Budget advisory committee

Yes, I am all for the idea of citizen-journalists, but I think the idea of "citizen- government officials" may be taking the whole "pro-am" concept too far.

It seems to me that one of the reasons the school district hasn't gotten very far with its facilities plan is that someone got the bright idea that the best way to deal with a difficult issue is to "get everyone involved" by forming lots of teams and committees to debate and discuss.

That's not a bad concept, unless it becomes an excuse for elected and appointed officials to dodge the tough decisions. They were, after all, elected or appointed to make tough decisions.

Now it turns out that the Common Council will consider a proposal from Tony Palmeri to form a "Citizen Led Budget Committee." See details here and Tony's discussion here.

Getting citizen input is fine, although I can't say the Council necessarily has a great track record in paying heed to citizen input. And it's not like there are necessarily any hidden financial geniuses out there who are going to step forward.

Providing a forum for citizens to talk about the issue is no substitute for government officials taking the lead, and sticking their necks out, on what is by all accounts going to be a pretty messy situation.

Layoffs of city employees appear to be baked in the cake at this point, as well as cuts in city services.

Council members are going to have to deal with tough trade-offs, but that's why we're paying them "the big bucks." (Small joke.)