Council went into sudden death overtime last night. Budget hearings ended in regulation time with a 4 to 4 tie, with one abstention. Three hours of jabs, barbs, malaprops, retorts, angry words, threats and more. They should start charging admission.

Last night’s council session was to be THE vote. All were present. Sandy Kennedy, the venerable matron of the body reminding the newbies how the process should go, correcting course occasionally, and offering her own sacrifice on behalf of the common good. Liz Brown was at quarterback leading the team through the various punts, passes and kicks to arrive at the goal line. Enough of the metaphors.

Last night was the dreaded night of the process, when council members brought forth their recommendations to trim the budget. (Understand, they can not put money in, only take some away.)

Mitch Harper proposed saving a couple hundred bucks on long distance charges. The rest of council glared at him and he didn’t even vote for his cut, 9-zip. He did so in good humor.

Then came a proposal to cut a substantial sum from the redevelopment budget authored by Councilman John Shoaff. He felt that the out-of-town partners in the Harrison Square development should be paying liquidated damages of $5,000 per day because they had failed to fulfill their part of the contract, namely the construction of the condos and shopping building facing Jefferson. Redevelopment director Greg Leatherman defended his office with the usually we-are-working-as-hard-as-we-can platitudes and then said that forcing the issue could cause many, many more problems and sour the relationship. Shoaff said he just wanted the investors to live up to the deal they had agreed to, but had failed to live up to. Shoaff was making his point. He knew the cut would fail, but he was firing another shot across the administration’s bow and keeping the issue in the public eye. Surprisingly, the vote was 4 to 5. Tim Pape, usually the administration’s best friend on council, joined Smith, Harper and Shoaff. Tim did not explain his vote, those who have been to council know that Tim is wont to wax on and on like Hugo Chavez when he has a point to make.

Smith, Didier and Bender offered another cut that passed to the surprise of most in the room, including the victims. They wanted to cut the number of Mayor’s Advocates from four to two. Two of the advocates watch with sinking stomachs as the vote progress. The councilmen said, essentially, that with the new 311 phone system that most calls are routed more efficiently than can be done by the advocates. The story is, however, much deeper. Pape and Smith are not happy with the women who serve in those positions. Pape, on the other hand, is quite happy with his advocate, and, as a neighborhood president, I agree, in that one case with Tim. Glynn Hines weighed in angry that three of the four are black women, the other a Euro-American male. Decorum was maintained, but when the dust settled it was 5 to 4 to cut two positions. Hines was sullen and hunched in his chair.

Finally, after a few more cuts and attempted cuts, Brown announced the big question: to raise salaries 1.5% or not. The arguments went back and forth. Didier saying that with the nation hurting the administration should bite the bullet and keep salaries flat. Greg Purcell, Deputy Mayor, irritated everyone at the table with his condescending defense of the pay raise: “is this the sort of message you want to send to the employees that they are not worth a raise?” Someone noted that council had already granted a 1.5% to the firefighters and that they would be expected to similarly reward the other unions, including the FOP. Another noted that they were discussing raises for some 400 midlevel managers, not the entire 2,000 employees. Another member of the administration rather eloquently noted that these are the people who had beaten the bushes to find innovative new ways of doing city business for less, sometimes much less and to penalize them, after they had done so much, would be very demoralizing. So, then came the vote. There was an amendment offered by Mitch Harper to cut the 1.5% to 1%, knowing there was great concern that a raise would increase next years salary base. That when revenue projections for the next two years look like Johnny Weismuller diving from the cliffs at Acapulco. The amendment failed and Tom Didier voted against it, offering a rationale that sounded very much like he favored it. Perhaps he was confused in choosing between yes and no, he seems perennially confused, and left a few council members scratching their heads.

So the amendment failed and they approved the 1.5%.

Next vote, the omnibus bill, the whole thing. As usually, council members voiced their rational for voting one way or the other. Hines passed, initially. By the time the vote got to Smith it was 4 to 4. Tied. Needs five to pass. Hines? Glynn? He fumed that he was angry with the cut to the advocates, fulminated a few more seconds and voted not to vote. He abstained. The budget failed to leave committee with a “do-pass.” Hines had everyone by the…

The air was electric. Reporters looked dazed, council members were perplexed. The few civilians in the audience tittered about what might happen. Extending the 2009 budget for an extra year, unless a compromise could be found, was the answer. No one seemed to like that idea

So, what to do? Well, Tom Smith adjourned the committee session and the members picked up their papers and slowly headed to other end of the room to sit in regular session. By the time they ambled the 30 yards to their other chairs a number of council members, principle among them Harper, had worked on Didier. A lengthy discussion was held concerning the ramifications. Hines looked sullen. Goldner had the appearance of having been slapped by a bear. Didier then spoke. As usual, it was hard to follow, but he finally offered an amendment, to cut the salaries to 1% from 1.5%. He spoke about concessions and the need to do something, the amendment pass and council went on to a roll count vote. The budget passed 5 to 4. Goldner was beside herself with anger. Hines look like a great deflated balloon, Didier strode from the dias to face the cameras and the reporters who had overlooked that he had voted against that same amendment, the Harper amendment, 45 minutes earlier. He could have saved everyone a lot of time and confusion.

So, the mayor lost two advocated, but got a raise for their employees, council cut half (yup) an employee, some dollars were shaved here and there and Didier emerged the hero. Funny stuff. On the way, all of the elected officials voted against their own pay increase and Clerk Sandy Kennedy turned her back to the city for other uses.

On the way out Glynn looked at me and said, “politics.”

Yup.

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