Although it's not the budget he wants, Sharon Mayor David O. Ryan said it looks like he's going to have to live with the 2003 budget council is likely to pass.

"This is no longer the mayor's budget. This is council's budget," Ryan said Friday. He said he doesn't agree with all of the $238,000 in cuts council members trimmed from the budget Thursday night.

Council members said their goal was to save the jobs of six city employees who were facing layoffs under the mayor's proposed $8 million budget.

Ryan said he is surprised at the depth of some of the cuts, "which will leave me to operate the city on a shoestring."

There's no room for maneuvering in the budget, and Ryan said he doesn't know what he'll do if there is an incident like a large storm or an extraordinary fire call or police situation.

One concern for Ryan is the city's surplus money that was cut from $16,600 to $11,600. That's not enough money if there's a real emergency, he said. Overtime for emergency services was also cut.

Although the budget cuts seem to have saved the six jobs, at least for now, council acknowledged that there is still the possibility of employee layoffs later in the year if the city starts to run out of money.

Council agreed to add an additional person to both the police and fire departments. Ryan said he doesn't intend to fill the positions until later in the year when the city's financial picture is clearer. He said he doesn't want to hire someone and have to lay off him or her a few months later.

Council also decided to pull out of the Pennsylvania League of Cities, an organization that supplies information about things like salaries and wages, the operation of authorities and new laws for all member cities. League dues are between $4,000 and $5,000 a year.

"Really I think that's a mistake," Ryan said of council's decision to pull out. "They're (the league) just a well of information."

A smaller concern is the money that was cut from the materials and supply budgets of many departments. "If we run out of paper, I guess we just run out of paper," Ryan said.

After all the budget cuts, council is going to have to adjust for a last-minute, extra expense, he said.

The mayor said city officials just learned Friday morning that workers' compensation costs are going to go up $26,000 next year, and that money must be accounted for in the budget.

Council is expected to vote Monday on the budget with the changes. Although Ryan has veto power over the budget, he said his veto wouldn't mean anything because council has enough votes to override his veto.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at:
kgarrett@sharonherald.com