The City Council last night approved a $198.2 million budget that included a restoration of some $3.4 million for schools.
"This economic downturn will pass," said Councilor at large Thomas Stanley. "We must not inflict damage to our school system that will take years to overcome, if we have the means to avoid it."
The council's vote to restore the $3.4 million for schools cannot be vetoed by Mayor Jeannette McCarthy.
The School Committee last week by a 5-1 vote asked the council to put back the $3.4 million that the mayor had cut from the original $63 million budget for schools.
Many councilors last night blasted the mayor's proposed $198 million overall budget, which cut several high-level positions in some departments and reduced others to part-time status at 19 hours.
"I'm not sure we're going to have the management and the full-time employees we need to run the city," said Ward 2 Councilor Ed Tarallo.
Some councilors said the only reason they were voting for the overall budget was because they wanted to see the money restored to the schools.
"We don't have a financial crisis," said Councilor at large David Marcou of the cuts the mayor made. "We manage well, and the city of Waltham does not deserve what's happening."
Councilors said in voting to restore the schools money, they didn't want to increase taxes.
"I don't want to add any tax burden to the taxpayers of Waltham," Marcou said.
To that end, Marcou made a motion to cut more than $2.6 million from the city's health care fund, which was approved 14-1, with only Councilor at large Patrick O'Brien voting against the motion.
Marcou said that the city had budgeted $31 million in fiscal 2010 to fund a projected 21 percent increase in health care costs. Marcou said the city shouldn't be expecting to see such an exorbitant increase in health care.
"I feel like we have to put a line in the sand and say we need to cut health care (costs)," Marcou said.
Councilor at large Thomas Stanley named off a number of other cities and towns that he said weren't forecasting nearly the increase in health care costs that had been projected in Waltham.
Stanley suggested that the city's health care account was being "grossly overfunded."
Later in the discussion, Ward 6 Councilor Robert Waddick then moved to cut another $256,000 from the health insurance fund, which was also approved by the council. With the cut, the city would be able to fund a 10 percent increase in health insurance costs.
The council also cut several other line items in the budget, including a part-time environmental engineer, a new position that was proposed by the mayor.
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
