Kennedy puts Lynn budget online

LYNN – Another milestone in the city’s government was reached Friday when Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy officially put the fiscal 2011 budget online for all to read.Kennedy promised to do so in a campaign speech made last year. She also vowed to complete the city budget on time and, for the first time ever, have it posted on the city’s Web site – www.ci.lynn.ma.us – by the start of the new fiscal year.The $239.5 million budget, which was unanimously approved by the City Council last week, was actually posted online on Thursday, which marked the start of the new fiscal year.”It’s about transparency in government and letting taxpayers know where their money is being spent,” Kennedy said. “It also allows us to utilize technology to increase residents’ access to government.”Kennedy trimmed $16 million from the previous budget submitted by her predecessor, former Mayor Edward Clancy Jr. She also has alluded to further budgetary scrutiny and implementation of more competitive bidding practices for big-ticket items such as insurance and disabled worker’s compensation coverage.