A lesson in city budgets

There he goes again.

From Chris Lauzen’s statement as reported in the Nov. 4 Daily Herald and other news outlets, “… the numbers in Geneva’s own budget say all that must be said. Page 13 of the 2011-2012 budget shows a 7.4 percent increase from the 2010-2011 budget. Frankly, this could not be more clear.”

Actually, Mr. Lauzen, the budget numbers are clear; if only you were able to understand how municipal budgets are developed and reported. Please accept the following facts as a courtesy to you and those who have tried to mislead.

Fact: Page 13 of the City of Geneva’s 2011-2011 budget is one of 288 pages of details — where every dollar comes from and where every dollar is spent and invested. Rendering opinions — and passing said opinions off as truth — based on reading one page of a 288-page budget is like writing a book report by only reading the book’s jacket.

Fact: A municipal budget is the totality of many separate budgets — in Geneva’s case; general fund, general capital projects fund, infrastructure capital projects fund, electric capital fund, water and wastewater capital fund and a variety of miscellaneous budgets.

Fact: Grants received by the city for specific capital improvements account for the 7.4 percent increase in the city’s 2011-2012 budget. These monies were not the result of tax increases. The truth is, generally accepted accounting principles require the City of Geneva — and all cities — to show these grants as income.

I’m disappointed Mr. Lauzen doesn’t understand, or chooses to ignore, this simple and transparent accounting standard. Now that I’ve clarified this issue, it’s time to move on and discuss the future of Kane County.

Kevin Burns

Mayor of Geneva