CORNWALL – Coun. Mark MacDonald believes the city budget can be chopped 20 per cent over the next four years without cutting services.
In a letter to the Community Action Group Tuesday, MacDonald again singled out the police and fire budgets saying the taxpayer can’t continue to carry the burden.
MacDonald penned the letter a day after two councillors – David Murphy and Claude McIntosh – told Seaway News MacDonald’s targets were unrealistic without cutting people or services.
He also suggests socials programs and seniors are being short changed at the expense of a few departments that “get a bigger share.”
MacDonald is hoping to bring the council on his side by putting the Community Action Group pledge in a notice of motion to council at its next meeting.
The notice calls for council to adopt a “revenue based budgeting” model and to direct city staff, “especially to our police and fire chiefs,” to chop their budgets five per cent without cutting services.
The next council meeting is Jan. 12 though it’s not known whether the motion will be dealth with at that meeting.
City officials are unavailable for comment as administration offices are closed until Jan 5.
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