Lansing City Council overrides Mayor Andy Schor's veto on city budget

LANSING — Lansing City Council voted 6-1 Monday to override Mayor Andy Schor's veto of the proposed 2023-24 budget, a move the mayor expects will mean cuts to assessing, information technology, economic development and other city services.

Schor said in a statement issued after the vote that he's "very disappointed" the majority of council voted against his budget, which he said would have funded critical services for residents.

"This is money that we have, in addition to a 14% rainy day fund," he said in the statement. "The money that is now unallocated throws our budget out of balance, violating basic accounting principles and best practices.

"My administration will work with Council leadership on the next steps and to come up with a plan moving forward. As I have said since I first took office, we can disagree and we can do it respectfully. So we can agree to disagree here, and I hope we can move on and work together now to fix the budget.”

City Council met the necessary 80% threshold to override the veto issued by the mayor on Thursday. Schor's veto would have restored cuts made to his executive office, apparently to help pay for warming centers, and would have allocated about $1.8 million he claimed was cut from other departments and left unallocated by City Council.

Councilmember Peter Spadafore cast Monday's lone dissenting vote. City Council President Carol Wood recused herself from voting because she has received contracts from the city's Human Relations and Community Relations.

"With this veto override we have a real chance now to talk about this money and do this process properly and work together," Councilmember Ryan Kost, 1st Ward, said.

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Schor did not attend the meeting, despite attending the earlier Committee of the Whole meeting. Deputy Mayor Jane Bais DiSessa represented his office.

Lansing City Spokesperson Scott Bean said in an email Schor only planned to attend the earlier meeting due to a conflict and couldn't return to the City Council meeting due to an event with his wife.

Challenges ahead, Schor said in his statement, include the possibility of not having funds to print and mail assessment notices, going without updated computers and technology and not being able to complete a parking study.

Wood acknowledged the $1.8 million in unallocated money was an accounting error when restructuring the budget that the city's auditors and accountants hadn't recognized.

Schor told the State Journal Monday he appreciates Wood and "has been having really good, productive conversations with her about the budget and about moving forward."

People spoke during public comment praising City Council for overriding Schor's veto, which one speaker called infantile.

Resident Erica Lynn said their votes are demonstrative of who they are and represent.

"It demonstrates each one of you, your priorities, and your commitment to listening to the people that you represent, but most importantly, it represents taking your responsibility for the long-term health of our city finances seriously," Lynn said.

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Addressing the community's needs shouldn't be a fight or afterthought, she added.

Residents have been asking for funding so all City Council meetings can be two-way and emergency shelters are available for people during extreme weather conditions.

City Council Vice President Jeremy Garza said the veto override meant the budget council approved would move forward. Schor has an opportunity to send an amendment on what to do with the unallocated $1.8 million, but Garza said he did not know when the deadline for that will be.

Council approved its own amendments to the budget that allocated funds to the police and the public service department and set aside money to build a warming center. He otherwise said all departments experienced cuts because the city is without pandemic-related grants to offset any deficits.

"By this council, we try to lead by example by reducing our budget by 10%, and then also work across the board —minus the police, fire and public services — to reduce budget because we are going to be in a structural deficit, we no longer have that one time (American Rescue Plan Act) funding," he said.

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing City Council overrides mayor's veto of city budget