Who said budget night can’t be fun? Yes, the Key Biscayne Village budget is a solemn and serious business and has the force of law, but that doesn’t mean you can’t smile by playing Budget Bingo.
Will the Village Council stay the course with the $41 million budget it passed 6-1 earlier this month? Or will it bend to budget hawks who claim Key Biscayne is overtaxed and who want $1.5 million in spending cuts?
Should the barrier island have a robust hurricane reserve, or should that money be used to (slightly) lower property taxes? Will council members present new research at the eleventh hour to justify — or oppose — big budget changes?
If history is any guide, the final budget hearing Tuesday will bring a familiar series of claims and arguments, some of them based in fact, while others will be more philosophical.
The last budget meeting went until 11 p.m., but that was without much public comment.
It will be up to Mayor Joe Rasco to emcee, ahem, preside over this event. There will be winners and losers, but one thing is for sure: everybody is victorious when they play Budget Bingo.
So follow along with our card as the Council burns the midnight oil. But hopefully not.
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