Council Takes No Action on Budget Vetoes, City Attorney Appointment

The City of Dunkirk's spending plan for 2023 will be the one that was proposed by Mayor Willie Rosas. On Tuesday, the Common Council took no action to override Rosas' veto of a dozen proposed changes to his $26.38 million spending plan, which means his original budget proposal is in place by default. The only amendment okayed by Rosas was a raise in contracted services for the Dunkirk Lighthouse. Following the meeting, Councilman at Large David Damico told WDOE News that the council did not have enough votes to override the vetoes...

Damico-Didn't have the votes to override veto

Meanwhile, the city will be going into 2023 without a city attorney in place after lawmakers failed to take action on a resolution to approve the appointment of Michael Bobseine to the post to replace the outgoing Richard Morrisroe. The council, which tabled the resolution by a 3-2 vote on December 6th, opposed taking the measure off the table, also by a 3-2 vote. Rosas says the move by the council will hurt the city, calling it "careless and irresponsible"...

Rosas-Will hurt the city

Damico tells WDOE News that he voted against taking action because Bobseine is not a resident of the city, and approving his appointment would violate the city code. With no city attorney in place, Rosas says the city will likely have to reach out to a law firm, which he says will be costly to city taxpayers.