The main event at tonight’s Park Ridge City Council meeting is likely to be what is explained on the agenda [pdf] somewhat ambiguously under the Finance and Budget Committee section of the proceedings as: “Statutory reconsideration of veto of budget ordinance (this may or may not include a motion to override the veto).”

Whether the Council will muster the five votes needed to over-ride Mayor Dave Schmidt’s veto or not remains uncertain.  Alds. Joe Sweeney (1st) and Rich DiPietro (2nd) previously indicated that they will vote to sustain the veto, but nothing is assured until votes are cast.   

For example, Ald. Don Bach (3rd) cast one of two votes (with Sweeney’s) against adopting the new budget that he called “both fiscally and socially irresponsible,” but he since has said he is polling his constituents to decide whether he should vote to sustain the veto – something he didn’t do before he cast his original “no” vote.  And Ald. Frank Wsol (7th) voted for the budget but claimed to “hate a lot of pieces” of it while inviting Schmidt to veto “certain areas” of it, whatever that’s supposed to mean. 

We hope the Council votes to sustain Schmidt’s veto, but only if the aldermen are willing to work seriously and responsibly with City Mgr. Jim Hock – who himself needs to raise his game – to come up with the realistic revenues and whatever additional expense cuts are needed to provide an honest, legitimate “balanced budget.”  

Otherwise, they should vote to over-ride – because sustaining the mayor’s veto without correcting the budget problems means that, as we understand it, the City’s current budget remains in effect.  And that’s the budget that has produced a $3 million-plus deficit, on the heels of millions of dollars of previous deficits. 

Before he voted to approve the current budget, Ald. Jim Allegretti (4th) defended it as “the best we can do.”  We don’t doubt that’s the case for Allegretti, but if that’s true for the entire Council then there’s no need to prolong the agony by sustaining the mayor’s veto.

Update: As we somewhat expected, the City Council last night voted 5-2 to over-ride Mayor Schmidt’s veto.  Over-ride votes, on motion made by Ald. Jim Allegretti (4th), were cast by Alds. Bach (3rd), Allegretti, Ryan (5th), Carey (6th) and Wsol (7th); “no” votes were cast by Alds. Sweeney (1st) and DiPietro (2nd).