Forest district needs to show restraint

The Board of Commissioners of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is unable to exercise fiscal restraint. In November 2009, commissioners increased the property tax levy the district assesses on homeowners in the county. This translates to an additional tax of $2.29 for every citizen of DuPage County.

In June of this year, commissioners approved an operating budget that includes a nearly 6 percent increase in spending, an increase of some $2 million. This is equivalent to an additional expenditure of nearly $85 for every one of the 25,000 acres held by the district. In total, the district spends more than $1,600 per acre each year.

In this season of change, one wonders if the commissioners are aware of the financial difficulties that many DuPage residents face. I think the forest preserve would do well to deliver district services with less rather than more just as many in the county are now doing. In this era of hardship, I also do not think the public is well served by allowing the commission to spend $1,600 per acre to manage a forest.

Bruce C. Fogerty

Wheaton