Mount Pleasant Board out of touch

Faced with a drop in revenue, the Village of Mount Pleasant is raising its tax rate 10.5 percent. Excuses are rampant, of course. But, unlike businesses which have to deal with economic downturns by cutting back, the Village forges ahead with new expenditures. Sure to satisfy our public servants, plans include new Village Hall facilities that exceed the generous gifted amount, when a more frugal facility, reflecting a 25 percent reduction in frills, would be more in line with economic times.

But, we are told we should not worry, for this budget is coming in more than $1 million under what the state allows. Sounds so very good. But what is the village administrator not telling this newspaper? Namely, that even though the village population has gone up at most 20 percent, the level of debt has gone up about 150 percent in a mere 10 years. The Village Board hides true costs by means of huge borrowing.

Non-TIF (tax incremental financing) debt has doubled in 10 years. And should this economic downturn "wallow" for years to come, which will deter growth, the Village residents will also be saddled with repayment of TIF debt as well. Yet the huge spending over the past 10 years continues. It's ignored in newspaper interviews and it's all hidden behind a growing debt service line-item in the budget.

Perhaps if these facts were honestly addressed, or if the expenditures of the past 10 years were not buried, we'd be singing a different song about the extra 25 percent being thrown at the proposed Village Hall, as well as the obfuscation of the growing impacts from increased spending. At the budget hearing Monday night, I am sure the village staff will be on hand to support their interests, no matter how out of touch they might be with economic realities.

Thomas Melzer

Mount Pleasant