David Damico’s lack of engagement in city government as councilman at-large became apparent over the summer. During a July Finance Committee meeting, he was in a state of shock to learn Dunkirk’s government would have to take out a $5.5 million loan to keep operations going.
“We only have a small number of revenue streams” for the budget’s general fund, he said. Property and sales taxes, and Payments In Lieu of Taxes, are “pretty much it,” he said.
“The question down the road, at the end of the day — how do we increase these revenue streams moving forward?” Damico added.
None of this was breaking news. But they were questions that needed to be asked long before the seventh month of the year – like during the 2023 budget discussions last fall.
For the record, Dunkirk with a population of around 12,600 residents, has a bloated spending plan of $26 million. While not being approved by council, it also failed to receive the proper scrutiny – or understanding – from the legislative body that is led by Damico.
Instead of looking at the big picture, Republican council members went after the already underpaid cabinet members who were tapped by Mayor Wilfred Rosas. They wanted to decrease their salaries by a combined total of around $30,000. To further prove their lack of understanding in the plan, they carelessly took out $30,000 earmarked for the Fourth of July fireworks before reinstating those funds.
Does this sound fiscally responsible? Of course not.
Kate Wdowiasz, the city’s paralegal, has watched all this happen from the inside of City Hall. While we’re not sure of the type of leadership skills she brings, we’ve seen Damico’s inaction and lack of attention to detail for the last two years. It has cultivated a fractured relationship between Rosas and the council.
“I know that communication with the council does not happen, unless one of the department heads has to reach out and request something “ Wdowiasz said during a September debate. “I don’t personally know of the last time my opponent has called the mayor or the legal department to ask us any questions. … I do believe over the last few years I have been a liaison between the administration and council to try to make sure that things move smoothly through the process, and answer all of their questions with facts.”
During the last eight years, Dunkirk’s accomplishments were led by an embattled Rosas. In the last two years, a politically charged council – including Damico – has done its best to discredit that progress.
In the political arena, Wdowiasz barely has a record. In this case, seeing how petty city Republicans have been in the last four years, that may be a good thing.
We want the city to continue to move forward, even with baby steps. Today, that makes Wdowiasz the best choice as the next city mayor.
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