The Morning Report
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The Mayor’s Office and Council President Scott Peters struck a dismissive tone of City Attorney Mike Aguirre’s criticisms, saying Aguirre’s concerns that the city is acting too quickly are unwarranted.
Aguirre said yesterday that his 21-point plan should be weighed alongside the Kroll proposals, which Mayor Jerry Sanders has embraced, before the City Council chooses a plan for reworking the city’s financial structure.
Sanders spokesman Fred Sainz rejected Aguirre’s argument that next Wednesday’s council hearing will be the end of the discussion, saying it will be spent deciding the “width and breadth” of the proposal.
Specific reforms that require changes to the City Charter and municipal code will be handled by voters and the City Council, respectively, over the next two years, Sainz said.
“It would be irresponsible and inaccurate to say that everything would happen at this meeting on Wednesday,” he said.
Sainz also said he thought Aguirre’s plan was filled with bad policy, matching Aguirre’s criticism of the mayor Tuesday. Aguirre ripped Sanders’ plan to borrow to pay off the pension deficit, advocated not paying controversial pension benefits until a court orders the city to, and confronted the mayor’s plan to hold the line on taxes and fees as the city’s pension expenses mount.
“I think that if you like tax increases and endless lawsuits that result in nothing, you ought to love city attorney’s plan,” Sainz said.
Peters said that the he had some questions about the appointment of the auditor general and the audit committee. However, he said he did not agree with Aguirre that the city was cementing those decisions in haste next week.
“I think we’re seeking conceptual approval and any early input,” Peters said. “With respect to all these ideas, if it turns out the SEC is not interested in all of these, we ought to be flexible about some things to cut costs.”