If the city finds itself with a greater number of competitive elections, that figure could go considerably higher, Miller warned the council last week: “I don’t think any of us can sit here today and tell you what this will cost.”
None of that troubles Greuel, who said that the same warnings about cost were posed to previous councils, who then went ahead and approved partial public financing, at a cost of $2 million annually. Greuel predicted this week that she will find the votes from council members who won’t want to deny voters a voice on reform. “It will be hard . . . for my colleagues not to allow the public to decide,” she said.