Budget, with 77 layoffs to come, gets city council's blessing.

Byline: M. Elizabeth Roman; Mary Jo Hill

FITCHBURG - After weeks of acrimonious hearings and negotiations, the City Council last night approved the mayor's $96.5 million fiscal 2008 amended budget.

Councilors Jesus "Jay" Cruz and Dean A. Tran voted against the budget.

The final budget translates to 19 layoffs in the city, including 10 civilian police dispatchers, and 58 in the schools. The amended budget was crafted in response to $1,578,683 in cuts the council recommended in place of the mayor's original plan to fund $760,000 with anticipated revenues from a trash fee that councilors rejected outright. Mayor Dan H. Mylott challenged councilors to come up with the cuts themselves.

The amount exceeds the $760,000 targeted for cuts, so Mr. Mylott presented the council with a supplementary budget to restore nine police officers and the veterans commissioner.

Councilor Annie K. DeMartino, who wanted to force Mr. Mylott to make the cuts himself, said she was "proud" of the work council members did.

"I am very honored to have been a part of it," Mrs. DeMartino said. "We did a good job and did it the right way."

Mr. Tran said he voted against the amended budget because the council has not seen a final tally from the reductions. He also is opposed to the city taxing residents to the legal maximum. Mr. Cruz said the amended budget only redistributed the spending cuts, instead of putting the money into a reserve account.

Cutting the civilian dispatchers left room for the mayor to restore funding for nine police officers who were slated to be laid off in his original budget.

However, Mr. Mylott said the action "bodes very poorly for the city." He predicted at his news conference yesterday afternoon that there would be a large lawsuit in result.

At the council meeting, he said city lawyers have told him "no grounds" for an injunction had been found as yet.

The Police Department has assured the mayor officers will be ready to serve as dispatchers beginning Sunday, he said.

The council reinstated the veterans' commissioner and reallocated money in the library account so the library won't have a problem with certification, Mr. Mylott said.

The city's funding for the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School was cut by almost $200,000, but the city is still going to have to pay this amount, he said.

"But now it's time to roll up our sleeves and make this budget work," Mr. Mylott said. "It's going to be a long haul."

The amended budget maintains funding for services in city parks, playgrounds and cemetery departments.

The remaining amount of money will be left as free cash until July or August, he said.

"I am sure that, between myself and the president, some of that money is going to go into the stabilization account," Mr. Mylott said.

When asked about the budget's impact on the average person, Mr. Mylott said no service was cut entirely.

NAME: FITCHBURG CITY COUNCIL