A sophisticated calculator was not required to tabulate the crowd for yesterday’s opening round of budget hearings in Council Chambers.

Four.

With almost no pressure to change seats for a closer view, the four persons sat stoically as the Fire Dept., Parks and Recreation Dept., Information Technology Dept., Financial Dept., and Public Works Dept.

presented their budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Scanning the slender crowd, City Councilman Jim Clarke said that “if people really were upset about anything, they would be showing up. The fact they don’t indicates they have a high degree of confidence in our ability to create a budget that is equitable, fair and addresses the needs of the community.”

If budget hearings are bone dry for the community, they are not for Council members.

The appeal for Mr. Clark lies in each department’s work plans. “I am always interested in what they plan to accomplish,” he said.

Known for his eye on the larger picture and his desire for precision and detail, Mr. Clarke said that “one of the hard things for us to do – no, it is impossible, the way the budget is – is for us to correlate the expenditures that we do, the salaries that we do as they relate to the work plan.

“I wish we were able to do something that is much more labor-intensive. We would say that to carry out a certain task will require x number of staff hours, and include x number of expenses. That way, when you look at a work plan, you have a better idea of what it entails.

“That way,” said Mr. Clarke, “you would be able to compare staffing and expenses on one item with staffing and expenses on another item.”

(To be continued)