Fred Warchol: Atwater budget has no basis in reality

Kabuki is the classical Japanese dance known for its elaborate costumes and bizarre interpretation of reality. Here in Atwater, it’s mid-year budget review time. This is when the city’s expenditures for the first half of the year are reconciled with projected expenditures for the budget year.

It is also time when city leaders perform their version of Kabuki.

It all starts with the general fund, which the city council always deems balanced. Yet, this year, the fund is in a spiral toward a $2.7 million shortfall, with loan obligations exceeding $12 million – so much for a bizarre interpretation of a “balanced budget.”

Then there’s one council member’s request for up to $80,000 to complete a wall to enclose the police department parking lot. That’s the fortress protected by 24-hour, heavily armed officers barricaded behind steel doors. It lacks only Huey gunships and Hellfire missiles for protection.

For the city manager to present such unrealistic budget figures and suggest such wasteful spending only helps perpetuate Atwater’s fiscal crisis and is nothing more than a governmental Kabuki dance.

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Fred Warchol: Atwater budget has no basis in reality."