2.) Disappearing public records. Who was charged by the district attorney? Who was found guilty? Who paid any kind of restitution for these charges? NOBODY.
3.) Conflict of interest violations by trustees. Who was charged by the district attorney? Who was found guilty? Who paid any kind of restitution for these charges? NOBODY.
4.) Improper use of official e-mail accounts for campaign activities. Who was charged by the district attorney? Who was found guilty? Who paid any kind of restitution for these charges? NOBODY.
5.) Underfunded road repair budget, and the likelihood of further tax increases. What is their solution? What board members are proposing increasing taxes? NOBODY.
6.) Restriction placed on public discussions during board meetings. The village board agenda contains two places where the public can speak on any agenda item. Who is limiting public discussion at board meetings? NOBODY.
Right where they call you a fool, they do nicely sum it up - “If all of this sounds too unbelievable….” Now that part they got right!
Here’s one they got right. The village board did pass an ordinance that stipulates any capital improvement project, no matter its location, costing more than one-third of one percent of the village’s equalized value, which comes out to about $4.8 million, would require a referendum. Before this ordinance, there was no requirement for a referendum. There was no limit on the amount. Isn’t it a good idea to limit the board’s spending? They want to get rid of this ordinance. They must want to spend like those fools in Washington D.C.
They seem to think the village board wants to bring sewer and water for money. First of all, and again,there have not been any discussions, there are not any discussions planned now or any discussions planned in the future with anyone with the village board or developer or bank or business or lawyers or village staff regarding any kind of sewer and water anywhere in the village. There are no agreements with anyone written or understood or tentative regarding anything like sewer and water.
They admit they have been saying this for SEVEN years. Give it up. Sewer and water to them is like the security blanket a baby has. The difference, at some point the baby grows up. Residents have made it clear they are tired of this lie.
I personally asked Gil Frank to stop lying to people about this. He laughs at me. I told him he is frightening the elderly. He seems to enjoy doing that. He is using you for his own selfish reasons and the other candidates have now joined him. Shame on you all. Shame on you! PLEASE LEAVE THE ELDERLY RESIDENTS ALONE.
And now the infamous slush fund. Ahem gentlemen, it’s called a savings account. Do you know what a savings account is? We can sit down sometime and I will teach you a little about fiscal conservatism and accountability. I am a tough teacher. I will make you do homework and I will grade it. You see, in the village we save for our capital purchases. It takes equipment, roads, buildings, and people to make the village work. With a savings account, we don’t need to borrow money and pay interest. In fact, we get interest money by saving in secured accounts. (Write that down, it might be on the test later.) Other than Gil Frank who signed the Scott Walker recall petition, NONE of them attend budget workshops, village board meetings, serve on any citizen boards, serve on any village commission or board, belong to any of the great Richfield community groups. But they want to lead Richfield? Imagine a natural disaster strikes Richfield. If we do not have a savings account to fall back on, where does the money come from that would be needed to restore services and roads and whatever else may be damaged? They would require a referendum, then the village would need to borrow the money,if it is approved, then maybe we can get to the business of restoration.
Gentlemen, as long as all of your toes are sticking up from behind the same sheet, you have all the same ideas and believe all the same things which include eliminating all the tools of fiscal budgeting conservatism that the state provided us. You would throw that tool out. Pitiful!