Dateline Hawthorne – With towering balloon payments staring at the city of Hawthorne’s deficit-ridden general fund, Mayor Chris Brown announce this morning that he is forfeiting his salary.

He wants his symbolic act to be seen as an example for others – namely elected officials – to follow.

The total “is not much,” Mr. Brown said, “about $22,000.

“It is more than nothing, though, and I will urge the members of the City Council to do the same.”

Council salaries are in the range of the mayor’s.

If all are agreeable, the savings in salaries will total $130,000, a slight boost for the general fund deficit presently running at $4 million, according to the mayor.

So far, though, no sale.

At a special meeting last month to discuss potential furloughs of some of the city’s 300 employees – including the one-third who are police officers – Mr. Brown said his request to the Council “fell on deaf ears.”

Hawthorne has a history of fiscal problems. The present problems date back 11 years.

A candidate for reelection in nine weeks, Mr. Brown emphasized that point by mentioning it twice.

The newest fiscal crisis has been sparked by balloon payments stemming from two unrelated cases, the mayor said.

“The first case regards a pension reform bill the Council voted for 5-0 in 2004-2005,” said Mr. Brown. “I want it known this has nothing to do with me. With charges and all, this balloon payment is going to cost us about $1 million.

“We also have two more payments of $761,000 apiece to HUD (Housing and Urban Development Dept.) on a bad loan from Gold’s Gym, which filed for bankruptcy in 2010.”

In the HUD case, the city of Hawthorne was liable for $2.8 million in allegedly misused HUD funds.