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1. Catherine
   Member

   I have several times solicited opinions on the 2007 budget, including from those who consider it cut to the bone, but no one has commented on it. I am no finance person, and I mean no disrespect to hardworking village employees, but I truly would like to understand certain items. I bring this up repeatedly because it goes to the claim that the Village needs more money. Cut and paste this link to your browser to view budget comparison:

   http://www.riverside.il.us/vertical/Sites/{42F3B77D-FE50-43B3-96BF-EB06D8EB0A86}/uploads/{E83764D3-FC5A-4A7B-8698-C8EC6BD5D281}.PDF
   or http://tinyurl.com/yzv9gp

   Here are my questions, in order of occurrence in budget doc, 2007 compared to 2006:

   Village Manager's office: $326K, up from $287K. I don't see a line item for consultants. Is this where they are?

   Finance Department: $323K (Can they improve our finances!?)

   Legal Services: $200K (That's a lot of service.)

   Community Development: $206K (What is this?)

   Recreation: $406K (Hello! In the survey, the majority voted they wanted the center built with private funds, and wasn't an increase in their budget voted down some not too many years ago?)

   Sewer Operations: down to $127K from $574K. Isn't this a major part of the infrastructure TIF is supposed to pay for?

   Also, I cannot figure out our budget deficit.

   Hey, I know things cost money. But after hearing about the $15,000 arm chairs proposal, I just thought I would seek education.

   ALSO, I did not know that all of these advisory commissions used taxpayer money. Are they complying with the Open Meetings Act?

   Posted Sunday Dec 31, 2006 07:59 #

2. corbi328
   Member

   Catherine,

   Did I not respond to your general questions about the budget? I believe I did.

   As far as the line items you asked about, I'll give you my view on the line items I am most familiar with.

   Legal Services (200k) - Given the type of litigious society we live in, I am surprised this number is so low. After all, the Village has to worry about the threat of lawsuits from all sorts of constituencies, both external and internal. As you know, the Village has an attorney on retainer to attend to all sorts of matters including advising the Board on procedural matters during meetings, providing legal opinions in drafting of ordinances etc... Hopefully you are starting to see how $200,000 is really a pretty small amount for the type of legal advise a municipality needs in this day and age.

   Recreation Department ($406,000)- I think if there is any one area that most people will agree is underfunded, it is the Rec Department. The out of pocket fees that residents pay to participate in activities is higher than any other community I know of and frankly you still don't get the breadth and quality of offerings that I think most people would want. The Rec Department operates on a bare bones budget and anybody in this town who has kids will tell you that. The reference you made to the survey findings which showed that a rec center should be funded through private fundraising is deceptive. Of course people will say that when they think the only other alternative is an increase in their taxes. Not many contemplated raising the funds through a third alternative such as the TIF.

   Sewer Operations - Big emphasis on the word OPERATIONS. It does not say Construction or Rehabilitation. Do you really think that our sewers clean and maintain themselves?

   As far as your comment on the advisory commissions using funds, I will only say that there is not much to go around. The only funds the EDC uses is to organize events like the Arts Fair that we held this past fall.

   Lastly, I can say unequivocally that their is an absolute obsession on the part of the Village and the commissions to comply with the Open Meetings Act. It's gotten to the point where I think it is a little bit ridiculous but everybody affiliated with the Village that I have talked to about the matter wants to err on the side of cautiousness.

   Posted Sunday Dec 31, 2006 13:31 #

3. Catherine
   Member

   No, corbi, you had not responded, I checked.

   Well, we certainly need sewers more than rec. I certainly agree the options are modest given the money spent. Why bother? Infrastructure is the government's job.

   Given its national historic landmark status, I see the less sum of $377K spent on Parks Maintenance and Forestry. The condition of trees in the area south of the tracks and in Swan Pond have been allowed to deteriorate shockingly in the last few years. Perhaps this was deliberate.

   Posted Tuesday Jan 2, 2007 09:20 #

4. KathleenRush
   Member

   Hello Ms. Love,

   Thanks for your interest in the Village Budget. The village does a great deal of work to prepare the budget document on an annual basis. The budget is made up of several funds. The largest fund is the General Fund and it provides the accounting of the operations and services for the Village that are generally property tax based.

   The consultants that are used by the village are generally found in account expenditure designation "330". The Village Manager's budget includes $10,000 for a personnel consultant to complete a salary review for the non-union employees.

   The finance department provides the accounting function for the entire village, processes the water bills, vehicle stickers, business licences, payroll, etc. The department prepares the budget, works with the auditors, etc. Yes, they help our finances and have worked very hard to control expenses. Overall, the General Fund budget is reduced in expenditures from 2006 to 2007. We accomplished this by reducing expenses in many areas including Police, Recreation, Public Works.

