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Johnston marches toward financial disaster Guest Article by Former Johnston Mayor Dean Campbell web posted June 3, 2009 JOHNSTON – When I left the Johnston Mayor’s office three years ago, I told the Johnston Town Council I’d be keeping an eye on them. I have. Now, I think it’s time our citizens get a glimpse of a financial fiasco that we citizens are about to pay for. For three years, the Mayor and Council have apparently shut their eyes when it came to budget management, so they ended up raising taxes they didn’t need and spending money they don’t have. How do I know? Let’s look at the facts. First, Mayor Willie Campbell has raised taxes, with Town Council agreement, each year for the past two years, and he will get another tax increase in this year’s budget as well – three years in office, three tax increases. Second, his past two budgets have eliminated commercial garbage service and laid off town employees. However, even with all these savings – more than $70,000 worth per year, according to the Town, or nearly 10 percent of the Town’s budget – the Town is still spending more money than they are taking in and asking citizens to pay for it. And the Town has nothing to show for it. When I left office in 2006, the Town’s operating fund was in good shape, and there was more than a half million dollars in savings. Now, after three years, the Town has spent its surplus money – its savings accounts – down to a low not seen in many years. Even their independent auditor has said their spending has put them at the lowest point in her memory. Don’t take my word for it. I encourage you to check the finances yourself. You’ll find that the numbers don’t lie; the Town was in sound financial shape in 2006, and the economy has not been the culprit each year since. Also, I didn’t leave office any unseen budget issues to correct. The problem is that the Mayor and Council have ignored two basic tenants of sound financial planning: 1) Manage your budget all year, and 2) In hard economic times, you rely on the surplus funds you put aside when times were good. I warned the Council two years ago during their budget debate when I said in a letter to them: “I understand that a tax increase of 3 mills seems small because the increase means only a handful of extra dollars has to be paid by each citizen every year. However, an unnecessary tax increase, which I believe this one is, begins the process of the Mayor and Council saying, ‘Let’s just put in a few mills every year, just in case we need it.’” In addition, I also told them in that same letter: “There are two things to consider when we talk about budgets. First, as you know, a budget is a document that you decide how much money to spend in what area. That’s obvious, I know. However, the harder part – the part I believe you’re now missing – is budget management. The Mayor, Council and staff have to monitor the budget weekly to keep spending under control. What constant tax increases will show citizens is that the budget is being managed ineffectively, especially when there’s no overriding reason for the tax increase.” Two years later, I stand by those statements. Now, when the Town’s budget gets the first of two readings on Monday, citizens should expect the increase in taxes, topped off with a new, and potentially large, garage collection fee, along with an increase in building permits, and perhaps efforts to take the money out of employees’ pockets. The Mayor, Council and Administrator will blame the economy. Don’t believe it; this financial issue began three years ago with poor decision-making in a good economy. That decision-making hasn’t gotten any better, either. One final note: In the past month, I have attended two town budget workshops and one regular meeting where the budget was discussed. I am disappointed that no member of the public or the media attended either of the budget workshops – meetings open to the public where the real work on the budget is conducted. I pray the Mayor and Council can prove me wrong and not put their budget woes on the backs of citizens or employees. However, in the meantime, Johnston citizens need to know that our town is on the brink of financial disaster. If our town’s elected leadership continues down this road, our town will drown in red ink, services will continue to be cut, and taxes and fees will continue to increase sharply. While everyone will feel the pain, make no mistake that our low-income citizens will suffer the most. That’s not an opinion; it’s a fact. © Copyright 2009
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