Tom what you have spelled out was briefly brought to light at the last board meeting. I can see no logical reason for the change Goreman and Shevitz are attempting other than it will leave the board in complete control of the Recreation Dept. The trustees will appoint the commission members and as an advisory commission the board can ignore their input and do whatsoever they wish. Corbi start up a petition drive? The citizen group that opposed the Tif did so to great effect. Of course thats because the prior board paid attention to what the populace of Riverside showed what it wanted, not a likely outcome with this group.
Riverside Info » About Riverside
Sacchi Dream -Riverside Nightmare - about to come true
(38 posts)-
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 11:19 #
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Spatny -
Based on what I heard at Monday's meeting the current VBoT asked the Village Attorney (who I believe sees dollar signs in his sleep based on the time needed to draft the ordinance and the subsequent legal work needed to defend the Village's actions)to draft an ordinance that removes the legal standing of Riverside Parks and Recreation Board making it obsolete. The Village Attorney also was instructed to write the ordinance to include creation of a Park & Recreation Commission with no duties defined by VBoT.
The end result is that the new Parks and Recreation Commission will have the same power over Park and Recreation programming and activities as the Cable Commission.
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 11:47 # -
I found an interesting survey on the topic of autonomy for Recreation Departments. Below is a excerpt from the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association publication of July/August 2008.
From page 16, Park and Recreation Services: Park District vs. Consolidated Governments
Finally, residents were asked to consider the issue of consolidated government, in particular, could park and recreation services be better provided by a park district or a form of consolidated governments? The results of the study found strong support for the value of park districts as providers of recreation programs, facilities and park areas within a community. In fact, 90% of those surveyed felt that park and recreation services are best provided by a park district and almost 75% felt that park districts a;;pw the greatest opportunity for community input compared to services provided by a city or village government. These findings are supported by the research of Lisa M. Card, who, in a 2004 article published in the Thomas Jeffereson Law Review, identified the value of special purpose districts, such as park districts, in providing opportunities for community engagement. More specifically, involvement with special district government provides great development opportunities for individuals who have limited experience with the democratic process. These special districts have enabled residents to acquire the skills and attitudes necessary to become more informed policymakers and have acquainted them with the methods of the democratic process of governments.When asked specifically about consolidation, a majority of respondents believed that park and recreation services would suffer if consolidated with the city, village or county government. In contrast, 10% of residents felt that park and recreation services would improve with a consolidated government. These results are also consistent with Kathryn A. Foster's research on specialization in government published in 1996, which indicated the quality and quantity of special district services have been higher and more cost-effective than general purpose governments. Furthermore, additional studies found that communities with special district governments provided citizens with a wider range of service providers and made stronger contributions to the community's quality of life than communities without special districts.
Read the entire article.
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 13:58 # -
Excellent work TS!
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 14:03 # -
This certainly sounds to me like it is all about "tapping" into the Parks and Rec monies for other services.
If there is a plan to reduce Parks and Rec funding to keep other "municipal services" afloat, that should be front and center...not inferred.
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 14:29 # -
Money (or lack thereof in this town): Now I think we might be getting closer to the animus behind this initiative. just my quick $0.02 observation.
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 16:52 # -
Absolutely, MRT. It's all about the money. The RCA board members see this as a way to get their hands on the designated Rec levy and on the substantial revenues produced by Rec Department programing. These monies were previously spent at the direction of the Parks and Rec Board. Under the restructuring, these funds would be spent at the direction of the Village Board.
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 17:36 # -
Below is an excerpt from the Landmark Feb 24, 2009
Titled: NO NEW TAXES, says RCAhttp://rblandmark.com/print.asp?ArticleID=4675&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1
The party's platform seeks to match village services with the amount of money available to it.
"We're going to figure out what are the services we want and then we're going to look at the money we have," Gorman said. "We're not going to worry about who's in what department. We're going to find efficiencies. It's all about matching services to the money you have."
Two areas that the candidates vowed to continue funding were the recreation department and historical museum, both of which had their funding cut in half by the village board in 2009.
The party's vision for the recreation department, however, appears to be one focused on programming alone and not on sponsoring costly special events or spending its money maintaining park lands.
"I'd like to think we could find $100,000 in the budget," Shevitz said. "We shouldn't be punishing the rec department for running efficiently."
I guess Shevitz and crew just "FOUND" their $100,000 and will now be able to "match the services to the money they have."
BTW Sacchi said Monday night they will raise taxes...and they wonder why we don' trust them with our Parks and Rec.
Posted Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 18:28 #
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