Dover budget showdown resolved

A budget showdown between Dover’s City Council and its Mayor is over. The City Council voted unanimously to override the Mayor’s veto of portions of the fiscal year 2010 spending plan.

A budget showdown between Dover’s City Council and its Mayor is over. The City Council voted unanimously to override the Mayor’s veto of portions of the fiscal year 2010 spending plan. At the root of the disagreement, proposed furlough days for police officers and reduced ambulance service.
Caption: Dover Mayor Carleton Carey.

Listen:
[audio: 090714bcbudget.mp3]

One plan set forth in the Dover budget, and originally passed by the City Council last month, was to furlough every city employee, one day per month, to save money.

But since that would impact police and ambulance service, Mayor Carleton Carey vetoed the budget. But City Council President Beverly Williams says the furlough plan, while difficult to swallow, was better than the alternative.

Williams: I think it’s always a safety issue when you’re talking about the police. However, I’d rather lose one police officer for one day a month than one police officer for 365 days a year because he got laid off.

But the matter still isn’t totally resolved. That’s because, coincidentally, the city and police union are in the process of negotiating a new contract.