Village Of Valleyview

POLICE PROTECTION vs PAY ME FIRST

Oct 22, 2002

$2,500 is what it costs for two weeks of police protection in this village. $2,500 to protect you, your family, and property. Why then does the mayor Graves and Councilperson Sue Huber want the Village to pay their personal attorney bill of $2,300? Why should the Village residents be denied police protection for two weeks so that they can receive money for personal expenses? The Village is for the benefit of all residents, not just the mayor and council. The mayor and council want to pay themselves first then worry about the residents last. To have the Fiscal Officer state that the Village has no money to pay the police yet council and the mayor can find a way to pay themselves. Accountability was never their agenda.

Councilman Bob Graves has stated many times that residents pay so much in taxes we have to give something back to them. Is taking away the resident?’s police protection and their village what Bob Graves had in mind as to giving back to the residents?

Instead of looking for ways to help control spending or looking for solutions to the fiscal crisis the council and mayor have concentrated on making sure their agenda is first. The Fiscal Officer has stated that the Village will be spending almost $62,000 more than was appropriated for the year. Most of the overspending can be directly related to the hearing to remove Chief Consolo by the mayor and council. The cost of the hearing was over $8,000. Because the Police Department could not function properly during the hearing and low morale the Village lost almost $17,000 in revenue.

There have been large previously unpaid bills from the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and the IRS. Mayor Graves has stated to the news and at the Finance Meeting that she only learned about the $23,000 IRS bill two months ago. Mayor Graves was informed in May of this year about the debt. At that time council and the mayor stated that the bill to the IRS had to be paid in one lump sum, now suddenly the Village can setup a payment plan to pay the debt. Who has been minding the store?

The mayor and council have done nothing to help this Village or represent the residents. It has been pay me, make sure I get mine, and what can I give to my friends as opposed to making sure the residents have a Police Department to protect them and have the services they deserve and pay for. The TAX PAYING Residents and Property Owners deserve representation from individuals that care about them and this Village. The current council and mayor are not those individuals