Website Home   or   Forum Home

Riverside Info » About Riverside

1. MikeT
   Member

   Let's support the new trustee, just elected, Ben Sells, who seems to have fresh rational ideas for Riverside's future. and that seem closer to the general Riverside public. Maybe the others on the board will see more clearly what needs to done.

   Notice how the incumbent, Scully, wants to go to the JRB. Let's be clear that this is a distinct specific NEXT STEP in the TIF process, a process that the Village public just voted to turn down.

   In Sales, this is 'the foot in the door'.

   The Riverside residents lawfully and validly said they did not want that Timeshare encyclopedia vacuum cleaner called the TIF.

   .

   Here is The Landmark piece. Hey, Landmark, great job covering this!

   http://www.rblandmark.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=2524&TM=41377.97

   4/24/2007 10:00:00 PM Email this article —¢ Print this article

   Ben Sells

   New Riverside trustee still not sold on TIF
   Incumbent wants to hear from other taxing bodies

   By BOB UPHUES

   At least one of the candidates elected to the Riverside village board on April 17 said he still does not believe that the current proposal for a tax increment financing (TIF) district for downtown Riverside is workable.

   Ben Sells, who was elected in an uncontested race along with fellow newcomer Jean Sussman and incumbent Trustee John Scully, said last week that the TIF proposal doesn't pass the "but for" test, meaning he doesn't believe economic revitalization would not happen "but for" the TIF.

   However, he said that the contentious debate over the TIF has obscured the larger issue of the village's financial condition and that, TIF or no TIF, that's the issue people should be concentrating on.

   "At some point we have to raise money for the village," Sells said.

   The first thing the village must do, Sells said, is convince citizens that their money is being well-spent.

   "The next step is to say, 'This is where the needs are, this is what we need' and work within the tax cap and referendum system."

   He also said that any request for use of taxpayer money has to come with specific uses.

   "If we made a case specifically with regard to cost, then people will go along with it," Sells said. "What can't be done is an open-ended, we-need-more-money [request]. People are just not going to vote for that."

   Scully, who has not expressed a definitive position on the TIF, said that while the overwhelming defeat of the TIF question gives him pause, he's in favor of at least moving forward with the process to hear what the other local taxing bodies have to say about the issue.

   Scully also referenced the work currently being done by an ad hoc long-range financial security committee made up of a cross section of village residents, predicting their verdict will be that the village will need to find new revenue sources.

   "That means either it comes through economic development or by raising property taxes, which hasn't been done in a very long time here," Scully said.

   Sussman was out of the country and could not be reached for comment by press time.

   All three candidates were elected with vote totals between 1,609 and 1,661, with roughly 30 percent of registered voters casting ballots in the race.

   Posted Wednesday Apr 25, 2007 10:34 #

2. Catherine
   Member

   Ben Sells, the only trustee I cast a vote for. The light is on and someone is home.

   No, if it came to be considered by a court, I do not believe we would pass the "but for" test. If we are not, in fact, eligible for a TIF, it would also be wrong to pass one.

   Speaking from the seats, he is absolutely correct that people do not trust that the existing tax money is being spent judiciously. See the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on consultants and lawyers already.

   I think we should have workshops on village finances as we did on the redevelopment issue. Four workshops, say, explaining the current and perhaps the last two budgets. Why do certain departments get the amounts they do. What do they spend it on. What are our needs now and in the near future. PEOPLE ARE NOT SO STUPID THEY CANNOT UNDERSTAND THAT BROKEN PIPES NEED TO BE FIXED OR REPLACED. They didn't get a tax increase in the referenda because they tied it to the language of their redevelopment program and not the needs of the current residents, and because they never bother to explain village expenditures. All we see is money being thrown out the window and into the breeze at mediocrities like KaneMcKenna and Camiros.

   Sussman said she wanted to wait to see how the VC does before proceeding. A wise choice. Let's hope her reputation for caving into the majority, as she reportedly did when the zoning variance for VC was granted (why aren't these minutes posted?], will prove unconfirmed, unless the majority wisely decides to stop.

   Posted Wednesday Apr 25, 2007 10:48 #

3. EricSundstrom
   Member

   They have copies of the budget over at the Library.Fred Blake used to educate himself when it came to the budget. I suggest you do the same.

   Posted Wednesday Apr 25, 2007 11:19 #

4. Catherine
   Member

   Yes, smartypants, I have read the budget. I spent some considerable time yesterday reading the 2007 budget online. And all of this information should be online.

   The budget does not tell us how many water main breaks we had last year, how much it cost to fix them, how much pipe we need to lay, where, when and how much it will cost. It tells me that we have $200,000 budgeted for lawyers, but it doesn't tell me why. It tells me that $260K is budgeted for the Village Manager's office, but it doesn't tell me what for.

   Your attitude, and the attitude of people like you, is the reason why people do not trust the government with money and why they will not vote for tax increases. It is not for the taxpayers to dig through the mountains at the library and to have to submit FOIA requests to find out how much we have paid to which consultants and why, it is up to the administration to get that information to the taxpayer/voters and explain to them why a tax increase is needed. Are you suggesting working mothers spend their days at the library researching the issue. Shall everyone in town go there and do likewise? Shall we form a line. What is your objection to workshops, since it is obvious that 1700 people do not trust the administration with more money.

   You don't even recognize a good faith suggestion to the administration when you see it, you are such a shameless shill for the existing board and life as they see it, blind to any suggestions but those they already agree with. You never come on here but to post on their behalf. I suggest you get back to looking for a better architect for that fresh insult to Riverside you are planning on Burlington.

   Posted Wednesday Apr 25, 2007 12:04 #

5. spatny
   Member

   I believe Mr. Sells understands exactly what is happening here. The captain of the Titanic, Jolly Jack, and his crew, were advised to embark on this cruise to nowhere by "she who must be obeyed" and now that they are in the water up to their necks and are getting cold they think the only way to save themselves is to do more of the same. One would think that a TIF was the only way to go. If they have pipes to fix tell us, in detail, where, what and how much. If they want to freshen up downtown give us the plan and the costs. Don't do it like they are proceeding with Centennial - remember that little disaster is still waiting to happen. They will have that money and so it will be a fight if they try to cut those trees and put in parking there - that will make the TIF issue look like a walk in the park.

   The problem is, they agree to things and then don't keep their word. That's why Senor Shields loves the idea of "keeping in non-specific" and filling in the details later. When Ms. Rush says it will specify that no private or commercial structure will be built in the greenspace that leaves public structures out. The other day they were back to talking about the hotel/restauarnt/community center or whatever they think it might be for the "opportunity site" next to the Town Hall. They have been poking around the Mason's site. They act like the TIF will give them money to burn. $20 million in 23 years, with over 60% given to "make the schools whole" is a joke. They never cut to the bone - they buy two defibs to get a 10% discount. They buy an extra squad car for the fire chief(s). They offer to pay for an art fair consultant. And then they say they need money or we will all perish. Hells Bells - when ordinary people can't have anything they want they put it off, substitute, get creative. That's what we need - some creativity. Hopefully Mr. Sells can provide it.

   Posted Wednesday Apr 25, 2007 17:45 #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.