The Facebook administration

You know the city of Hillsboro has big problems when the administrative brain trust is a collective effort of national triangulation from Los Angeles to Florida to Washington, D.C.

(It really is.)

The Washington, D.C. angle of this triangulation, a GOP political operative, by the way, was quick to give false praise to two Democratic members of Hillsboro City Council after this week's 4-2 vote to reject an administrative plan to join another fire and EMS district and, in essence, take steps to disband the Hillsboro Fire Department.

Under the pseudonym of Shock and Awe, he predicted on the HCP website that the "parks and police" budget would be cut. Wouldn't you know, less than 48 hours later, the Hillsboro City Council Finance Committee suggested cutting funds for Shaffer Park and Liberty Park. That was either a great guess or someone had inside information. I'm betting on the latter.

Shock and Awe and his 202 telephone area code (which comes up under the U.S. House International Relations Committee with an online search) went on to say council should meet "bi-weekly like most neighboring towns do, if only to manage the mess that they have created for themselves…"

Biweekly, by definition, can mean "appearing or taking place every two weeks" or "twice a week."

Mr. Strawman, I mean Shock and Awe, didn't clarify whether Hillsboro council should meet twice each week or every two weeks, nor did he clarify those neighboring towns who meet on such a schedule. (For the past 20 years, I can't recall Hillsboro, Greenfield, Lynchburg, Leesburg or Mowrystown councils meeting twice a week. But I'm not as slick as Shock and Awe. I just live here and pay taxes here. He does not.)

Mr. Strawman then says "We are 16 months away from city elections. Bonnie Parr, Dave Shoemaker, Mary Brown Turner and Brian Waller ought to be held to account for the terrible vote that they cast. Who among us is ready to step up to the plate and oppose these members and fight for what’s right? Bad things happen when good people do nothing."

Well, Strawman, you certainly cannot step to the plate. You don't live in Hillsboro. Granted, that's less of a prerequisite of late.

As to your assertion that "bad things happen when good people do nothing," I might add that worse things happen when bad people do anything.

Hillsboro has been around a long time – without the current triangulation from Los Angeles to Florida to Washington, D.C. – maybe you haven't heard, but we successfully celebrated the city's bicentennial almost 10 years ago. Of course, you good fellas weren't here for that, were you? Some of us were.

I assure you that Bonnie Parr, Dave Shoemaker, Mary Brown Turner and Brian Waller were here for the city's bicentennial and that their respective ancestors were here for the city's sesquicentennial (and before that). So there!

Mr. Strawman, you go on to say that "The mayor, like the rest of us, is effectively now a bystander." Please enlighten us. Are you a bystander here, in Hillsboro? Or are you a bystander in Washington (or maybe Wilmington)?

If the mayor is, as you say, just a bystander, does that mean we can stop paying his salary? I understand that you've spent a great many years in the public sector. I haven't. (Six years – all unpaid – notwithstanding.)

But I will say this: If the mayor agrees with you, from the DC triangulation sector, that he is "effectively now a bystander," why pay him? I would not pay one of my employees should he/she declare himself/herself a bystander.

Frankly, I commend Council members Bonnie Parr, Dave Shoemaker, Mary Brown Turner and Brian Waller for taking a stand. The city does not need to abolish its fire department – or any other department. Just make some necessary cuts.

As one private-sector businessman wrote to me this week, "The city’s shortfall in the budget is the result of not negotiating with the townships for fire/EMS services. City Council directed the safety service director to engage in negotiation, but that didn’t happen. By not doing what was asked by council, we are in the trouble that we have. Now the mayor wants to push all of the responsibility to council. At what point will the mayor take responsibility for his actions? The mayor has created this problem; now he should put forth some real effort to fix it. It doesn’t take much effort to say “no” to proposed contracts – with no counter-offers.

"(And) the mayor can’t continue to use the "inheritance" excuse. Everyone knew of the problems that existed prior to even taking out petitions to run for mayor. Those running for the position had agendas and supposed solutions, but it should have been obvious that it wouldn’t be easy. So, we all know that this has been a longtime problem, but we can’t continue to lay blame on the past; rather, we need to concentrate on the fix – and the future."

I agree with the Hillsboro businessman – who does not have a 202 area code when I call him.

Years ago, when I covered city council on a regular basis, the city's total annual expenses were in the $11 million range. From my files, I have these numbers on annual expenses:

2003: $9,096,255.

2004: $12,511,319.

2005: $13,065,893.

2006: $10,444,703.

2007: $12 million (roughly).

From this, the city has roughly a general fund budget of $5 million – from which the city may need to cut as much as $300,000 for 2013 – and perhaps more leading into 2014.

Since approximately 75-80 percent of city expenses are tied up in SWB (that's salaries, wages and benefits, for those who don't deal with budgets), it therefore stands to reason that cuts in SWBs will be necessary.

Those cuts could be proportionate among city departments. The city could even get creative (or simply copy from the county commissioners and county auditor Bill Fawley) and implement furlough days and reduce office hours. It can be done.

(Had the city negotiated in good faith with the townships on fire and EMS, these cuts would not be necessary. But that ship has sailed.)

In former Mayor Dick Zink's first year, 2004, the city faced almost a half-a-million-dollar deficit. They made cuts. They worked through it. They remained civil. The mayor didn't threaten to choke the auditor. They balanced the budget. They did not threaten council to come up with $150,000 in personal cash to offset the deficit. And, By God, they did it all without Facebook.

They "saved our city" by calmly, rationally and intelligently working together. Right here in Hillsboro. They didn't blog away the city's problems and blame everyone from George Washington to Barack Obama. They accepted the responsibility of their public office and worked together. Sure, they had disagreements. But they didn't threaten one another.

And they did not use the Little League Baseball program as the first social pariah or sacrificial lamb. Seriously, you need to trim $670,000 and you start by cutting $12,000 from the parks? (Yes, as a recreation park officer told me last week, they had been cut by the previous administration but funding was restored.)

If the city is playing to emotion and getting ready to propose an earnings tax increase, it will fail in this economy. I guarantee it.

Given the current fiscal dilemma, each and every city employee ought to report to their respective supervisor what he/she can do to help offset the deficit. The county trimmed more than $2 million from its budget four years ago.

In a $10 million budget, the city can surely find areas to cut. Without calling Los Angeles, Florida or Washington, D.C. (Maybe there's more money at play here than what meets the eye.)

Rory Ryan is publisher, owner and window washer at The Highland County Press. He does not consult with anyone with a 202 area code.