Letter to the Editor: Are we getting the planning we deserve before paying for this massive referendum?
There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical of the 112.8 million dollar referendum we’re going to vote on soon. This is the 2nd largest referendum in Champaign County history, and thus, with so much on the line, it requires (in my opinion) more justification than a typical referendum. A brief look at some facts brings some grave concern.
First, Mahomet has collected record property taxes this year, and the numbers are increasing far faster than enrollment. Since 2013 revenues are 70% higher, while enrollment is only up about 10%. Property tax revenues (the primary school funding source) are projected to continue to increase dramatically in future years due to development.
Second, Mahomet has had accurate projections of enrollment for decades. Despite revenue growing 7x faster than enrollment, the village has failed to plan for building space issues and has used taxpayer funds for other items. Now that it’s a “crisis” (caused by lack of planning) they say they desperately need even more money from the taxpayer.
Third, no one from the village board or school board has acknowledged the slightest bit of mismanagement of taxpayer funds. Excuses are plenty, but there is absolutely no accountability. There is no evidence that changes in planning, transparency, or accountability are coming. No, they just want more money. Is it reasonable to ask that they first show the ability to responsibly spend their record haul of taxpayer funds first, and acknowledge their lack of planning and how they plan to change their approach, before we give them more money?
Fourth, the current plan, while nice in some aspects, suggests that the planning is likely not considering very important factors, especially related to future growth. This publication reports that the plan may be short sided, exceeding capacity in maybe less than 10 years. Then we may have another “crisis” and another property tax increase to cover their poor planning. Nor do the planners seem to be paying attention to the national trends in enrollment due to declining birth rates. Current projections appear to be nothing more than simplistic extrapolation of current trends, which may no longer apply.
It does not seem unreasonable to demand i) a robust analysis of the projections that justify this plan, ii) accountability for past failure to plan despite record revenues above inflation and enrollment, and iii) a public plan that addresses previous planning shortcomings to ensure they don’t happen again. Absent this, it’s hard for me to support a record tax increase for any project proposed by the current staff.
Nick G.
I can’t agree more, there seems to be no accountability or owning up to the fact that there have been some bad decisions made in the past, and the community really hasn’t seen any improvements that would rebuild the confidence in the board’s decision making, granted it’s mostly not the same people but we keep getting the same results.
I just drove by the renovated Columbia Center (Unit 4 Champaign),which was built in the early 1900’s and that renovation included a roof, elevator, hvac work, and much more for about $11M. Sangamon elementary was sold for $750k, less than half the assessed value, at a time it was already evident that the school was at capacity. Why can’t we own up to the fact it was screwed up to sell it, buy it back, put $5-$10M in it and reopen it for something? But I’m sure there are lots of reasons why $100M plans have been the only options for the past few years. I can’t wait to have this on the ballot again in 4 years….
Amen!
Absolutely right. Thank you for writing this letter.