Kevin Keiki: Atwater council not serious about saving money

After listening to the Atwater City Council be informed that they were staring at a $1.9 million budget deficit, the council listened to a report on the cost savings incurred by holding only one meeting per month instead of two. Staff informed council that in six months there had been nearly $30,000 in savings, translating to $60,00 by year end – enough to put another cop on the street.

I expected to hear rallying cries of “fiscal responsibility!” or “More cops!” Instead, the pony-tailed mayor whined about an extra hour of agenda discussion every month. An extra hour! Are your serious! You took a cop off the street over an extra hour you had to sit up there every month? Thanks to city manager Frank Pietro for his effort to save at every turn and to James Vineyard who tried to convince the others to go along. It seems this council is for saving your money – but only when it’s convenient!

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Kevin Keiki: Atwater council not serious about saving money."