.
But when politics and open debate is done right, it sometimes yields more sensible solutions than either party had when they started. The commission proposed a budget. Citizens gave feedback. The commission debated the budget in a transparent manner, and they passed an improvement on their proposal. That, folks, is how it should be done.
(Read more: Newton Now)