Is there a more financially messed up municipality than the City of Lockport? I would have to venture not. In an unprecedented newspaper editorial for the community, the Lockport Union Sun & Journal, in one of the most strongly worded pieces I've ever seen, called for the immediate resignation of city Treasurer Mike White. We agree.
For the past several years, White has screwed up the books in the Lock City. He says the buck stops with him, but released this ridiculous statement blaming former Mayor Mike Tucker for, among other things, controlling the budget. Hmmmmm. My knowledge of city budgets is far from extensive, but one thing I know is that the Treasurer, not the Mayor, controls the budget. If indeed White's assertions that the former mayor controlled the budget are true, which we doubt, this tells us one of two things: he was too weak to stand up to Tucker when Tucker attempted to influence the budget process, or secondly, White is lying. We prefer the latter.
Whatever the outcome, the city's current financial meltdown is going to haunt city residents for a long, long time. With a $5 million loan from the state in the works, coupled with a reduction by Moody's in the city's bond rating from A2 to Baa3, a four notch drop, city residents are going to be paying for White's incompetence for at least a decade.
If indeed White does accept "full responsibility for the operations of my office and staff", as he states in his prepared statement to the press, he should step down and allow the city to hire someone who's actually qualified to manage the city's finances.
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