Committee member says former mayor kept mill rate low and presented a "false budget," costing "millions"

A committee member told attendees at a budget meeting that the former mayor kept the mill rate "artificially low" and presented what the speaker called a "false budget," recording revenues that were not there.

"On paper to the public, he balanced the budget," the committee member said. "We lost millions of dollars and now we have to pay the price." The speaker said the prior administration "was keeping the mill rate artificially low" and sold assets to avoid raising taxes.

The committee member described the prior practices as "creating a fiscal time bomb" and said the current budget under consideration "diffuses the time bomb and sets us on a course to fix what's going on with the city and bring prosperity back." The speaker framed the proposed or current budget as a corrective measure but did not provide a specific dollar figure beyond saying the city had "lost millions."

The transcript does not record a name or formal affiliation for the speaker, nor does it show a vote, motion, or other formal action tied to these remarks. Officials or staff were not recorded responding in the provided segment. The claim about "millions" and the description of asset sales were stated by the speaker and are reported here as that speaker presented them; precise figures and corroborating documentation were not provided in the transcript.