It's time to focus on needs, not wants

The Arlington Heights village board found itself this week in a position not unfamiliar to municipalities and school boards these days. It needed to raise its tax levy in order to support its budget. On its face, the amount was not unreasonable. Just about $46 for the average taxpayer.

But the proposal led to a hue and cry that persuaded the board to take another look at things - and that other villages, schools and governments should heed as well.

A $46 annual increase may not sound like much, but as Arlington Heights resident Tony Campo pleaded with the board, "I'm retired and you're asking for $46 here, and someone else is asking for $46 there." In short, it all adds up.

In some economic times that inevitable arithmetic can make sense. Even if a community doesn't add any new services, the costs for what it does provide rise. Materials cost more. Employees want and deserve raises so they themselves can keep pace.

But these are not those economic times. People are cutting expenses everywhere, and the outlook is for more of the same, at least for the foreseeable future. Governments, clearly, must hold the line and, wherever possible, cut back as well.

There is, of course, an important corollary to this proposition, and Arlington Heights Village President Arlene Mulder hinted at it when she responded to residents Monday night. "The minute we cut a service, if we don't fix some streets, we will get e-mails and phone calls," she said.

No doubt, she's right. When it comes time to pay the bills, people are quick to rise up and demand "efficiencies" and "cutbacks." But when the efficiencies mean the local swimming pool can't operate for as long in the summertime or the roads don't get repaired as often or cleared of snow as quickly in winter, people are just as quick to demand their local government do more.

In Arlington Heights, residents suggested the village cut back on firefighters, pay less for niceties such as local sculptures and the popular annual ChristkindlMarkt celebration. Surely, the village board, as it puts its eraser to the budget, will look at those things. But again, Arlington Heights Trustee Tom Hayes asked, "Do you want to sit at home and just watch TV or do you want to go out and enjoy your community?"

It's a reasonable question. Clearly, communities face a challenge of balancing what they can afford against what they really need, a challenge that is not particularly new. It's what governments must do in good times as well as bad.

But in these particularly bad times, the "need" side of the equation must be very carefully, and not altogether painlessly, examined.

Of course, we all want to enjoy our communities, and we want our communities to continue to provide a comfortable quality of life. But it also seems that for the foreseeable future, we're all going to have to spend a little more time with the TV and other things to do while sitting at home.