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.
Yesterday’s Landmark editorial about police staffing and the budget shortfall that Riverside faces begs the question: why has the Riverside police department, according to Chief Weitzel, “not been at full staff since 2003“?
Kevin Smith, the Riverside Party/Caucus candidate for Village President, has been a trustee for 8 years. Mr. Smith has been a position to do something about our police staffing since 2001, yet Riverside has had the same number of police officers the entire time he has been on the board.
According to Riverside’s 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), the most recent one available, Riverside has had between 17.5 and 18 officers from 2002 and 2007 (the only years covered in that CAFR- see the table at the end of this post). This is below the 19 that is considered fully staffed.
2002: 17.75 officers
2003: 18 officers
2004: 17.88 officers
2005: 17.5 officers
2006: 17.8 officers
2007: 17.8 officers
We were below police staffing levels, yet Mr. Smith and the rest of the Caucus-dominated Village Board did not bring us to a fully staffed department. Instead, they made other things a priority:
TIF Consultant: $100,000
Zoning Consultant: $200,000
Purchasing two homes on Burlington: $600,000+
Plus, Mr. Smith and the rest of the Village Board voted to transfer $1,000,000 from the general fund into the capital fund – where it still sits, unused. A portion of that money could have been used to hire another police officer – or a second detective.
On top of all of this, just last year Mr. Smith and the rest of the Caucus-dominated Village Board threatened to cut an officer from the department unless Riverside residents voted for a property tax increase.
It’s time to stop playing games with our public safety staffing. Mr. Smith and the Caucus have had years to do something about police staffing, but did not. They’ve had their chance. It’s time for a change in leadership that will take Riverside’s issues – including public safety – seriously: the Riverside Community Alliance.
If you think that Riverside needs a change of direction and new ideas, then the Riverside Community Alliance slate of Mike Gorman for Village President and Jim Reynolds, Lonnie Sacchi and Mark Shevitz for Village Trustees is the right choice.
Look no further than today’s Landmark, where you’ll find an ad and a letter of support for our opponents, the Riverside Party/Caucus. Both the letter and the ad are signed by members of the current Village Board – the same board that voted unanimously to try and raise our property taxes. The same board who voted unanimously to play a fiscal shell game with our tax dollars and move $1 million from the general fund to the capital fund at the end of the 2007, to, in the words of the Riverside Landmark “force a debate on the village’s financial future.”
Of course the current Village Board endorses our opponents – both groups were selected to run by the same group of people – the Riverside Caucus. In fact, this year’s Caucus nominating committee was chaired by the wife the current Village President and advised by a current trustee.
On the other hand, the Riverside Community Alliance slate came together to run after years of standing up for residents against bad policies like the TIF and the property tax increase. We represent a clean break from one-party rule by Caucus-selected candidates and will bring some much-needed balance to a Village Board that is comprised entirely now of Caucus-selected trustees and a president.
So if you want a real change in the direction of the village – one for the better, with a Village Board who listens to residents and governs accordingly, we ask you to vote for Gorman, Reynolds, Sacchi and Shevitz – the Riverside Community Alliance.
David Lesniak likes to tout his “planning” credentials, but when it comes to his time on the Plan Commission, he’s put the needs of high-density developers before the needs of Riverside.
Lesniak pushed for a lowball parking buyout that caused Riverside to lose out on more than $170,000 that it should have charged the Village Center developers for not providing parking spaces per the new B-2 zoning code. When the developers did not build 17 parking spaces that they should have, the Village Board approved a measure allowing the Village Center to pay just $5,000 per spot instead of conforming to the zoning code – far below what it would cost the village to build those parking spots. Where did that $5,000/spot number come from? David Lesniak, who rejected proposals for higher fees when developers didn’t provide the spots required by the B-2 zoning, and made a motion to charge just $5,000. That motion carried and was eventually approved by the Village Board.
Surface parking costs can exceed $15,000 per spot – the Landmark pegged it at more than $20,000 per spot. In fact, the Village Center developers are charging $15,000 to their condo owners for a parking spot.
So instead of collecting $225,000 – the cost of 17 spots at $15,000 a piece – the Village Board collected only $85,000 – letting the Village Center out of $170,000 that they should have paid.
Eventually, the Village Board realized that they drastically undercharged the Village Center for parking. Months after approving the $5,000 per spot buyout, the board upped the fee to $15,000. Too bad that Mr. Lesniak and the Village Board couldn’t come to their senses before they did a $170,000 favor to the Village Center developers. That’s money that could have paid for a few Fourth of July parades.
After two consecutive 4-to-1 defeats of the TIF and the 2008 tax increase, you would think the Riverside Party/Caucus would understand that they’re out of touch with residents. But they apparently don’t get it. The Riverside Party/Caucus has nominated trustee candidates who have either never voted in a village election or haven’t voted in one since 2001.
At the March 14 AAUW candidates’ forum, Tony Miezio told the audience “People need to take an active role in politics other than the one to two months before the election.”
If only Mr. Miezio heeded his own advice. He has lived in Riverside since the 1990’s, yet he has never voted in any election – national, state, or local – until he was interviewing with the Caucus to become their candidate for Trustee in November 2008. Here’s his vote history report from the Cook County Clerk’s Office:
He’s voted once – in the 2008 presidential election – in all of his years here in Riverside.
Kelly Navarro told the audience at the AAUW forum that she has voted and she could tell us how she voted on the TIF (the TIF vote was April 17, 2007). However, Cook County Clerk records show that she has not voted in a local election – Village Board or school board – since 2001.
The record shows that Ms. Navarro failed to vote in the 2003, 2005 or 2007 Riverside Village Board, District 96 or District 208 Board elections. While she has voted in national elections, she has not bothered to show up to the polls to vote on the TIF or any village or school board elections in Riverside since 2001.
Alex Gallegos’ vote record shows that he has not voted in a local election (Village Board, School Board) since 2003:
Riverside faces serious challenges in the coming months and years. Can we afford to turn the governance of the village over to people who haven’t even cared enough to vote in our local elections?
Early voting for the upcoming April 7, 2009 Village Board election starts today, March 16, and runs through April 2.
The early voting locations closest to Riverside are:
Berwyn City Hall
6700 W. 26th St.
Berwyn
(708) 788-2660
Stickney-Forest View
Public Library
6800 W. 43rd St.
Stickney
(708) 749-1050
Lyons Township Hall
6404 Joliet Road
Countryside
(708) 482-8300
Early Voting Hours:
Mon – Fri: 9am – 5pm
Saturday: 9am – Noon
State law requires early voters to display valid identification to an election official before receiving a ballot to vote early. Valid forms of ID include: a current driver’s license, state-issued ID card or another government-issued ID with a photograph.
Complete details are available here.
The American Association of University Women, Riverside Branch is hosting a Candidates’ Forum this Saturday morning, March 14 at 8:45am.
Join the Riverside Community Alliance slate of Mike Gorman, Jim Reynolds, Lonnie Sacchi and Mark Shevitz, as well as the other candidates for Riverside Village Board and President, for a morning of questions and answers on the issues.
The Forum will take place in the 2nd floor auditorium of Township Hall, 27 Riverside Rd.
We hope to see you there!
|
|
