Bruce Frohman: Town hall meeting better at revealing priorities than a budget review

Re “Will Modesto back high end retailers? City may take a look” (Page 1A, Feb. 12): In the recent election, new Mayor Ted Branvold said Modesto’s city budget contains much waste. Where? Every line in the budget exists because someone in the community wanted it.

A more precise definition: if the mayor wants it, it’s good. If the mayor doesn’t want it, the expenditure is waste. A town hall meeting might help the mayor decide what he wants; he did not clearly reveal his spending priorities during the campaign. Now that a majority of city council members were elected with urban developer money, is Modesto going to reinstate subsidies for the good old boys at the expense of the rest of us? The proposed retail store study, which should be funded by the private sector, is the start.

A pile of trash has been sitting in the street on Morse Avenue for a nearly month. Rats. When can we expect greater diligence in keeping the common areas of the city clean? Is weekly street cleaning a waste?

Though tax revenues have been greater than expected, a budget surplus does not exist: Modesto has major unfunded infrastructure needs and a huge debt. With only a small cash reserve, bankruptcy is possible next recession.

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Bruce Frohman: Town hall meeting better at revealing priorities than a budget review."