Village should not be funding concerts

Elk Grove Village pension accounts have not been adequately funded in more than a decade, prompting the introduction of a new electrical usage tax. Property assessments are rising.

In addition there is a 1 percent hotel-motel tax, part of which went to fund the now defunct bicycle races now mercifully moved to Utah. The village, and soon the park district, is raking in gambling revenue.

Now our self-indulgent mayor and his all-too-accommodating village board plan to “let us eat cake” with REALLY BIG summer concerts on a Village Green that is more asphalt and cement than grass. The summer concert series have been the responsibility of the park district for decades. The only services that the village should provide are those concerned with health and safety. In today’s news we learn that the village has donated $260,000 for this season’s concerts.

This is not chump change; it is tax money that should be applied to rationally administer the Village of Elk Grove. Tax money should be applied to necessities like underfunded pensions, public safety, law enforcement — which, if the Herald’s “blotter” is to be believed is a growing problem — and a proactive search for clients to fill commercial and retail vacancies.

The village administration has no right to provide entertainment with public funds. A lot more openness and honesty is long overdue so that all residents and businesses receive responsible governance.

Sheila Barrett

Elk Grove Village