Mayor Jeff Speaker has extended his tax and stash winnings with a 5th straight year of budgeting surpluses. Speaker, elected in 2002, would have first had influence over the 2003 budget year. Since then, the city has taxed residents very closely to the limits state law provides. That strategy has added millions to the piggy bank at city hall.
This year’s budget miss? Close to a million dollars. The budget as amended was to draw down on city reserves by $879,530. Instead, there is an extra pop of $90,677. The exact difference: $970,207.
The reported surpluses under Speaker’s watch:
2003 - $664,000
2004 - $1,200,000
2005 - $1,600,000
2006 - $1,500,000
Since his first budget, Mayor Jeff Speaker has overtaxed Brookfield residents by millions, yet the majority of the Common Council has offered little resistance. Between that and Speaker’s re-election in 2006, it’s easy to conclude that Brookfield is content to pay extra for no return in services.
25 responses so far ↓
1 El gato // Apr 3, 2008 at 11:10 am
Ohhhhh, dare I use that word “apathy” again? The disconnected taxpaying voters who sit on their behinds and then complain about their taxes. If one where to compile a list of all the taxes and fees we pay to see just how much government takes from us, and gives us extremely poor results in return, we might wake up. The list would have to be in every mainstream news source once a week forever though. The really bad thing is that every level of government is saying they need more money! Are we crazy to allow this?
Note: There will not be a Boston Tea Party this
year as we have not received any RSVPs
back.
2 Kathryn // Apr 3, 2008 at 11:13 am
“the majority of the Common Council has offered little resistance”
And the minority? Who are the ones we can depend on?
3 Dan Harland // Apr 3, 2008 at 11:24 am
Forgive me if this sounds stupid, I’m what the gamer crowd would call a “noob”… Where does the surplus money go? I mean a cool 1.5 million can’t just up and go away before the next year, right?
4 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 3, 2008 at 11:39 am
In a piggy bank! Really, they haven’t ever spent it.
5 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 3, 2008 at 11:43 am
On whom can you depend?
Always:
Jerry Mellone (6); Chris Blackburn (6); Bill Carnell (1)
Usually:
Dan Sutton (1); Lisa Mellone (7); Ron Balzer (3)
Hopefully:
Renee Lowerr (7)
When it’s to his benefit:
Scott Berg (5)
Likely to vote with a majority:
Jim Garvens (3); Bob Reddin (2); Mark Nelson (4)
Never (unless you are a developer or campaign supporter of the mayor’s):
Steve Ponto (4); Rick Owen (2); Gary Mahkorn (5)
6 Dan Harland // Apr 3, 2008 at 11:44 am
So you are saying there is just close to 5 mil laying around for a rainy day?
7 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Much, much more. I’ll dig around for a few numbers.
8 Kathryn // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Cindy, I’m no match for you on the numbers, but it looks to me like there is 10 million sitting in ’special revenues’ with plans for spending only a couple million. Another 2.5 in the general fund BEYOND the recommend level of reserves.
Do other cities pile it up this way? Does the quest for AAA bond ratings influence the decision?
9 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:40 pm
No, other cities don’t do it. And - the word from the bonding agent when an Alderman asked was that Brookfield should STOP missing their budgets by as much as they have recently.
But for all of that talk, when Mayor Jeff Speaker asked the finance committee to increase the percentage that is recommended for rainy day, the finance committee did so. They had to increase the percentage because the amount reserved had pushed higher than the top amount on the recommendation.
10 Leapin // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:48 pm
El Gato - You mentioned the Boston Tea Party. I once read that the level of taxation that was being protested in those times amounted to a 3% tax today. Now when all taxes and fees are considered we are working on getting to 40%. Please keep using the A word (apathy).
11 Kathryn // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:52 pm
It’s still higher on their bar chart.
12 Cheri M. // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Thinking of a rainy day… homes are being brought city water service (whether we want it or not) and are being charged upwards of $15k for it. Looks like that money is being stockpiled as part of the surplus.
Please remember that over 50% of our income now goes to the government.
13 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I’ll scan the four pages I copied yesterday at city hall. It will have to wait until after I meet a girlfriend for coffee, though.
(Yea! Coffee!)
14 gregg klees // Apr 4, 2008 at 9:30 am
Now that the city has all that surplus money why not spend some on leaf pickup equipment? What else do highway workers do in the fall?
15 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 4, 2008 at 10:16 am
That’s a wonderful idea, Gregg. Then we could outlaw burning. That would be a huge improvement in our quality of life.
16 Dan Harland // Apr 4, 2008 at 10:22 am
Outlaw leaf burning? NEVER! Perhaps one of the greatest smells on this planet.
17 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 4, 2008 at 10:27 am
I guess you won’t be specializing in respiratory diseases in medical school, Dan.
18 Dan Harland // Apr 4, 2008 at 10:57 am
That’s funny. My dad is actually a pulmonologist. I think if Californians are still alive following year after year of wildfires, we Wisconsinites should probably be ok burning a pile of leaves. Let me look into it.
19 Dan Harland // Apr 4, 2008 at 11:03 am
Reading… but theres a few papers out there including one written by a group from Beloit regarding the effects of leaf burning on asthmatics.
20 Cheri M. // Apr 4, 2008 at 11:17 am
I’ll tell you the effects. wheeeeeeeze… wheeeeeeze… wheeeeze… headache - tightchest - dimming vision - where’s the inhaler… can’t reach - feeling faint - m-u-s-t–b-r-e-a-t-h-e-! cough… sputter… gasp… close all the windows… stay inside… can’t work in the garden.
21 Dan Harland // Apr 4, 2008 at 11:31 am
Thanks Cheri! I think I will go ahead and ask for an official Fairly Conservative Retraction of the post detailed below:
Dan Harland // Apr 4, 2008 at 10:22 am
Outlaw leaf burning? NEVER! Perhaps one of the greatest smells on this planet.
Upon further research, I have found there are indeed a number of documented pollutants from burning biomass, many of which carry potential health risks.
22 El gato // Apr 4, 2008 at 11:51 am
I wonder how ALL of the leaf burning compares to the wild fires in the West annually? Does it contribute to the non-existent global warming in the minds of the environmentalists? Should fire be outlawed?
23 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 4, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Well done, Dan. Now I’ve got to get those 4 pages on here!
24 Dan Harland // Apr 4, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Maybe I missed something… 4 pages? From the Beloit group?
25 Cindy Kilkenny // Apr 4, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I’m sorry. From a promise to Kathryn yesterday - about the budget.
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