On balance, that was a sensible, well-presented budget last week by Mayor Bob Buckhorn to Tampa City Council. A $35 million deficit covered without firings and major service cuts; one that called for a nominal hike on the TECO franchise tax and $6 million tapped from reserves and some $9 million in assorted cost-cutting. A lot of cities would have settled for that scenario. Declining property values don’t preclude some upsides.
Looking very much like the civic CEO in a strong-mayor form of government, Buckhorn was — as is his wont — wonkishly familiar with the details. He also ladled out praise — ranging from staff to police to former Mayor Pam Iorio. He can still work a house — and is obviously comfortable in his mayoral skin.
Only one caveat for Mayor Sound Bite. He may wish he had that one back about Williams Pool in East Tampa. The one where he said, “I only need four votes” in response to speculation that some council votes may not be forthcoming because of the city’s less-than-satisfactory explanation of why Williams Pool is still closed.
Williams remains unused — and unusable — and its juxtaposition to the re-opened Interbay Pool in South Tampa, which has undergone repairs, is, at best, awkward. The issue is one of structural subplots, but the city’s director of contract administration wasn’t able to satisfy council’s need for details. Especially the need manifested by members Frank Reddick and Mary Mulhern. Williams is in Reddick’s district. Mulhern is co-chair and was presiding in place of Charlie Miranda.
The frustration seemed palpable. No one seemed to see this coming. Nobody needs to feed intimations that this is anything other than maintenance and bureaucracy dynamics. But it’s also a de facto East Tampa vs. South Tampa scenario. Black vs. white is a given.
Taken out of context, “I only need four votes” makes Buckhorn look insensitive to the situation. As if this flap is not enough to motivate other members of council to vote against the budget. As if the Williams-Interbay contrast was just another budget priority that reasonable people can disagree on.
But this one comes with overtones. And that’s not fair to Buckhorn, who’s no stranger to East Tampa, including its churches. He campaigned aggressively across the city as everybody’s mayor. Which he is. But he can ill afford to allow even the hint of perception that Interbay matters more than Williams. Divisive populist politics have erupted over less.
That “four votes” quote needs clarification and those missing details on a certain dry pool in East Tampa need expediting.
We’re not talking a make-or-break budget item. Obviously. But we are talking an unnecessary perception issue — and next summer could be even hotter than this one.