Elgin has spending, not budget problem

On June 13 I spoke at the Elgin City Council meeting and reminded council members that as a former councilman myself the most important duty we’ve been given is to protect the public trust. Why I made this statement is that on June 10, the city released the final audited budget figures for fiscal year 2011, which state the city ended the year with more than $650,000 in surplus revenue over expenditures.

This final report dismisses claims residents heard starting last of a looming multimillion-dollar budget deficit. First it was reported the city anticipated a $4 million structural deficit, two months later it became $8 million then shortly thereafter $12 million. During this time a budget task force was set up to address it. Several concerned residents, including me, attended most of the meetings and tried to warn them the estimates may be wrong.

Nothing in the recommendations from the task force was mention of massive tax increases and/or service cuts to solve the perceived crisis. Yet quickly the council, with staff input, started crafting drastic scenarios that went from extreme cuts to extreme tax increases and a “balanced” approach with cuts as well as tax increases. The balanced approach was chosen and included several new taxes, increased fees and layoffs. Most onerous were new taxes on natural gas and electricity. They alone are estimated to raise $10 million or more per year. Churches, charitable organizations, businesses and other governmental units are all taxed. This will remove an estimated $40 million over the next four years out of the local private sector economy to increase the size of the city’s government during the worst recession since the Depression.

If the members of the city council who voted for this energy tax refuse to repeal this, then maybe they should be replaced by those who will. Elgin doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.

Terry Gavin

Elgin