The sole purpose of The Number Crunchers is to shine a bright light on local government finance. Our volunteer reporters are fiscal conservatives, and moderates. All we want is less spending, lower debt, and more efficiency in the Village of Bolingbrook, no matter who's in office.
TO FUTURE CANDIDATES: We hope the information published on our site will assist you in building a solid, fully informed campaign.
Listed below are the answers to the questions submitted to The Number Crunchers (via the blog) on Saturday, December 31, 2011. Please feel free to submit your own thoughts on how the Village can cutback. We encourage your input.
QUESTION/ANSWERS:
What specifically would you cut in the budget?
The Village of Bolingbrook continues to spend more not less. There were significant increases in the General Fund ($2.1 mill) and the Wastewater Fund ($4.1 million). [per 2011/12 Budget]
We closely examined the General Fund and believe the Village should take a second look at several expenditure items:
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The 15 highly paid/upper management employees in the public works department.
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The Fringe Benefits paid to 400+ full-time employees.
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There are too many administrators in the Finance and Executive department, and their jobs overlap.
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The $6k car allowance paid to 7 Village employees (incl. Mayor Claar) should be eliminated.
Click link to read more about the subject: http://thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com/vobfollowthemoney201011.html
Also note, the Bolingbrook Golf Course has generated more than $10 million in losses since the doors opened. The Village should consider selling the golf course.
Click link to read more about the golf course: http://thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com/bolingbrookgolfcourse.html
The Number Crunchers will examine the Wastewater Fund in the near future.
What would you do to raise revenue in Bolingbrook?
In my opinion, the Village has a spending problem, not revenue. Surprisingly, the Village is holding steady on the revenue side considering the economic recession. Most of the revenue comes from Sales, Income and Telecommunication taxes.
The Village should focus on major cutbacks. The revenue engine is functioning properly.
Would you raise taxes?
Absolutely not. There's no reason to raise ANY taxes.
Side note: In my opinion, the Village should eliminate the 1.5% restaurant tax. It's not a major revenue generator (@ appx 4% of total revenue in the General Fund).
Click here to read more: http://thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com/vob91911restaurants.html
How do you intend on keeping current businesses here?
The entire country's in an economic recession. Our main revenue source is Taxes & User Fees (mostly sales tax). We have a strong customer base, and an excellent location that draw customers from the surrounding communities. I believe the Village should step aside and let the market dictate.
What would you do to attract new businesses to Bolingbrook?
The Village has a spending problem, not a revenue one. The economic engine in Bolingbrook is doing fine. It's a recession. Let it run it's course.