On Thursday morning, The Tampa City Council voted down a proposal to hire a budget analyst. The discussion leading up to the vote opened up fissures amongst board members who feel their work ethic and independence in standing up to Mayor Bob Buckhorn is being challenged when it comes to fiscal matters.
Council members Yolie Capin and Mary Mulhern argued strongly for an analyst. Mulhern said the board passes numerous appropriations each week and annually approves an overall budget with no help from direct staff.
"The fact that we have no independent staff on these important decisions I think is unbelievable," she said.
Her concern goes back to 2008, when the failure to create such a position led to the formation of a citizen's budget advisory committee — a group of volunteers who meets monthly to review the budget and make recommendations.
This article appears in May 23-29, 2013.