Still rough times for local governments

There are signs that the nation's economy is turning around, albeit slowly.

But local units of government still are having a hard time making ends meet as they deal with budget woes for this year and as they look ahead into 2010. This after most have instituted millions in cuts over the last two years.

Cuts now are getting even harder to make and it is during these times that our local officials and employees do what's right, even if difficult. We believe and have stated several times that before taxes are increased to cover budget shortfalls, local units of government must prove they have cut out waste and shared in the sacrifice. And they must be smart about the cuts, staying away from essential services like police and fire as much as possible.

And they must communicate freely with taxpayers about how they are doing this.

Several examples of the good and not so good when it comes to these hard decisions have filled our pages in the last few weeks. To wit:

Hoffman Estates officials have threatened to lay off five police officers and reportedly four to six firefighters if the unions governing police and fire do not agree to concessions.

Hanover Park has had to dip further into its savings to cover cost overruns after they had cut expenditures in the spring.

Des Plaines city officials say they need to scale back services and shrink the work force to reduce a more than $2 million projected shortfall for 2010.

Libertyville may close a projected $1.2 million shortfall with new fees for natural gas and electric usage and a doubling of the fee charged on cell phones and land lines.

Grayslake Elementary District 46 is hosting a second forum Sept. 8 to solely discuss the district's finances before a budget is approved later that month.

We applaud the Grayslake district's approach. To truly model transparency, officials must be willing to listen to their constituents and vice versa. Regular board meetings don't always offer that kind of give and take.

We also think Des Plaines is taking the right approach.

"We're squarely focused on our expenditures, our level of government, our size of government and we're going to reduce that wherever and whenever possible," City Manager Jason Bajor said. He added that the city's core services such as police and fire protection and public works would be maintained.

In Hoffman Estates, however, a showdown appears to be in the offing between the village and its unions.

We think both sides have a good argument. The unions need to share in the sacrifice to make ends meet so layoffs aren't necessary.

The village needs to convince employees and residents it has cut costs sufficiently before trimming police and fire. A salary increase for the mayor and trustees does not set a good example and should be canceled.

Both sides need to sit down together and do what's right for the community.