"Charlottesville City Councilor Blake Caravati demanded that fellow councilor Rob Schilling retract his recent statement that the rest of the council and the city manager were engaged in a 'secret little cabal' in writing the budget last year.

'It's an extremely serious charge, and it has political penalties to it, for sure, and actual criminal penalties,' Caravati said at a budget work session Thursday. 'To be accused of criminal behavior and dishonesty is beyond the pale of anything that I've ever been accused of in my now eight years of service. ? Unless this type of thing can be proved and substantiated, I think that a retraction is definitely in order.'

Caravati also asked for an apology.

After Caravati spoke, Mayor David Brown asked if anyone else wanted to comment. Schilling shook his head no.

He did not reply to a telephone message or e-mail after the meeting.

Schilling, the only Republican on the five-member council, made the cabal comment at a March 9 work session after Councilor Kevin Lynch told him that coming up with a 4-cent cut in the real-estate tax rate last year was not easy, and that if he had participated in the budget process like the other councilors, he would know that.

'Oh, so we have a secret little cabal going on behind the scenes,' Schilling said. 'We're dealing with the city manager outside of the public eye composing a budget. ? I'm glad that you admitted it because I knew that was what was going on.'

Schilling, a frequent critic of city spending, has been asking City Manager Gary O'Connell for a 5-cent cut in the tax rate in this year's budget instead of the currently proposed 2-cent cut.

Other councilors, who also want the 5-cent cut to offset an 18 percent rise in residential assessments, have been pressuring Schilling to come up with his own budget cuts to pay for the reduction.

Brown e-mailed Schilling Wednesday saying he was 'concerned' that he did not clarify or back away from the cabal comment when interviewed in a recent television news story.

'I have been very strict about ensuring that all city business occurs in public, and have never had any meeting with more than one other councilor that was not properly noticed,' Brown wrote. 'While I realize you are in a political campaign, I hope you will find occasion to correct the record on this point, and refrain in the future from such inflammatory remarks.'

Thursday's meeting focused on the amount of city funding for outside agencies that will be in the $121 million budget proposal, the final version of which will be voted on April 11.

The council voted to raise the McGuffey Art Center's rent by $19,000, a 52-percent increase. Councilors decided the increase was necessary to pay for rising HVAC and utility costs.

The council also voted to end a $25,000 operational subsidy to the Jefferson Area Board of Aging's Mountainside Senior Living. The subsidy began four years ago and was intended as a one-time contribution.

The budget proposal will include $26,000 in new funding for Urban Vision, an educational enhancement program that aims to help low-income children succeed." (John Yellig, The Daily Progress, March 24, 2006)