   Legal services include the corporate attorney function, prosecutor, collective bargaining and lawsuits.

   Community Development is primarily the building department. The department supports the site plan, building permit plan review and inspections (building, plumbing, electric, property maintenance), the Plan Commission, and Preservation Commission.

   Recreation is all of the Parks and Recreation programs, staff support and community event planning. We really work hard to make this department almost like an enterprise fund. They have a small levy and then most of their activities are supported through program fees.

   Sewers, and the Water are not considered General Fund expenses. The expenses and revenues generated from these activities are meant to be self sustaining. these are considered enterprise funds.

   There is a great deal of information in the full budget document that is available for inspection at the Village offices or at the Library. I encourage you to review the detail in the budget. if you have additional questions, please feel free to call me (708) 447-9987 It is much easier to get to the appropriate level of information when we have specific questions.

   Kathleen Rush, Village Manager

   Posted Tuesday Jan 2, 2007 10:49 #

5. corbi328
   Member

   Catherine,

   That is your perspective but I think the majority of the residents who have kids would disagree with you about the importance of the recreation department. One of the things that makes Riverside special in my mind is the amount of residents that grew up here and have chosen to come back and raise their own families here. My wife is one of those people. Their decision to come back has a lot to do with the fond memories they have of growing up in Riverside. A big part of that is the recreational activities they engaged in with their friends.

   Families with young kids make up a significant portion of the town's population, the recreation department is an area that most of these residents would want to see enhanced, not cut back.

   Posted Tuesday Jan 2, 2007 11:24 #

6. HRCollins
   Member

   In my opinion the Recreation Department does a very good job given the limited funds they are allocated. One important thing to remember is that the Riverside has Recreation Department not a Park District. The Recreation Dept. is allocated funds by the Riverside Village government. A Park District is a government body that normally is allowed to tax property owners as it leaders' see fit.

   Riverside organizations such as the Riverside Little League also help to pay the costs to maintain the baseball diamonds in Riverside's parks, contributing a significant portion of its income each year.

   If anything I would like to see our taxes raised so that the Village could give more money to the Rec Dept.

   KathleenRush - who pays for the grass cutting in all of Riverside's parks? Does it come out of the Rec Dept. budget?

   Posted Tuesday Jan 2, 2007 12:40 #

7. KathleenRush
   Member

   Mr. Collins,
   The maintenance of the fields falls primarily to the Recreation department. The open space parks, such as Longcommon, Scottswood common, all the pennisula parks, Indian Gardens, etc. are mowed and maintained by the Public Works department. There is a small property tax levy that supports 'parks maintenance' and another small levy that supports 'forestry'.
   Kathleen Rush, Village Manager, 708-447-9987

   Posted Tuesday Jan 2, 2007 15:00 #

8. corbi328
   Member

   Catherine,

   I also wanted to address your low blow regarding the potential that anyone in the Village might deliberately neglect our trees. What a ridiculous and irresponsible assertion. Quite the contrary is true. We all value our trees and that is why the Village juggled its budget to hire a part time arborist last year. Is this a step that someone would take if they were trying to neglect our trees? While everyone values the health and preservation of our trees, the reality is that proper tree care (especially disease preventing chemical treatments) is very expensive. The Village does what it can under the current financial constraints, but there just isn't enough money to do a thourough job. As I have repeatededly stated, having funds to dedicate to improved tree care and maintanence is one of the many great ancillary benefits of a successful TIF.

   Posted Tuesday Jan 2, 2007 15:55 #

9. Catherine
   Member

   Thank you Ms Rush for the information.

   Corbi, the trees in the Village may be maintained well, but not the ones south of the train. I know because this is the very vista that prompted me to move here some years ago. There are what look like lightning struck trees standing truncated immediately south of the station and within Swan Pond. The bushes and grass in Swan Pond have noticeably deteriorated in the last several years.

   I am sick of your ad hominens and they greatly compromise your credibility. To anyone who walks through that area and over the course of many years, I would be surprised if they did not make the same observation.

   Posted Wednesday Jan 3, 2007 10:04 #

10. corbi328
    Member

    Did I say that the trees were well maintained? What I said is that the Village was doing the best they can with the resources they have. What I find objectionable is your reference that the perceived lack of care might be deliberate. Unless you have proof of that, I think that is an irresponsible and ridiculous statement. It implies that someone associated with the Village has an agenda that is inconsistent with the best interests of the Village. You have every right to disagree with what course of action is in the best interests of the Village, but I will not sit by and let you make statements questioning the intent of the Village or the Board of Trustees. These people work very hard and I am convinced that they are all genuinely motivated to do what is in the best interests of the Village and its residents. Unless you have proof to the contrary, stop making these irresponsible statements.

    Posted Wednesday Jan 3, 2007 10:48 #

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