Sauce>Goose. Sauce>Gander?

(Yep, those ARE headlights you see reflected in his eyes....)


The citizens of my beloved hometown of Tulsa just elected themselves yet another dipsy millionaire as their mayor (past honorees of note? See Sen. James "9/11 was retribution from God for the US not supporting Israel" Inhofe). Tulsa's new blow-dried Hizzoner has been intent on breaking the policemen's union and the firemen's union and forcing the people who protect the city of Tulsa to take sizable cuts in staffing, pay and benefits, but assured everyone that all parts of city government would take similar hits. But notsofast:

The Mayor’s Office is not sustaining a budget cut and, in fact, is projected to need an infusion of cash before the end of the fiscal year so it is not over budget, Tulsa’s City Council learned Wednesday.

Budget Director Pat Connelly told councilors during a special meeting that budget amendments incorporating more than $10 million in cuts to the general fund will be brought to them next week.

But it will not include a 4.4 percent reduction for the Mayor’s Office as all other city departments have taken, he said. Such a cut would have decreased the executive office’s annual budget of $1,048,000 by $46,000.

This development comes in spite of Mayor Dewey Bartlett having maintained throughout the process that all city groups would share equally in addressing the city’s budget crisis.

Connelly said the payroll for the current staffing level in the Mayor’s Office will exceed its appropriations. The council soon will have to transfer more money into its budget.

“So it doesn’t make any sense to cut them now when you’re just going to have to go back in and provide some additional dollars,” he said.

The staffing expenses come from a combination of then-Mayor Kathy Taylor’s administration and Bartlett’s new administration, which took over less than two months ago, Connelly said.

Some councilors laughed at the revelation in disbelief.

“Good luck with that,” Councilor Bill Christiansen said...

Muh-huh. Just what you expect from a guy named after one of Donald Duck's nephews.