Judging from Thursday's city council meeting, Butler residents have little cause for anything greater than cautious optimism about the council's ability to solve the city's worsening financial situation.

On the bright side, the council voted to form a financial task force to thoroughly examine city finances and make recommendations on how the city can bring revenue and costs into line.

On a dark note, the council couldn't even muster a second to Councilman Joseph Bratkovich's motion to ask the state to determine Butler's eligibility for financially distressed status, although that option is not a panacea for the municipality.

One benefit of distressed status is that it could help bring costly city employee contracts in line with the city's ability to pay for them.

Bratkovich said Thursday that he would write to each of the three unions representing city workers, asking them to renegotiate terms. But past experience would suggest a sour reception toward Bratkovich's idea — justifying pessimism even before the letters are sent.

Council members' reluctance to make further inquiries about distressed status makes Bratkovich's idea less likely to be effective.

However, if the city's financial picture doesn't improve, Butler residents will wake up one day, not too many years from now, to learn that their city is bankrupt and facing unavoidable, serious cutbacks on all fronts.

Bratkovich pointed out that, even with some union concessions now, the solution would be short-term, merely putting off tougher actions in the future.

Some of those might be changes in the full-time status of the fire department and a reduction in police manpower — at a time when the city's crime rate, especially on the drug front, is escalating.

"I have tremendous faith that we can work something out with our unions," said Councilman Richard Schontz Jr. in explaining why he did not support Bratkovich's motion.

However, he offered no specific grounds for his optimism.

Still, the agreement to establish a financial task force is a step in the right direction on the part of Councilwoman Kathy Kline, who introduced the motion; Schontz; and Mayor Maggie Stock, all of whom voted for the proposal.

Bratkovich offered a flimsy excuse in explaining why he didn't support the motion. Although, as city finance director, he is on the front line of dealing with the municipality's financial woes, he voted "no" because he said he thinks the city has too many committees.

In terms of the city's financial well-being, the committee that will be formed in the coming month might be the city's most important panel; Bratkovich should be open-minded about it.

The new committee might recommend some money-saving strategies that council members previously had not considered. It also might provide political cover for taking tough action that council members have, in the past, been reluctant to take.

It's clear that as the city's financial condition worsened in recent decades, elected officials were content to live with the status quo and merely hope that times would get better.

They haven't; instead, they've gotten worse — even with tax increases and the $47 per person that the city receives from the $52 municipal services tax implemented by the state a few years ago. That tax is paid by everyone who works within the city limits.

At Thursday's meeting, Schontz lamented the fact that only about a dozen city residents attended, despite the municipality's serious financial troubles. His concern was well-stated.

All of Butler needs to know what all is at stake.

Unfortunately, Butler is perched on the most precarious cliff of its long existence. It needs to figure out some way to effect a successful rescue, but Thursday was cause for serious concern about whether a rescuer is anywhere nearby.