Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilwoman Donna Frye have come to a tentative agreement on how to resolve the latest dust-up over the mid-year budget cuts.
Here is how it will go down, according to conversations I’ve had with the Mayor’s Office, and my Colleague Rani Gupta had with Councilwoman Donna Frye:
Tomorrow, during a special City Council meeting that had been previously scheduled, council will override the mayor’s veto. That will bring things back to where they were before council voted to fund six community service centers and three painter positions from the facilities department that Sanders had cut from the budget.
Frye agreed to support the cutting of the community service centers, which cost up to $500,000 annually, out of the budget. In turn, the mayor has agreed to a transition period during which the centers will be close down gradually, rather than all at once. And, Sanders has agreed to restore the painter positions, which cost about $113,000 annually, at some point in January.
Finally, because the charter demands it, the final vote won’t take place until next week, after the new City Council is seated.
It is unclear whether all of Frye’s colleagues will go along with this plan, and it was put together without input from City Attorney Michael Aguirre. However, Aguirre issued a written opinion today that essentially provides the go ahead for such an agreement.