Jan 23 — To the Editor:

I have been blessed to witness two historic events in my lifetime once considered impossible 1) The Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 , and 2) The Herald calls out City Hall on its out of control spending habits in 2018. As spot on as the January 23 editorial was, it failed to quantify just how fiscally irresponsible City Hall has been for years.

According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2008 to 2017, the average annual rate of inflation was 1.7 percent per year. So over that 10 year period, the average cost of goods and services increased 18 percent. (1.017 multiplied by itself 10 times equals 1.18).

In 2008, the City budget was $79.9 million and by 2017 it had exploded to $109.4 million. That’s not 50 percent more than the rate of inflation, not 80 percent more, it’s twice the rate of inflation. $109.4 million is 37 percent more than $79.9 million.

Perhaps 2018 will be the year a budget increase that is 3 times the rate of inflation (FY 2019 budget increase of 6 percent versus 2017 inflation rate of 2.13 percent) is met with more than yawns and shoulder shrugs from the City Council.

James A. Hewitt

Portsmouth