City Manager Jay Ash has worked wonders with the city budget.
The city is sitting with more than $10 million in its account which is known as free cash.
But the slowed economy has caused an erosion in tax receipts.
The city was expecting more income than it will receive due to assessments for real estate which are down dramatically.
As good as development can get here in the downturn, cash from building permits is also down.
State aid will be down.
Ash predicts a more than $2 million deficit between what is coming in and what must go out if all things remain the same.
Obviously, something has to give.
Somewhere, there will have to be some cost cutting, some lessening of the $2 million hit the city is about to take.
A spending status quo will erode the city’s positive cash position at a time when no city can afford to allow that to happen.
We are sure Ash will do the right thing and that he will make every effort to save jobs and programs at the same time.
Ash understands the human ingredient to all of this cost cutting.
He cares about people. They are not numbers on a spread sheet to him.
Nevertheless, some sacrifices must be made as this type of deficit is unsustainable.