The City of Lynn's budget is in disaster with:  cuts;  lack of services; inability to fullfill net school spending requirements by millions; loss of free cash;  recently increased tax burdens on citizens, all while the Lynn City Council and Mayor united in a public hearing on Tuesday, June 10 (against reasons of opposition) to hike their own salaries retroactively back to 1998 for the current election term, in a Home Rule Petition.  

Many citizens of Lynn do not approve of a violation to the Lynn City Charter for the self-interest of officials to increase their own raises for the current term.  

Council elected to avoid the charter with a Home Rule Petition to send this matter to the State Legislation to sign off on.  

Is it also fair the Lynn City Council can execute a Home Rule petiton to override the Charter, while Municipal Unions have expensed dragging the city to court to try to change the City Charter's condiditons?  The vote by council for this Home Rule Petition not only seems to be in conflict of interest but it also seems to show favoritism on their own body over any other citizen matter. 

We, the citizens of Lynn believe the charter should not be ignored, and this sensitive issue would be better placed on the ballot for voters to decide.

We can not ignore the fact when Mayor Kennedy ran for office in her last two mayoral campaigns, that she left voters with the promise of maintaining her salary at $82,500 to follow the City Charter.  In fact, in 2010 Mayor Kennedy filed a lawsuit against former Mayor Clancy in Superior Court, against the increase of his salary which was above the limit set in the Charter.   

At the public hearing for the Home Rule Petition, Mayor Kennedy stated:  "My motivation was not to be right, it was to get it right."  

We ask Legislation, Mayor Kennedy and Council to "get it right" first - by adhering to the Laws set in the Charter to not have raises in effect until the following election term and not retro-actively to suit self-interest;  and to set accountability in regulating the budget first, especially with fulfilling the required net school spending budget.  

Unless we "get it right",  We are not going to take it!