Like the Biblical story of Noah's Ark, the Sept. 22 primary run-off candidates will have to endure the uncertainty of 40 days and 40 nights, which is the amount of time left for the Nov. 3 voting to determine who will join Zone 2 City Commissioner Jack Grasty, who romped to victory over two other candidates, along with commissioners Jim Hathaway and Lynne Plaskette, the latter two not facing the voters this time around.
Will it be the upstart Adam Barringer who beat Mayor Sally Mackay by 15 votes or will the mayor reclaim her throne as the face of New Smyrna Beach city government? Will challenger Judy Reiker's near outright victory in the primary prove insurmountable to Zone 1 City Commissioner Randy Richenberg or will he be able to mount a big enough turn around to retain his seat for a second term?
If Day 1 of the 40 days, is an indication, then the two incumbents have to redouble their efforts to win voter support next month.
Just two weeks ago, the mayor and Richenberg rebuffed demands from the usual suspect, Bill Koleszar, to cut the $21 million city budget for the upcoming fiscal year below the rolled-back rate of 3.74 mills to as little as 3.1 mills, which no elected official would entertain. The two incumbents up for re-election, along with Jack Grasty, also up for re-election, and Lynne Plaskett voted unanimously to go with the rolled-back rate, which under Florida law is not considered a tax increase.
Grasty was adamant against any further cuts, saying he did not want to compromise essential city services. The mayor and Richenberg said there had been enough job losses over the last several years and that salary freezes across the board were in place. Mackay, Grasty, Randy Richenberg and Lynne Plaskett all voted in favor of lowering the millage rate from 3.94 down to the rolled-back rate. Commissioner Jim Hathaway was out of town on city business.
But something different happened between the last city commission meeting and Wednesday night's final budget vote of 3 to 1 to go below the 3.74 rolled-back rate to 3.47, requiring nearly $1 million in reserves in the process: The incumbents, Mackay and Richenberg, lost in Tuesday's primary to first-time office seekers -- the mayor by 15 votes to Adam Barringer, and Richenberg lost by 322 votes to Judy Reiker, who came up a mere 3 percentage points short of winning the primary outright. Grasty crushed his two opponents with nearly 60 percent of the vote.
Hathaway had no problem going below the rolled-back rate. He had no problem a year ago either when Koleszar first came on the scene and threatened to recall the entire commission or put up candidates against them at election time if they didn't reduce the budget to the previous year's 3.1, and they all caved.
Months later, Richenberg gave a public mea culpa saying he felt "ashamed" of his vote and "bullied" by Koleszar. Even during this summer's budget workshops, Richenberg was adamant the budget did not need to be shaved beyond the roll-back rate. But after Tuesday's primary results, priorities changed for Richenberg and Mackay.
For the first time, the mayor and Richenberg were in agreement with terms uttered for the first time by Interim City Manager Pam Brangaccio, such as "furloughs," "buyouts," "wage reductions" and "consolidation." Mackay even put on the record that cutting salaries of employees making between $50,000 and $100,000 were now on the table.
Hathaway's reasoning that using reserves to lower the millage rate to 3.44, was more than reasonable because taxpayers deserve relief. Grasty, on the other hand, said the average saving was $35 a household. The repercussion, Grasty said, which was supported by the city manager, Finance Director Carol Rogers and City Attorney Frank Gummey, was the negative impact of using the reserves.
By using the reserves to artificially lower the millage rate, the city will not be allowed next year to raise more than $8.2 million in "ad valorem" taxes to come up with a budget that doesn't require an outright tax increase. By applying close to $1 million for the new fiscal year's budget, the city is going to have to cut nearly $1 million in city spending. That's because of the Florida voter constitutional amendment 1 that limits the burden on taxpayers.
City workers, especially union workers did not get a wage increase and with 80 percent of the city's budget ties into personnel costs, the city will have to go with a combination of expensive buy outs and salary cuts, and the most likely scenario, extensive furloughs and even lay offs, or spend nearly another million of the reserves.
Hathaway's viewpoint is that for years the city collected these reserves from the taxpayers and now is the time to give them relief. They mayor said the city has achieved low millage rates for several years running.
Here's the counterpoint on both of these suggestions: First, it's obvious for years that the city "overtaxed" its residents over those years. And the reason for the low mill rates in recent years is so obvious: Those same reserves have artificially reduced out of control spending that has resulted in massive pay increases for many of the city's 250 employees.
Interim City Manager Brangaccio, who replaced the fired John Hagood last spring who received a nearly $300,000 severance, has warned the commissioners and the mayor in the course of her eight weeks on the job that the reserves will not get the city out of its escalating personnel and pension costs any time soon.
Grasty and Plaskett stood alone in his failed motion Wednesday night to go to the rolled-back rate. Then Hathaway's motion to go well below that threshhold was approved with Mayor Mackay and Commissioner Richenberg going along, as did Plaskett, who added she might as well go along.
Perhaps Mackay and Richenberg think this will get them the votes they need to come out on top on Nov. 3?
With 39 days to go, none of the candidates can take the races or their opponents for granted, but the incumbents have some more explaining to do. But so, too, do their challerngers, on where they stand with the budhget and how they would have voted.
It's easy to criticize those in the elected seat. It's another to sit up there and have to make the tough decisions.
Now there's 39 days to go until the election ark comes to rest.