LIL'LORI IS LIT UP ABOUT RIDICULOUS RAISES

For me, the question is not should the Mayor be paid a higher salary?  (I actually believe she should).  The question I have is where will the money for these raises and new benefits come from?    The last I heard, the legislation addressing our current net school spending crisis has not been approved.  Yet, the Mayor is still unwilling to fund our schools at 100% as is required by law.  Some council members have compared Lynn to Quincy, so I will do the same.   Lynn has been under-funding our schools for years.  Quincy, on the other hand, has been over-funding their schools by an average of about $15 million each year for at least the past decade. 

Until the Mayor is able and willing to fund our schools at at least 100%, you should not even be thinking about giving raises and new benefits to anyone, especially to yourselves.  

I am actually very confused about the financial standing of the city.  Is the city is such dire financial straits that every department in the city must cut their budgets by 2% and the Mayor is unable to fund our schools?  Or is the city so financially sound that it can afford and sustain exorbitant raises and new benefits?

According to the Mayor, all departments have been asked to cut their budgets by 2%.  She stated it was a real balancing act that has to go on and she is walking a tight rope as far as not having to lay anyone off.  She went on to tell the school committee they and other department heads had to distinguish between wants and needs.  She said the budget simply cannot balance if wants are included and it had to be stripped down to needs.  She stated and I quote, "It boils down to tough choices, so some things will just have to wait until another year and it's as simple as that."

I am curious if this council's plan to give themselves and the Mayor a raise, is a want or a need?   I agree that this plan should, as the Mayor stated, just have to wait until another year.  I think it should wait until the commencement of the next term of office of the Mayor, as is stated in the city charter.