City officials responding to a recent report by a city budget “watchdog” group said they welcome robust discussion of city issues, even if they don’t agree with all of the group’s conclusions and recommendations.
The Bellingham Independent Budget Task Force (BIBT) recently delivered its report to city officials, the media and the city’s Budget Advisory Committee. A summary of the report’s recommendations and the city’s responses to those recommendations are posted on the city’s website.
Bellingham Mayor Mark Asmundson said some of the recommendations in the report reflect differences of opinion in how we accomplish a mission that we all agree is important. Other recommendations are ideas with merit that city officials already have implemented or are exploring. Still other conclusions are simply not supported by complete facts, he said.
“Nonetheless, we welcome robust discussion of city issues and hope the publicity this group generates will contribute to conversations about city issues and the quality of life in Bellingham during the upcoming budget process,” he said.
Asmundson particularly wants to set the record straight on employee pay and benefits.
“City employees are valuable, skilled workers who earn their pay and benefits,” he said.
He said city officials invite scrutiny of the city’s budget, particularly during these times of financial challenge for governments state and nation-wide. “In fact, we’ve tried the past few years to engage more Bellingham citizens in our budget process. Despite those efforts, few people attend meetings or comment on key budget issues.”
This year, the Bellingham City Council asked the Mayor to form a citizens’ advisory committee to make sure more voices were heard in making financial decisions. Asmundson said the 15-member Budget Advisory Committee, which has been meeting regularly since April, represents a diversity of perspective and experience. The group’s regular meetings are aired on BTV10, and meeting minutes, presentations and other information about this group’s work can be found on the city’s website at www.cob.org
“Frankly, we’re a little surprised that none of the members of the independent group even applied to be part of that group, and have not attended the meetings,” Asmundson said. “They could have contributed a great deal to the process. They also could have asked clarifying questions and gathered information that would have prevented them from reaching conclusions that are not supported by facts.”
