http://66.225.205.104/LM20100528.mp3
Mecklenburg County commissioners got an earful last night from county residents concerned about what $81 million in budget cuts will mean. Veterans, CMS students, library patrons and park users urged commissioners to not cut so deeply. Commissioners have pledged not to raise property taxes this year. Cuts are inevitable, it's just a matter of where they'll decide to find the savings. So WFAE's Lisa Miller asked some people who attended last night's meeting what they'd cut. About 100 people signed up to talk at Thursday night's public hearing on the 2010-11 budget. Nearly all of the comments are pleas for county funding for schools, libraries, veterans services, parks and many other agencies. Not many alternatives came from the podium. "Without support from the county, we're out of business and we're the only voice for seniors," Jean Anoff of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Council on Aging said after she addressed commissioners. County Manager Harry Jones has recommended cutting the group by nearly $240,000. That's 100 percent reduction in county funding, and represents about 80 percent of the council's entire budget. So, what does Anoff suggest be cut instead.? "I think they could allocate more funds equally among the service industries." What Anoff means is that commissioners should choose to support the Council on Aging by taking some money from non-profits the county supports that provide services like tutoring, medical assistance and legal help. Spreading the cuts out is also Bill Brawley's solution to finding more money for the libraries. He came well-equipped with a spreadsheet of all the county departments and the amount he proposes to shave from them. "I would not go to one department alone and try to get the whole $8 million," Brawley said. "I would try to get smaller amounts spread out over a number of departments so that the negative impacts on the other departments wouldn't be as great as the impact to the libraries." But Colonel Quincy Collins wants to cut one particular part of county government to spare any decreases in the county's Veterans Service's budget. The group counsels veterans and helps process claims for them. "We only are about a million dollars of that whole budget. When you look at the upper management in the county organization, you will see that almost three-quarters of a million dollars is on management. And I think that area is where they should be looking to make some very substantial cuts," Collins said. Rob Bierregaard came to urge commissioners to go easier on park and recreation. The County Manager has proposed cutting the parks department by 37 percent. "It just seems Park and rec is getting a really disproportionate cut. And it seems to me bumping that budget back up a bit would be a small investment, but have a really big payoff and a really longterm payoff." Bierreggaard says he's willing to pay higher taxes to fund the park system, but admits "I know I'm unusual in that sense." County commissioners say that's not going to happen. So over the next two weeks they'll be making their own additions and subtractions to come up with 81 million dollars in savings. They'll vote on a budget on June 15.