With the recent revelation of Dunkirk’s massive fiscal crisis, a bonus that was approved to all city workers — as well as those who serve on Common Council — has an added stench. It also shows just how out of touch those elected officials were with Dunkirk’s annual budget.

At that time, council members who included Don Williams Jr., Nancy Nichols and Paul VanDenVouver approved a total of $300,000 of American Rescue Plan Act money to not only go in their pockets, but to the workers as well. It did not seem harmless at the time to this corner, but council — never a body to be fiscally responsible — did then what it still does best: cater to themselves.

That’s not how government is supposed to work. Council members — and the others elected at that time including former Mayor Wilfred Rosas and current Treasurer Mark Woods — apparently had no idea or did not care about the impending financial downward spiral the city was heading in during November 2021.

That’s not only poor governance, it’s a dereliction of duties on the part of everyone who was in City Hall. At the same time, many of these workers bemoan the high cost of groceries and fuel that come with inflation that was tied to this cash that came from the U.S. government.

Taking free government money and padding your own pockets may have been acceptable in the eyes of federal officials, but it certainly does not mean it was ethical. At the present time, the city is being forced to borrow more than $18 million to avoid defaulting on monthly bills and payroll in the coming weeks.

With greedy practices like these celebrated and defended in the past, is it any wonder there’s money troubles in the city?