Here
is just a little financial history for the city of Lynn going back only
about 6 months (going back any further would be even more frightening).
I will let people make up their own minds on whether they believe Lynn
(taxpayers) can afford another $91 million in debt by building two new
schools.
August 2016: "The city is facing a $4.2 million
shortfall, according to the city’s chief financial officer. The news
comes on the heels of the recent settlement of the police contract that
calls for a more than $3 million wage hike over four years. The
retroactive agreement provides a 1 percent boost for 2014, a 2 percent
increase for 2015, 2016 and 2017 and a 1 percent raise for 2018.
Coppinger said the city is already down 13 officers because of a hiring
freeze."
“Over the last four years, my budget has been cut by $2 million,” Coppinger told The Item.
http://www.itemlive.com/…/budget-cuts-leave-lynn-police-fe…/
November 2016: "The state Department of Education is threatening to
withhold $11 million in school funds this month until City Hall ponies
up its school spending money."
“We consider this very serious,”
John J. Sullivan, associate commissioner, told The Item. “I would not
hold out Chapter 70 payment if I didn’t think so, this is not common at
all.”
"In a letter to Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy on Monday,
Sullivan said a review of the city’s fiscal year end financial report
discovered that Lynn was in violation of state law."
http://www.itemlive.com/…/dept-of-ed-threatens-to-withhold…/
November 2016: Council Discusses Taxes: Budget Shortfall May Lead to Lay-Offs,Override
"The Lynn City Council met for close to two hours Tuesday night with
Lynn Chief Financial Officer Peter Caron, in an effort to get a handle
on the depth and breadth of the city’s financial challenges, as the city
prepares to set the 2017 tax rate and deal with a budget shortfall of
more than $8 million."
"Without finding some way to raise new
revenues, the city will be forced to consider laying off employees in
the police, fire and public works departments."
http://www.lynnjournal.com/…/council-discusses-taxesbudget…/
February 2017: "There are fewer police officers on the street as the department deals with a $567,000 budget shortfall.
As a result, as much as 15 percent of the force may not be on the streets during a shift."
"Last summer, as the city’s chief financial officer revealed City Hall
faced a $4.2 million deficit, Coppinger told the city council that the
department disbanded several units, including the Warrant Task Force
that consisted of a sergeant and three patrolmen, the Traffic Safety
Unit, which included two enforcement officers, four members of the
Community Liaison Team, a traffic investigator and a special
investigations detective. None of the dozen officers were laid off,
rather they were reassigned to patrol. But he said the city will be
deprived of valuable services that the public depends on."
http://www.itemlive.com/…/police-spending-stretched-in-lynn/
February 2017: Lynn Firefighters Settle on Contract
"The decision is likely to put more stress on an already tight city
budget. Peter Caron, the city’s chief financial officer, said it’s
unclear how these raises will be funded."
"The $2.5 million deal
was settled late Wednesday by the Joint Labor-Management Committee, a
quasi-public agency that negotiates collective bargaining disputes
between municipalities and public employees. Under the terms of the
agreement, the firefighters will receive a retroactive 2 percent raise
for each of fiscal years 2015 and 2016, a 2.5 percent hike for 2017,
another 2 percent for 2018 and on June 30, 2018 they will collect
another 1 percent."
http://www.itemlive.com/…/lynn-firefighters-settle-on-cont…/
