Mayor Bill Rawls told Brownsville’s Aldermen and a packed meeting room Tuesday that he would try to balance the town’s new budget without a tax increase.

The mayor’s “goal” is a long way from what was once predicted to be a 44% property tax hike amidst other disturbing news about depleted city bank accounts.

The city board met in what amounted to three sessions spanning more than 4 hours Tuesday; their primary focus was the town’s spending and income, though they also conducted other business including terminating the employment of City Clerk Lisa Brooks.

The 2018/2019 budget process began in April but it was a June 29 budget workshop that set the town council into a tailspin causing public uproar and tension between Brownsville’s four aldermen and the mayor.

Tuesday morning

       Mayor Rawls hosted a 9am Budget Workshop Tuesday morning that recessed a little before noon. During the session aldermen and the mayor made little progress on their plan to cut their spending forecast.

The projected 2017/2018 deficit, once predicted to be almost $2 million dollars, the mayor said, had been reduced to $861,000. “We already made a lot of cuts before we got to this (today)…” Mayor Rawls commented. But aldermen wanted more.

The meeting recessed when the panel decided that draconian cuts to the town’s payroll would likely be required to accomplish its goals.

Reports generated within City Hall indicate that 26 new positions have been created during the last two years. So far, those new jobs have not been identified and their costs not calculated.

The board decided the Budget Workshop would resume after the 5:30 p.m. regularly scheduled City Board meeting, also Tuesday. Mayor Rawls said experts from the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) would attend the afternoon session and could likely help.

Tuesday afternoon

Except for the firing of City Clerk Lisa Brooks, the 5:30 pm. meeting was mostly routine.

But tempers flared, promises made and confrontational dialogue headlined the continuation of the morning’s recessed session that began immediately after the regular board meeting.

Vice Mayor Leon King had the most to say.

“I blame us (the aldermen) for not making you (Mayor Rawls) more accountable,” King said. “If we’d been kept abreast of what’s been going on we would not be here now.”

Rawls agreed saying, “The problem we’re having is because we didn’t have adequate information.”

King asked Rawls to cut $600,000 from the town’s payroll and another $100,000 from the budget’s Special Projects spending. The Projects budget contains line items ranging from contributions to charities like the Carl Perkins Center to Main Street. (Aldermen Carolyn Flagg and King insisted Main Street be spared.)

“I will take it on myself to make the cuts, “Rawls said. “Some will be easier than others.”

“I don’t think we should punish the people with a tax increase,” King commented, asking Rawls to reduce spending to a level that no new tax money will be required.

The mayor also confirmed he would not accept a $10,000 annual raise.  Aldermen agreed to the pay hike before they had news about the budget debacle. The town’s charter does not allow aldermen to rescind the earlier action, so they asked the mayor to turn down the extra money. Rawls told the Brownsville Press, “I’m committed to not accepting that…”

What’s next?

Mayor Rawls said his goal is to balance the budget without new taxes. “I’m on board…,” Rawls told the board.

The mayor would not commit to a delivery date for his new proposal but indicated it could be by next week.

The new budget year began July 1, and tax notices are mailed by October 1, ramping up pressure to settle the matter quickly.

But what about the cash crisis?

Brownsville’s leaders aren’t faced with just the budget issue—of equal concern is what many say is a cash crisis.

They learned June 29 that the General Fund operating account held a little less than $350,000. Mayor Rawls and the board expressed surprised.

At the time of the initial report Rawls believed it was a bookkeeping error. Evidence provided in days following the news indicated the bank balance was correct.

Though he says, “we are not broke” the mayor has since recommended the city board borrow up to $2 million to fund operations. Aldermen have twice refused to do so.

At Tuesday’s meeting the mayor assured aldermen he had the cash to pay the town’s bills and payroll. He also claimed that the Solid Waste fund owes the General Fund “a million dollars.”

An annual audit report, promised about two weeks ago, has still not arrived and may provide some answers, though it is already more than a year old.

Insiders say they’ll be scouring the accounting for year-end cash balances and data determining whether the town lived within its spending limits during fiscal 2016/2017.