Bad Santa Mayor George A. Spadoro’s last month in office was a busy one. The three-term, lame-duck mayor spent much of December doling out last-minute Christmas and holiday gifts in the way of promotions for police officers and firefighters. Public safety is a good thing. Rewarding public safety employees makes good sense. Employees who are well paid usually stick around longer than those who aren’t. But handing out promotions when apparently there isn’t enough money in the till to pay for them doesn’t make good economic sense. Unfortunately, the magnanimous mayor left more than that, according to Jun Choi, the political newcomer who spelled an end to the Spadoro reign. If the controversial consultants who helped the new mayor count the beans in town hall are correct, Spadoro left close to a $10 million deficit for the taxpayers. Spadoro and the members of the 2004 Township Council saw nothing wrong with using up most of the surplus for the 2005 fiscal year budget. In 2005 he was up for re-election, and so were four of the council members. To say Spadoro and the 2005 Township Council dragged their feet when it came to adopting the fiscal year 2006 budget would be an understatement. It was finally adopted at the end of December, months after it should have been. Township Council members, with the exception of Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano, who was sworn in to office on New Year’s Day, also bear the blame for the apparent fiscal mess, along with Spadoro. Edison residents face an 11-cent increase in the municipal purposes tax rate, courtesy of the fiscal year 2006 budget. The new mayor predicts another 20-cent increase on top of that in fiscal year 2007 to help close the budget gap. Much like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz, Spadoro, the wizard of Menlo Park, did most of his machinations in hiding. He didn’t attend council meetings. He wasn’t required to, but he should have. Instead, he held “open” hours upstairs during council meetings, so disgruntled residents who wanted to talk to him had to do so in private. Most of his public appearances were relegated to photo ops. They came fast and furious his last month in office in marked contrast to the last few years. Choi has already been soundly attacked by residents and council members for asking for a salary increase and health benefits as a full-time mayor, which Spadoro most decidedly was not. But he shouldn’t be criticized for trying to determine the extent of Edison’s financial problems. He didn’t create the mess. He should be given credit for trying to find solutions, as unpalatable as they might seem to some.