Rejection of Giambra's budget, financial plan no real surprise
DAN MEYER Political Columnist
Excuse me while I take a few moments to yawn and then roll my eyes. There's nothing new to see here, folks.

Can anyone say they were surprised, shocked or totally blown away that the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority - that's the fancy name for the Control Board - rejected Erie County Executive Joel Giambra's recommended budget and four-year financial plan?

The Control Board's detailed analysis of Giambra's proposed spending plan and his four-year fiscal forecast for the county is a document that has more holes in it than the moth-eaten sweater I recently pulled out of the back of my closet.

Underestimation of expenses, overestimation of revenue and what the board termed as "speculative items" led to the decision to declare Giambra's budget "out-of-balance."

If anyone had any doubt that the Control Board is anxiously awaiting the end of Giambra's eight-year run as our area's top elected official, look no further than the final sentence of the press release sent out late last week by Control Board Executive Director Kenneth Vetter:

"A new administration will need to maintain these initiatives and obviously add new initiatives reflecting its visions."

In other words, it's time to take your ball and go home, Joel. We're done playing with you.

Finance Committee Chairman Joe Goodell echoed the obvious feelings of the vast majority of the Control Board by stating that Giambra's budget and four-year fiscal outlook don't feature enough "re-engineering," adding that it's time to go back to the proverbial "drawing board" to look things over and "bring in a few new ideas."

Ouch. And if that wasn't enough to bruise Giambra's ego, slap him around a bit and label his long-range fiscal planning skills as incompetent, the use of hard numbers raised plenty of red flags when talking about the possible continuation of the 1 percent additional sales tax.

According to Vetter, Goodell and other financial experts who reviewed what Giambra submitted, while the additional 1 percent sales tax is expected to pull in more than $135 million next year, it's not assured the tax will continue.

Computing that into what Goodell termed as a "compressed timetable" for the first quarter of the 2008 fiscal year may result in a shortfall in the county budget. In 2008 alone, that would reach nearly $113 million.

Yup, just what you want to hear when talking about county finances as we welcome a new administration.

Those buzz words "deficit" and "budget gap" combined with a figure that is in the hundreds of millions is always something that makes us all feel warm and fuzzy inside.

The tone of the previously mentioned press release, combined with quotes provided to various media outlets by Vetter, Goodell, Control Board Vice Chairman Robert Glaser and Control Board Member Ken Kruly, show that pretty much everyone concerned over the county's fiscal future is ready to kick Giambra to the curb and welcome our new county executive with open arms.

Remember, folks, Giambra is the man who provided virtually no leadership at a time when it was needed most. He's an elected official who offered no meaningful or logical ideas to protect us from budget deficits such as what we could be facing next year.

He's an individual who commands very little respect in the halls of the Rath Building and even less in the hair salons, bowling alleys and grocery stores throughout Erie County.

With virtually nonexistent approval ratings and his name often causing snickers, giggles and in some cases out-and-out belly laughs throughout the community, the constant use of excuses and finger pointing (don't forget the infamous "the real culprit is Medicaid and pension costs" statement from a couple of years ago) was something we all got tired of.

His casual dismissal of the county's budget problems is something we will deal with no more come Dec. 31. And that is reason alone to celebrate a brand new year.

(Daniel Meyer is a columnist for the Weekly Independent Newspapers of Western New York. Comments can be sent directly to Meyer by sending an e-mail to: meyersmusings@ gmail.com. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)