Dear Editor,
I have been very concerned about the City of Fairfield money. On October 2015 the city had 3.5 million dollars. On October 2016 the City had 2.4 million dollars. That leaves a 1.1 million dollar short fall for the city.
This time last year, when it got time to vote on the budget and tax rate, there was a 2-2 city council tie.
The Mayor had to vote the tie off. Before the Mayor voted he made one of his State of the City addresses which he said that there would never be a tax rate increase on his watch.
There is a 509,000.00 decrease in income for 2016 to 2017 for the City of Fairfield.
The reason I see it has taken so long to do the budget this year is because the Mayor has tried to get the City Council to vote on a paid fire department. Everybody that I have talked to would love to have a paid Fire Department, if we had the money to do it, but we don’t have 500,000.00 a year to pay for it.
Seven months ago the Mayor conned the City Council into paying a paid fire chief at a rate of $45,000.00 a year on a 6-month trial. This trial basis cost the City 26,250.00 at my figuring. In my opinion this money could have been used to help with the short fall that the City has.
After a few meetings with the City Administrator I was told that he had cut every place he could cut. The way I understand by talking to some of the City Councilmen that there are some other places that can be cut.
My wife and I spent 4 hours in a bathroom at Canton when 7 tornados hit the area. After seeing all the damage to that community it worries me what would happen in Fairfield if we had a disaster with so much of our money leaving the City in 12 months.
So I won’t take up all the newspaper space, I will continue at a later date about the things I have seen unauthorized spending of the City’s money.
It is in my opinion the City Council should get a forensic audit of the money.
To be continued,
Jesse Jones
Fairfield, Texas
