A Lexington City Council vote to override Mayor Linda Gorton’s budget-related vetoes is a very real possibility this Thursday. The mayor vetoed the Council’s action to add ten new positions to the upcoming annual budget. She argues basing the new jobs on higher revenue projections is not a good idea.
Ninth District Council Member Whitney Baxter voted no on the ten new positions, citing concern about recurring costs. And Baxter said Council’s baseline budgeting is something less than an annual salary.
“So I knew that the proposed salaries were going to end up being more than what we put in the budget. And then we’re not even accounting for raises and things like that in the years to come..benefit increases,” said Baxter.
The southwest Lexington representative doesn’t see a tax increase as the result of adding these positions. But Baxter says the next year should include looking at vacant positions that haven’t been filled for multiple years.
Already scheduled to be out of town, Baxter will not attend this week’s meeting. If she was, Baxter said she wouldn’t support overriding the vetoes. Baxter doesn’t think this issue signals any major friction between Council and the mayor.
“I think that we’ll have to continue to work together for the good of our community and this might be a little bit of a hiccup but I don’t see it’s gonna be a problem.” said Baxter.
Among other things, the Council response last week said the new positions will deliver critical services and that funding is supported through a .15% increase in projected revenues. The Council veto response also stated that the mayor’s administration’s conservative revenue projections have resulted in budget surpluses.
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