June Message

June President’s Message
By Barbara McCormick Heck

The 2010 City Budget cuts will impact each of us. Over the past months, our City government has been looking
for ways to consolidate, trim, delete and more efficiently run government on much less money in 2010 and onward. It
has been an extremely difficult task for everyone involved. We are talking about potential job losses, service reductions,
closures and more.

City Council had its first Budget workshop on May 26th – a 6+ hour meeting with the various departments reviewing
their proposed 5%, 7% or 10% reductions. Even with just a 5% reduction, it was evident that we will notice the
changes. And a 5% across the board decrease will not get us to the lowered budget number we need to hit. Ouch.
The current proposed budget (complete with 5%, 7% and 10% decreases can be viewed on our CONA website at
www.conastpete.org and also on the city’s website at www.stpete.org.

Step One: I urge everyone to carefully read through the proposed Budget RIGHT NOW ! ! ! Check to see what these
cuts will mean to you and to your neighborhood. Right now is the time to talk to your City Council member about
these cuts. Do not wait until “later”, or at the end of summer and definitely not after the budget has been finalized.
Step Two: Plan on attending the Budget Public Forum tentatively scheduled for July 9th. Get ready to speak about
how this budget (and its cuts) will affect you and what changes you might suggest.

Step Three: Reach out. Join with your neighbors and with your adjacent neighborhood associations when working on
a project (clean-up, get-togethers, neighborhood socials). Spreading the “cost” or the “labor” over lots more people
really helps minimize what each person needs to do or to spend.

Step Four: Support CONA, attend the CONA meetings and let CONA know when you need help.
Just remember everyone that T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R we can do anything. “Together” is the key.