CL – “Johnson’s administration has been dealt a tough hand”

CL – “Johnson’s administration has been dealt a tough hand”

Sales-tax revenues are lagging.

Budget cuts his predecessor ordered will continue and may deepen.

Devaluation of the Metrocenter mall likely will offset any property tax gain from a recent annexation.

A $2.5 million bond debt payment comes due in January.

From any angle, Johnson’s administration has been dealt a tough hand. The mayor, re-elected for a third term in June after a four-year voter-imposed hiatus, said he is going over department budgets line by line looking for savings.

Johnson said the City Council should receive a copy of his proposed budget by mid-August and he is confident he and the council can work together to “tweak” it into its final form.

Clarion-Ledger
8/9/9