Let's Talk About "Spending"

"Word on the street" is that the Peoples Party hierarchy is beginning to spin their spin; starting with how much money was in the general fund when we first came into office in May 2005, compared to what is available now.

It will be sort of like comparing apples to milk jugs, but I'll give it a try, anyhow. Let's start by comparing February 2005 to February 2010.

There was roughly around 1.8 million dollars in the general fund in February 2005, a few months before I came into office. That sounds pretty good, I agree. A couple things need to be understood along with that, however, before comparing it to February 2010. First, about $300,000.00 towards the new ladder fire truck was going to come out in 2005, no matter who was mayor. So, even if Mr. Carter had been re-elected, that 1.8 million was going to go down to about $1.5 million, no matter what.

Second, a number of items had been ignored by the Carter administration, so that the general fund could go up. For example, curbs and sidewalks. I've been over that a few times, but over the four years prior to our getting into office, around $75,000.00 had been spent on curbs and sidewalks. That's over FOUR YEARS. Since we first got control of the budget (fiscal year 2006-2007), we've put in over $500,000.00 into curbs and sidewalks. That's over FIVE TIMES the amount that the Carter administration put in.

Let's go further. Columbus and Moneta continued to flood after any substantial rain we received, under Earl Carter. I can't even imagine how bad it would have been this past year, what with all of the rain we had. We addressed the problem, and corrected it. That costs money, of course. The Carter administration had no plans to do anything regarding expanding the police department: whether it be adding onto Village Hall, or purchasing an existing building. They were more than content to keep the police department in its four closets. We purchased an existing building for the police department to locate in, at about half the cost of adding onto Village Hall, and yes, that costs money, too.

We've added an Advanced Life Support EMT unit, staffed 24/7; available to get to our Heights residents at a much quicker time frame than AMT could, without any doubt. At a cost of roughly half of what AMT charges for the people they transport. While we do receive revenue for the EMT service, it does cost money (for now) after all is said and done. About $75,000.00 a year. I believe that is a bargain. We're hopeful that in the next year or two, the EMT service might be self-sustaining. Regardless, it's a service that we have control over in the Heights. And, that's a good thing.

We've added recycling; and yes, that costs money, too. Around $82,000.00 a year. This is a positive service for those living in the Village. We've added a School Resource Officer for our schools; added a police dog to the police force; bought a new street sweeper; the list goes on and on.

Now, bear in mind that the Carter administration knew how to spend money, too. But, on what? Tower Park: Over $780,000.00. On Poplar Lane Park (about to flood again): Over $225,000.00. And, what do you think Mr. Carter was saving for when he wasn't going to spend money on curbs and sidewalks; EMT services; flooding problems; etc.?

Streetscape, of course. Saving up for what was going to cost at least $1-2 MILLION dollars (our share) for that extravagance. But, that's different, right? It's all well and good to pump money out for concreting in Tower Park; building a park that has flooded dozens of times already; and prepping us for the biggest fiasco of all, Streetscape.

Like all other municipalities in Illinois, we've taken a beating from this recession. Illinois revenues are way down, which the Carter administration didn't have to deal with. Even with all that has been accomplished over the past five years, and the hard hit regarding loss of revenues from the state, we are still close to $1.3 MILLION dollars in the general fund. The next fiscal year will see that figure climb a bit more, as we have to tighten our belts with the lack of state revenues.

So, Peoples Party hierarchy: you had realistically around $1.5 million in the general fund in February 2005, mostly because so many issues in the Village had been ignored. And, a huge chunk of that amount was about to be dumped out for the coming Streetscape.

The Peoples Party hierarchy machine is mostly on life support, but it's still chugging and shooting its mouth off with its half truths, innuendos, and outright lies.

Stay tuned.