"Follow The Money"Bloggers Resume Talk Radio with Ted Baker on WGVA

After a late summer’s hiatus of a few weeks, we resumed blogging with a fact-based point of view on the City’s own gas station, “Filling it up at the City Pump,” and resumed our regular time slot on Ted Baker’s morning radio show. Ted spoke with us about that post and other financial matters as the City ramps up for the 2010 budget process. Our effort to reconcile what the City spends on gas with amounts of gas departments actually use is a matter of accountability and transparency in government.

But the other hot financial topic of the day was the grant money for lakefront development secured—or not—by State Senator Mike Nozzolio. Remember that this money was first announced last year in the midst of the Bergmann study of the highest and best use of City-owned lakefront property. At that time, we questioned the wisdom of dropping money for a predetermined project into the middle of a process that everyone had been assured had no predetermined outcome.

Now it seems that the pressure to do something, anything may have been rooted in some fiscal realities that are none-too-flattering for the state legislators who made all those big ticket promises in the lead up to the last election. Nozzolio had initially indicated that a total of $5 million was earmarked for the City. In reality, $4 million of that was specifically dedicated for the City, but the remaining $1 million is uncertain, with budget deficits in Albany and a funding source which is not clear. So other guests on Ted Baker’s morning radio show, from the Senator himself to local special interests have been saying that the City must “hurry, hurry,” leaving many to question if the money is really ready and waiting for the City to draw down or if was a premature appropriation that never found its legs?

We also looked ahead to the bigger picture of the City’s budgeting process, stressing the need to address long-term structural stressors on the budget and alternatives to property tax increases for new City revenue. The idea, we think, is to “follow the money,” i.e., to get a better handle on what money is coming in, and where it goes out.

So take a listen and give us some feedback on what issues, fiscal or otherwise, you’d like to see us dig in on in the coming months!