A pair of city councillors who were going to submit a plan to have municipal managers take a second look at the budget have shelved their plans for the time being.
Coun. Denis Thibault has been working on a plan to have city managers take another look at the municipal budget and reduce the potential tax levy increase to three per cent. The draft budget presented to city councillors last week calls for a 4.01 per cent hit.
Some councillors were disappointed managers couldn't reduce expenditures enough to meet a three per cent mark that was mandated by council last year before managers began drafting their spending for 2013.
To be fair, there are some departments where spending increases are mandated via labour agreements, like police and fire.
But Thibault wants more cutting done in other areas.
"I'd like to see them go back at it, because (three per cent is what) what we wanted," he told Seaway News. "I'd like to see what we will have to cut."
He has an ally at the council table.
"That sounds like a fair motion," said Coun. David Murphy. "Even if they can come back with another half a per cent...then we can do the rest of the whittling after that."
Finance manager Maureen Adams said at Friday's meeting council should create a list of potential cuts that can be considered once councillors receive more information on the budget as the process unfolds.
