The timing of the state’s announcement that Mansfield is in Fiscal Emergency seemed to have more to do with individual politics than with what is best for the city.
State Auditor Mary Taylor made the official announcement in Mansfield on Thursday, but local media outlets were told of the plan a couple of days before that.
When passing the word to the media, the public relations representative for the auditor made no request for the news to be held until Thursday.
Reporters, including one from the News Journal, began to make telephone calls and ask questions of city officials about the pending declaration. A News Journal reporter discovered no one at City Hall had been informed the Thursday announcement had been scheduled.
Mary Taylor is running for lieutenant governor, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why she wanted the spotlight to herself.
A spokesperson for Taylor said the auditor’s office had made it abundantly clear in recent weeks that Mansfield was about to move from the classification of fiscal watch to the more serious fiscal emergency.
Obviously, no one in Mansfield who has followed the city’s financial crisis was shocked by the imposition of this new classification. It has been painfully clear that members of Don Culliver’s administration and City Council are unable to come up with a comprehensive solution.
But, just because the announcement was obviously coming is no excuse for not giving a heads-up to the city officials most affected by the declaration. Professional courtesy seems to have gotten trumped by political desire.
Taylor should take responsibility for this error even if it was committed by someone on her staff.
What is most important here is the positive working relationship that will be necessary between the city and the auditor to get this issue resolved.
Anyone who runs for public office should understand you should never appear to put your interests ahead of the interests of those you serve.
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