Aberdeen officials are squaring off against former city leaders about who is to blame for a proposed increase of more than 40 percent in the city?s property tax ? from 55 cents to 79 cents per $100 of assessed value ? needed to make up for a $2 million deficit in the city?s budget.
City leaders are saying deceptive budgeting practices by the previous administration led to the increase in the property tax, while former city heads say budgetary shortfalls are the result of runaway spending by present leaders.
Former Aberdeen Mayor Doug Wilson disputed the claims that his administration is responsible for the deficit the city now faces, pointing the finger at present Mayor S. Fred Simmons for enacting pay and pension increases for city employees.
“It?s a terrible accounting practice to exaggerate revenue, but I don?t think there was any criminal wrongdoing,” Simmons said.
He said Wilson spent money based on expected revenue.
Wilson said the problem started when the city did not budget enough money for its new city hall/police department building finished in 2000.
He said former Aberdeen City Manager Peter Dacey hid this from him and the rest of the City Council, “appropriating” funds from different areas of the city?s budget in order to make up for shortfalls.
“The overcost of building City Hall, which was disguised from the council, [resulted in] Mr. Dacey borrowing money from the APG water fund,” Wilson said of a federally funded account paid to Aberdeen for the city providing water service to Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Wilson said Dacey took money from this fund, used it to pay bills for City Hall and then used money from other funds to reimburse the APG Fund. As a result, other funds began coming up short.
“In government, there are always interfund transfers,” Dacey responded. “That?s the way it works. We had won the distinguished audit report award from the Government Finance Office Administration for six years.”
He said if the city had done something wrong in the managing of its budget, those awards would not have been granted.
Dacey and Wilson also said that when Simmons came into office, the City Council voted pay and pension increases to city workers without looking at the city?s income.
“I would definitely say that those are contributing factors” to the deficit, Dacey said.
“This is all people wanting to play the political blame game without knowing the facts. You have people without integrity who are putting themselves before others” Dacey said of Wilson?s allegations.
“I don?t think Peter did that,” Simmons said, defending Dacey. “I think he was doing what he was told to do. In the end, the buck stops with the mayor.”
