Recordings from the special Village Board meeting held on December 22nd to approve an amended levy ordinance are available for review on the Village website.
A levy amount of $6,187.485 was approved by four board members present for the meeting. This compares to a $6,452,005 levy for the prior year and represents a reduction of $264,520 or approximately 4.1%.
The entire meeting lasted less than five minutes. To access the menu of edited audio recordings by agenda topic, click here.
A copy of the approved levy ordinance can be viewed and downloaded here.
For those of you who believe elections do not matter, take a look at the decrease in 2016 budgeted amounts for VBH compared to “Save 5 Acre” Majority Regime (2005-2013) actual expenditures spearheaded by prior VBH President. (Find these annual expenditures in VBH audited financials which are on line)
The savings under Pres. McLaughlin’s administration will be more than 1 Million Dollars to VBH taxpayers including a reduction of more than $50,000 into pension contribution for 2016. It is unfortunate VBH Board did not take advantage of historically low interest rates (Fed Reserve Rate “0”) to bond over pension obligation for future years as wisely urged by Pres. McLaughlin.
Given market conditions for 2016, it is almost certain this inaction will come back and haunt Trustees Gohl and Harrington who successfully created enough noise and fear at recent Board meetings through nonsensical argument via prepared script successfully stalling the pension bond vote while interest rates increased. Keep in mind VBH locally run pension plan assumes a 6.5% annual rate of return which is used in calculating annual contribution. The VBH plan has never yielded this annual rate of return even in the best market years.
There are still those on VBH Board who are willing to try and do political damage to Pres. McLaughlin even if it means damaging the taxpayers of VBH. May I reminde you, under Save 5 Acre regime annual pension obligation climbed from @150,000 under IL. Municipal Retirement Fund (“IMRF”) to more than $750,000 under VBH managed pension.
While 2016 budget reduces the annual obligation from $725,000 to $669,000, the decision to remove VBH police from IMRF to the locally run VBH pension is the financial “time bomb” that continues to tick for a host of reasons which I will save for another day.
For those of you who worked with me during my campaign for VBH Trustee, you know I was not very encouraged by this unknown new comer to VBH politics. But after watching his leadership these past few years and his continuing growing list of accomplishments with the help this year by a supportive board, VBH is truly blessed to have M. McLaughlin at the helm in this time in its history.
Pres. McLaughlin is simply a guy who made promises to VBH residents on the campaign trail and once elected, kept each these promises doing it with humility and style even in the face of some of the most boarish behavior I have ever seen. It was enough to make a horse blush!
Contratulations to Pres. McLaughlin and other VBH board members who worked so diligently in their mission of bending the cost curve finally putting a halt to the spendthrift ways of their “Save 5 Acres” predecessors. For those of us who follow VBH government and have knowledge of its recent history of “waste”, “corruption” and “mismanagement”, we are truly grateful for your service.
Hear Him ! Hear Him !!!