Seeking 'budget clarity' in Elgin

While attending a candidate forum for Elgin City Council, I heard one of our new comers mention the term "budget clarity."

As most of us do, I want to know how our tax dollars perform. In my opinion even if someone knows how to read these financials they don't tell the whole story. They may indicate the city has spent more or less in a certain area yet it doesn't show how well we are performing compared to other similar taxing bodies. How do we compare to Rockford? How do we compare to Peoria? How do we compare to Rochester MN? We won't know unless there is a uniform presentation of our public financial records.

I had a chance to talk with the candidate who mentioned budget clarity to find out more details. There is a new organization which takes public financial information and converts it into easily read info-graphics enabling municipalities to benchmark themselves off a uniform platform. This provides much needed clarity to voters and it allows city staff/council to quickly identify where they're over or under performing compared to other communities. This practice would make it easy for city staff to see what other communities are good at and reach out to their counterparts in those regions.

The partnership would help Elgin and other communities in Illinois come to terms with our financial reality. Elgin could be the first community in Illinois to partner with ClearGov and would instantly become the regional leader in financial responsibility. Imagine if U-46 and ECC also partnered with ClearGov … we could start the Illinois turn around here in Elgin by using new technology to educate our residents and empower them to finally make sense of our budget. Vote Corey Dixon and check out ClearGov.com for yourself.

Dustin Good

Elgin