Here is a report from Marianne Edain about the Island County Budget meeting on Monday evening:
Well, it was a most interesting meeting last night. In accordance with the temper tantrum of Commissioner Emerson, the hearing to pass the 2012 county budget began at 6:00 pm.
Commissioner Homola, as chair, gave a brief powerpoint presentation on past budgets and how this one measures up. Then budget director Elaine Marlowe gave a more detailed presentation with lots of charts and graphs, all showing that both income and expenditures are way down from a few years ago.
Then it was time for public comment. There had been some fears that Emerson would bring out her mobs to scream about wasted tax dollars, and how excessive the budget is. The room was quite full, and there was a lot of sidelong glancing, trying to figure out who all those people were. Continue reading
