Lockport NY

The Buffalo News reported that Tucker is already giving warnings on the 2013 budget.

Mayor Michael W. Tucker told the Common Council on Wednesday that layoffs might be necessary in next year’s budget if the Council wants to obey the state’s 2 percent property tax cap.

The Council voted to override the cap for the 2012 budget it passed in November, and it increased the tax levy by 9 percent.

Tucker told the Council that all five city union contracts run out at the end of this year.
“If we don’t get some wage concessions, which we probably won’t, and some health care concessions, those things alone will put us over 2 percent,” the mayor said. “If you’re going to hold [a tax increase] at 2 percent, you’re going to have to reduce the force by layoffs. I’m not going to be hiring anybody for a while.”

He told the aldermen he intends to meet with them individually in the next few weeks to sound out their attitudes toward meeting the tax cap in the 2013 budget.

“Sometimes it’s hard to keep expenses low. Health care will go up. It always does, probably 15 percent,” Tucker said...

I'll agree it's hard to keep expenses low and the city has made some progress in the recent past in trying to contain them. But until the city makes an honest progressive effort to start luring investment back into it, the same old record will be playing for the rest of our lifetimes. Most sadly become numb to the situation until they decide to move on.