In March 2015, Deputy City Manager Kelly Gottschalk fled for higher ground after years of warning the City Council that Tucson was heading for a financial disaster. Last week, the new City Manager, Michael Ortega, announced his plans to institute a hiring freeze, and proposed to reduce the workforce through early retirement deals.
In last week’s City Council retreat, Ortega claimed, “Our organizational culture drives everything we do.” That culture has earned the community the rank as the fifth poorest metropolitan area in the country.
Ortega wants to act immediately in light of the fact that City operations cost $1.9 million a day. In keeping with the culture of corruption that drives the City, Ortega conveniently waited until the City Council incumbents were safely re-elected last month before declaring the need for immediate action.
Between Gottschalk’s flight in March and Ortega’s announcement, the City has been hemorrhaging money as its tax base shrinks. The City’s structural deficit this year is estimated to be nearly $13 million.
In the intervening months, the City Council agreed to a pay raise for SunTran drivers as part of an effort to secure the Teamster’s vote in the November election, and agreed to pay new Police Chief Chris Magnus a whopping $200,000 a year; $19,000 more than his predecessor.
Don’t forget that in November – after the election of course – Ortega also revealed that Tucson City Golf lost $1.1 million last year. In fairness though, golf draws people here – not drives them away – like the high crime rate and lack of opportunity do on a daily basis.
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Ortega claimed, “We have to review all funding to all programs.” Unfortunately, no one believes that will happen. The sacred cows like SunTran and the streetcar will continue to be sacred cows and routes will not be cut, and rates will not be raised. But in a town like Tucson, it would be tough to raise rates given the poverty that plagues the City.
It is the poverty though, and the prospects of more unemployed City workers that makes Ortega’s insistence that revenue options – code for tax increases – “could be put before voters in 2016 to fund roads, transit, and capital improvements,” all the more insane.
Ortega says that he is “absolutely confident” that he can develop a structurally balanced budget. It might be true. He just might be able to do that in any other town, but not in one that is driven by a culture of corruption led by an utterly inept Council for the benefit of few cronies.