Council Reduces $2 Million From Budget, Cutting Fat Instead of Bone From City Spending
In a special meeting Wednesday night, Muncie’s city council voted 6-3 to cut $2 million from the 2025 Civil Budget, which included defunding the positions of Deputy Mayor, Deputy Controller, and Communications Director. The move was done through a surprising set of amends to a budget first presented by the Ridenour administration, contentious for multiple reasons including a lack of a solution for the bargaining agreements with the AFSCME union.
The last of three motions to have the ordinance amended was announced by District 6 Counselor Harold Mason, which effectively defunded the positions held by Richard Ivy (Deputy Mayor), Matt Wagley (Deputy Controller), and Amber Greene (Communications Director). The Deputy Mayor position was previously vacant for over a decade before Ridenour filled it in late 2020. The position of Communications Director has been a source of bitterness for residents since Ridenour’s first term. The position oversees Muncie’s official Facebook page, which many have accused of helping Ridenour’s reelection campaign and limiting access to residents in recent months.
Council-member Nora Powell cited more issues surrounding the Civil Budget as a whole. One of which being the missing of deadlines and the lack of prior notice, as well as going far over the maximum budget and putting Muncie into a deficit. Powell explained:
“The budget was submitted $1,789,000 over the general fund’s maximum levy. A maximum levy is the total amount of revenue the city will receive into any specific fund for that year. The budget contained $1.7 million dollars in errors, which did close the gap in the shortfall but left the balance of only $218,811 dollars. When calculating the total of our 2025 beginning operating balance, which is the budget surplus, the cash on hand, at the beginning of the year, council discovered the beginning operating balance was $250,000 dollars in the red. Those amounts were confirmed by the DLGF field representative. This meant our surplus of $218,811 now became a deficit of $31,189 dollars. For comparison, the beginning operating balance on January 1st, 2020, was $2,904,590 dollars. The administration has spent down the budget surplus into deficit.”
The budget was submitted late despite being due on August 5th at 4pm, and there were frequent requests for the budget to be prepared for the council months prior. Though the main topic of interest has been the bargaining agreements between AFSCME 3656 and the Ridenour administration.
City Controller Craig Wright had little to say in defense of the original budget, only that they intend to “move forward” with what the council decides.