This afternoon, Mayor Mike McGinn will unveil his 2014 budget for all the worldâand the city councilâto see. Heâs been rolling out a few of the more brag-worthy parts of it over the last week or two, but the whole shebang is birthed (screaming, hopefully!) today. Then council can fuck with it until theyâre done, which, if this is anything like years past, will leave it looking much the sameâwith a little blush and a cute barrette, just for show.
This morning, the cityâs budget director sat down at the city councilâs big shiny table and said brightly, âHappy Budget Day!â Because city hall thinks Budget Day is like Christmas. Which for them, since they like spending your tax dollars and fighting with each other the way children love toys and puppies, it kind of is. If you agree, wrap yourself in tinsel, pin dollar bills all over yourself, and gather your family around the computer to watch the mayorâs budget announcement live, right here. It starts around 2 p.m.
Iâm hoping itâs announced after live trumpet fanfare, but Iâm not holding my breath. Check back here after for some analysis, and check out this handy government PDF if you want to understand some city budget basics.