How Kevin Smith and the Riverside Party/Caucus depleted our reserves
We’ve been asked by some people whether or not we will “spend down reserves” to address the budget. The answer is an unequivocal “no, we will not.” However, our opponents have a record of depleting the village’s reserves – and have played a shell game with our tax dollars.
At the end of 2007, the village had a $1.4 million surplus in the general fund – plenty of money to cover any budget deficit, as they have done in the past. But according to the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, Kevin Smith and the rest of the board “cut loose” our “financial safety net.” “Instead of using that entire amount to fund deficit budgets for several years, the board moved $1 million of that $1.4 million into a fund dedicated for capital projects.”
A January 3, 2008 Riverside e-flash announced that Kevin Smith and the Caucus-dominated board voted unanimously to transfer one million dollars in our reserves into the capital fund stated that “the Village Board has not yet discussed what projects will be funded by this transfer.” In other words, the board did not have a reason to move that $1 million other than to create the impression that the village was in immediate fiscal dire straits. Even the Landmark said that with the transfer, the “Riverside village trustees forced a debate about the village’s financial future.”
Depleting the village’s reserves to force a debate on a tax increase? Riverside can do better.
As of today, that million dollars is still sitting in the Capital Improvement Fund. The fund balance is over $2,000,000.
If Kevin Smith and the Caucus-dominated board had not voted to deplete our reserves, Riverside would have had more than enough money to fund the Rec Department, pay for more police officers, cover the costs of the Fourth of July parade – and much more. It’s our money we were taxed for it. Yet for 16 months we have not gotten any services or any value for our taxes.
If you think it’s time to stop depleting our reserves and put an end to the fiscal shell games, vote for the Riverside Community Alliance and bring real fiscal responsibility to Riverside.