The city of Lansing is struggling to provide its citizens with necessary services because of continually declining tax revenues. At least, that’s what I think after watching the conclusion last night of the city’s budget process. The city council set spending priorities for city services for the next fiscal year which starts July 1.
Here are some impressions:
- Average Lansing citizens have no effective way to learn the “who, what, when, where, how, why and so what” of the budget. There are bits and pieces of city budget factoids released through many different outlets, with many missing.
- The city and its residents are suffering greatly because of the diminished capacity of the Lansing State Journal to fulfill the historical role as the eyes and ears for its readers. It’s coverage of the budget process, city hall and its departments is less than surface. The result is that residents are consigned to whatever dribs and drabs city council members, the mayor and others offer them.
- Members of the city council get failing grades at educating the people who elect them about the budget with its various components and its implications for providing city services, including police and fire protection.
- The council seems to regard itself as an advisory body to the mayor on how city tax money is spent, rather than policy-makers who put down firm direction on programs and their implementation.
- Citizen feedback to the budget proposal is minimal and makes little to no use of social media tools which encourage two-way communication with constituents.
What’s your reaction to the process and to the players on the city stage who put the budget together? Are you satisfied? Do you feel that you understand the budget adequately and how your money is being spent?
