Pinehurst: The K.I.S.S. rule for budgeting — and “yard debris evaluation” ???????

 

 

 

Judging from the lamestream media accounts, Pinehurst village manager Andy Wilkison is shocked — SHOCKED — that council members want a budget that is (1) less than 200 pages and (2) is written in language non-bureaucrats can actually understand.   Our thrice-weekly (OOPs, twice-weekly) Kurt Schork Award winning local paper had the, um, scoop:

The Pinehurst Village Council received a copy of the proposed FY 2014 Budget at its work session Tuesday night.

[…]

The council took no action and it didn’t discuss specifics, but Mayor pro-tem Doug Lapins and others voiced concerns over the sheer size of the 226-page document.several council members voiced a concern over the sheer size of the 226-page budget document.

Lapins and council member John Strickland called the document overwhelming. Lapins said there were extraneous items in the budget that were causing the village to lose “common sense practicality.”

Lapins requested a simpler budget of no more than 100 pages that lays out in plain language a strategic plan that council present to the citizens and tell them what the council plans to do in the future.

Lapins opposed a Budget Scorecard that, according to the budget is supposed to “translate the Council’s Strategies and Priorities into tangible objectives and measures.”

“I’m not going to approve a budget with all this stuff in it,” Lapins said.

Village Manager Andy Wilkison told the council that the budget has grown in complexity in recent years and said that if the council desired adjustments be made to the document that the village staff will take those desires to heart.

That’s awfully nice of Wilkison to offer to “take those desires to heart.” These people are his bosses.  The manager ought to know better.  He’s been on the job in our fair village for DECADES.  But things have changed.  He’s used to a council loaded with geriatrics who basically let him do what he wanted.  The current five member council includes three recently-retired business executives and ONE entrepreneur still in the workforce.  These folks have got plenty of knowledge when it comes to budgeting and haven’t completely gone out to pasture.  It’s going to be a lot harder for Wilkison to keep on doing his own thing.  Folks are apparently watching. 

If you are in need of something to trigger a nervous breakdown, take a look at Wilkison’s 2014 budget proposal HERE.

On a side note, I see that the council also received a briefing from the assistant village manager on “yard debris evaluation.”  Yes, yard debris evaluation.   I am shuddering just thinking about the size of the budget line item for that activity.