Over the last five years the City budget has grown enormously, primarily due to unsustainable property assessment growth and the real estate tax bonanza that the present Mayor and council have approved. This deficient strategy now places the City in a difficult position and in very turbulent financial times, with very little room to responsibly increase the budget. This difficult situation has significantly increased the burden on the citizen taxpayers of Suffolk, pushing some almost to the breaking point. As many already know and are aware, I have strongly spoken out about these financial issues that have ultimately damage our budgetary options. The City Administration with the Mayor’s approval for the last eight years has squandered the treasure of the citizens, in totally inappropriate ways. Some examples of this include but are clearly not limited to: The SCCA ($450,000 indefinitely), the Hilton/Conference Center ($500,000 for the next 27 years), and many other such speculative land and development projects costing the people millions of dollars a year in utter waste.
These significant policy mistakes by the present Mayor, Linda Johnson and the Council have now limited how our City could proceed to address not only the issues you have posed, but also many others. These very stark demands on our financial resources have all but insured that we have dug a deep financial hole that now must be addressed. We are in uncharted financial territory in our country and especially in Suffolk. These imprudent financial decisions over the last eight years, with Mayor Johnson approving budget increase after budget increase, just makes no sense. These unfair demands upon our citizens for such high taxes for little substantive investment in "needs", create a situation where it may not be possible to do all that should be doing especially as you have described. It is just not possible to push taxes up any further and still serve as a reasonable steward of the City I ask to lead as Mayor. There must first be a significant effort to reorder priorities to "need" over "wants", and then to address the issues defined in your letter. As such, I can pledge to you and your organization that it is my highest priority to review, revamp, and redefine the City Budget. This is the first step towards correcting the failure of defining a proper financial setting to address not only Public Safety needs, but also all we do as a local government.
While your questions bring forth a compelling series of issues on funding Public Safety, the question resolves it self down to how we must reasonably meet the financial demands of such. I can not honestly tell you that we have the financial ability to meet the need you have defined and that is just the stark truth. I can however assure you and your organization, that I am and have always been a strong supporter of the value and importance of Public Safety. With your support, I can bring forth more than just hollow promises from the dais as your next Mayor, to create the foundation where the priorities of our local government is what we all expect it to be. While I can’t do the impossible, with a pragmatic approach to prioritizing our limited resources, I assure you that I will demand needs first, over wants! I assure you, that I fully accept what you have defined in your request to protect and serve our community. I look forward to working with your organization and the entire community after I am elected Mayor.
In answer to your specific questions, I would tender the following thoughts:
The 2026 Comprehensive Plans is a document that defines the needs of the City, without regard to how to pay for such. Fully understanding this compelling issue, it must clearly be defined by our ability as a community to pay for Public Safety, we must weigh the situation concerning what resources are available and how to best employ them, or be allowed to redefine spending priorities. Many have made statements of support for Public Safety spending, without any method to realistically follow through. Due to excessive speculative City spending in the last eight years, there are real fiscal constraints now with regard to any possible future funding for Public Safety. With falling revenue sources available to the City, the goals of Public Service as defined in the 2026 Comprehensive Plan may not be fully meet by anyone, unless these real fiscal constraints are recognized and new priorities set. Clearly the manning levels defined in the Comp-Plan are something that must be worked on, yet within the very real fiscal limits we are now seeing, will be difficult. It is not realistic to assume that anyone could assure your group that the levels of service defined could be assured, unless there is a significant change in budget priorities. I assure your membership that I will work diligently toward these changes in a practical and reasoned manner, however we are in a very difficult financial situation contrived over the last eight years. Our local government has spent us into a difficult situation and with revenues now falling; including "State Aid to Localities" we must grasp for a new paradigm. It would seem impractical at this time to make any commitment to raise Public Safety Manning to the levels defined in the comp plan, without first reprioritizing the budget, which is my highest priority.
As defined in my answer to question #1, there are going to be increased fiscal challenges for the City of Suffolk in the future, unless we change the way we have set budget priorities. The budget can no longer be the piggy-bank for the well-connected, for things like the SCCA and still fund needs as you have pointed to and our present Mayor has failed in this most fundamental task of leadership. While I strongly support Public Safety, I also realize that there are going to be very significant fiscal constraints to expanded spending for anything without such budget changes. It only seems possible to resolve these legitimate demands for more resources for Public Safety, if the City first reprioritize the present spending plans approved in the past. To date, no one including our present Mayor has even proposed how to do that. I will be submitting a full and specific budget to the City Manager by the end of January, if elected Mayor. I know how to craft such a plan and to reprioritize the budget-spending plan in a manner to reduce wants and support needs.
My first priority is a much more realistic and pragmatic approach to city budgeting, which will support the request defined for more ALS Providers. I would strongly support a specific directive to the City Manager, to craft a comprehensive plan to recruit and retain more ALS Providers and to encourage dual role ALS Fire Department personnel in the City of Suffolk. As our population ages, the service demands for EMS/ALS Providers must also increase, and our budgetary support for this vital service must be increased too. Once again, the budget is the focal point of garnering the resources to address this need. It has not been done in the last eight years and one could construe that such policy changes will not proceed change under the present leadership! If we don’t change the leadership part of the equation, the answers will most likely be the same.
As you have indicated, the situation with pay and retirement benefits have been inadequately addressed under the present leadership in Suffolk. Compression, equitable pay, and recognition of the hazards of being a Public Safety employee are not recognized. As a retired military veteran, I do understand fully, the demands that attach to these profound issues and can assure your membership that I will be a strong advocate for such, within the limits of my fiscal responsibilities. As such, I would strongly support a new Public Safety Employee pay plan study to determine how Suffolk can stay competitive and insure proper compensation. Once again, this issue can only be implemented with budgetary reform, no matter what promises may be made by others. We must restore fiscal order to our Municipal Affairs first to solve these higher Public Safety funding issues. A pay plan, without the means of addressing such analysis and implementing pay changes, does absolutely no good. It all gets right back to the issue that: if we do not properly prioritize the City Budget, the fiscal resources will not be available too properly to correct these issues. The process must delineate not only finding the answers to Public Safety pay, but also include how to pay for such findings.
While it is clear to all that there are no sound-bite promises that will solve these and many other issues, it is clear that by honestly approaching a significant level of change in how we budget, resources can be found to address these important issues. I have seen "promises made and promises broken" on Public Safety issues year after year. I assure your members that I will work in a reasoned and competent manner to reform the budget and the attached processes, to insure that the citizens get the most for their taxes, including your request.
I have articulated on every possible occasion, that I will be a strong and pragmatic advocate of Public Safety, Education, Transportation and Economic Development. These core governmental services must guide our city budgeting efforts and processes, as the only realistic method to resolve the questions you have posed. If these issues have not been resolved over the last eight years and with significant growth in the City’s Budget we all have witnessed, why would anyone believe that retaining the present leadership would lead to a different answer? I will have an effective plan by the end of January 2009 and a clear understanding of how to correctly proceed. I would ask for your support to implement this pragmatic, insightful, and comprehensive plan as your next Mayor.
I have not taken this endeavor lightly and look forward to leading our City in January, with your strong support and help.
Respectfully,
Roger A. Leonard, MPA
Suffolk Mayoral Candidate
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