Butler City Council is ready to consider 21 proposals from the state Department of Community and Economic Development and a consultant hired by the DCED aimed at helping the city resolve its financial crisis.

The first discussions are scheduled for 6 p.m. June 29 at the council chambers at 140 W. North St. Based on what happens at that meeting, city residents will gain important insight. The meeting will show whether the council intends to use most or all of the recommendations to the city's advantage or whether the ideas will merely be accorded superficial discussion and then languish indefinitely as unfinished business because of opposition that the proposals might spawn.

Unfortunately, the condition of the city's finances offers officials little leeway but to give the proposals the serious consideration they deserve. However, it's important to observe that many of the ideas put forth by the consultant and DCED were within the council's ability to identify and act upon years ago, without outside involvement, enabling the city to avoid this unwelcome task at what has become a critical juncture.

Liken Butler City Council's upcoming financial exercise to the City of Pittsburgh's attempt to extricate itself from a critical budget dilemma.

Pittsburgh failed to enact appropriate remedial measures when its problems were small, just as Butler officials for years talked about, but failed to adequately address, this city's worsening fiscal state of affairs.

To gain political points, local leaders in the past approved a real estate tax reduction that, although small, denied the budget badly needed dollars. Then, during the last round of negotiations with city unions, the council chose not to push to hold the line on salaries. While the raises granted were probably merited, they too denied the budget of critically needed funds.

A major harbinger of the current Butler fiscal crisis was when the council began paying streets department workers' salaries with state liquid fuels money - money that should be used to resurface streets. If council members don't implement some of the revenue-raising recommendations that the leaders presumably will be evaluating in the weeks ahead, they will make it impossible to stop using the liquid fuels money for workers' pay anytime soon. That means city streets will continue to be denied the badly needed repairs that they require.

Politicians prefer to make difficult financial decisions when those ideas emanate from others. That's what is happening in Pittsburgh, where state-appointed outside advisers are making the tough choices and decisions. It opens the door for Pittsburgh officials to adopt a "blame them, not us" stance about the unwelcome changes that the financial problems have inspired.

When the almost inevitable grumbling heats up in Butler, it's likely that local officials will attempt to plead innocent to the bitter dose of financial medicine that residents and others will have to endure. "We were told what we had to do" is the message that will spill into the downtown business district and residential neighborhoods. "It wasn't our choice. Blame them, not us."

But in addition to blaming officials, city residents should blame themselves for not keeping informed about the city's deteriorating finances. It's been easy for residents to accept the status quo, but the status quo and what essentially amounted to caretaker government for so many years have caught up with the city.

Bitter financial pills can no longer be relegated to the back of the medicine cabinet.

"We just can't sit on this (financial recommendations)," Councilman Joseph Bratkovich said, in pushing his council colleagues to begin addressing the DCED and consultant recommendations. "We have to move as quickly as we can."

Budget deliberations for 2005 are already too close for comfort. Failure to effect a financial turnaround in 2005 could make 2006 the year when Butler joins Pittsburgh in the distressed-communities category.

Under distressed status, today's bitter pills would in hindsight be likened to candy.

City officials must opt for the bittersweet taste while that still is an option.

- J.R.K.