POLITICS PAGE
“The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character building values of the privation
of the poor.” ~
John Kenneth Galbraith
“...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
~Thomas Jefferson
COMMENTARY COUNCIL MEETING
Nov. 8, 2011
BUDGET
I have given a great deal of thought to this budget and what it means to our community.
Does it reflect what I think the community wants: what the community needs. Are the priorities straight? Are the priorities fair? Is this budget fair not only to where we are now, but are we fairly considering the future? I do not take this decision, as well as other related budget decisions lightly…and anyone who knows me knows that I will judge independently.
I thought about how I might explain my position, even comparing it to a family sitting around the kitchen table, but that got too long and complex.
The headlines will be a property tax reduction, but we should neither take credit or blame for that line on your tax bill. We point and complain we can do nothing when it goes up, we should just be grateful it went goes down.
Staff has provided a balanced budget – but just because the numbers balance doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good budget.
The budget is not necessarily the controlling document, because if you read all the materials, this budget reflects the Long Range Financial Planning for 2012-2014.
What you will see is a Property Tax decrease. But in the details is a reflection of spending priorities of the makeup of this Council, the need for additional revenue, and a plan to increase debt. While you see a property tax decrease, in just the last few weeks, the Water Fund portion requires not only the planned 14% increase, but now closer to a 25% increase – which by the way I understand and approve.
While this budget can stand on its own, the fact is that many of the spending choices are driven by Long Range Planning. The Plan includes unprecedented borrowing for infrastructure. Yes, we desperately need infrastructure, but while many government entities are trying to reduce debt, while families are taking what they can to reduce debt, the plan is to increase debt.
For years we have not kept up with infrastructure while showing pictures of how Downers Grove’s property taxes were low. Now, we intend to keep taxes and fees artificially low, borrow money to get it done, and have it paid for by passing principle and interest payments into the future. Roughly, if we borrow $25 M as planned, the interest on that bond can be around $15 M - $15 M that does not fill one pothole but needs to be paid for. People have said,” We need to stay within our means.” To me, that does not mean pulling out the credit card. We are not currently debt free, we cut many good services to our community on the guise that they were not financially sustainable, yet we have a budget that will need to increase revenue. We raised property taxes by $500,000 the last 2 years and nobody was happy, yet the plan is to pay a financial institution an average of $500,000 per year for 30 years, in addition to our present debt and a likelihood of meeting other Financial Obligations on debt related to the TIF.
As for the priorities in this budget. When we mistakenly thought we had $937 K extra to deal with, look at the priorities. In LRFP we were talking about increasing fees and revenue enhancements to come up with a $3 M shortfall to borrow the money, but we were talking about spending it all. I confess, I wanted a portion to go to some of our residents, but wondered what would become of the rest.
Most people will read the headlines of a property tax decrease, see a 25% increase in water, and then wonder why they have even less money in the upcoming years. The financial future of our residents may just become more difficult even without our additional requirements. We have additional revenue options that our residents do not have, they can’t go to their boss and demand a raise like we can.
I realize that this budget is likely to pass, and to be honest, there is no choice that is painless. It’s a matter of priorities, what needs to be done how fast, and the fair and best way to pay for it. I happen to disagree.
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