The Dunkirk Common Council chose to override Mayor Wilfred Rosas’ vetoes last week in regards to four lines in the 2021 proposed budget.

First Ward Councilman Don Williams Jr. weighed in with his feelings on why the override is OK in the Council’s opinion. “We’re still in litigation and we need to pay something off for our attorney that represents the council on that so we need that money there to pay that,” Williams said. “For the decrease in the law department, again, we said it several times, there’s only one resolution and that was resolution number 60 of 2017 that set the rate of pay for the city attorney at $45,000. We’ve been budgeting for $70,000 in that all along and we feel that the budget should be set at what the actual salary is and that’s $45,000 set by council.”

Williams also cited the $21,000 for part-time employees in the development department saying that if and when festivals commence in 2021 the council will make those allotments then, but that the money is in contingency in case it’s needed for other things such as personal protection equipment. As for the $45,000 that goes to the Dunkirk Land Development Corporation (DLDC) to fund the Fourth of July Fireworks display and pay taxes and fees on properties held by the DLDC, Williams said they made actions on that.

“We moved $30,000 of that from this year, so there’s $30,000 we don’t need there and at another meeting, since we did receive a financial report from the DLDC, then at a meeting in January I’m sure we’ll be doing a resolution for a budget modification to put that money in and send it over to the DLDC,” Williams said “I believe that we’re warranted by doing this override of the vetoes.”

Rosas previously vetoed the four line items in early December saying that “none of the amendments made to the proposed 2021 budget lower taxes, fees or city operating costs. They are budget neutral, and made for political purposes, not for fiscal ones.”