Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Ferris Budget Plan for Columbus

Matt Ferris is proposing a budget for the city of Columbus that doesn't cut vital services nor increases taxes...
City hall has proposed a permanent 25% tax increase to address a temporary budget shortfall. So, while families are tightening their belts city hall wants to increase their spending by more than a billion dollars over the next 10 years!

Instead of allowing city hall to take more of our hard earned money, I’ve put together a plan on how they could balance the budget without raising taxes or cutting police and fire jobs.

Here’s what I propose…

Step One – We have to freeze any increase in spending for 2010. As it stands now city hall’s budget for 2010 is almost 11% higher than it was in 2009. Almost 60% of the reported budget deficit is caused by this increase in spending! That’s over half the problem solved by resisting the urge to spend more next year than they did this year! Families can do it, so can city hall.

Step Two – We need to prioritize city hall’s current spending by improving inefficiencies and simply addressing just 12 of the line items in the massive city budget. This alone will eliminate over $40 million from the projected budget deficit.

Step Three – City hall needs to implement a 1-year 2.5% across the board spending reduction. It’s not asking too much for government to tighten its belt a few notches for one year during tough economic times. Families and businesses are trimming their spending and so should city hall.

That’s It! With your support we’ll send a strong message that we don’t need this tax increase. I’m calling on you to VOTE NO on this massive tax increase on August 4th and asking you to vote for me, Matt Ferris, on November 3rd.
Want some of the details? Read on...

The Ferris Balanced Budget Plan