Edgar County Board: Taxes Don’t Come From Taxpayers-

If the Hotel/Motel tax doesn’t come from the taxpayers, where does it come from? Or where do the Board members THINK it comes from? I’d like to know.
Plus, I have to agree with Mr. Bogue. We do not need to do expensive upgrades to an airport that isn’t used by the majority of the county taxpayers. That’s just not fair to the residents of Edgar County. With the state of our county finances, the airport should be at the bottom of the list of things to spend money on! Our County Board needs to wake up and do what is right for all residents.

Has Adonna Bennett checked the cleanliness of the courthouse yet? We need that status report at the next county board meeting.

Edgar County currently owes about one half million dollars in old debt. We’re making payments on that.
In this past year, Edgar County has not made the intended payments to some other county funds as were budgeted… in order to meet shortfalls such as has occurred with the sheriffs expenditures.

We are operating in the “red” by definition, spending more than we can afford and more than were taking in.

Their remain unfunded court house needs such as a new roof (another half million), a new jail (who knows how many millions will be spent there), and a laundry list of other very expensive obligations just ahead. In regards to the sheriffs spending, a good part of that is mandated, that’s reality.

Edgar County has just passed an unpopular increase to our local (sales) taxes of 1% on top of a 7% increase… all in a state that is desperately broke and year behind in paying many of its accounts.
Illinois will likely be forced to do the same. Raise taxes.
In addition, Edgar County has just raised nearly all service fees to its residents. There are few options; there is no additional revenue on the horizon.

Add to this, in the past few years our Edgar County Board has sold off nearly everything that isn’t not nailed down (such as our mass transit) to generate revenue.
At the moment the only available asset that could be liquidated is the Kreckman Building. That building has already been appraised and appears to be in preparation for sale…but one that’s been in use by the county.

Our current financial situation is getting desperate and requires changes. Spending needs reduced, or higher taxes are in our future again.

As we are slowly bankrupting ourselves and drowning in debt, the AIRPORT EXPANSION PROJECT, AIRPORT ZONING and the AIRPORT itself are recognized by many taxpayers as nothing more than purely elective spending that directly benefits as few as 6 local residents and their aircraft.

The facts are, the county already provides adequate funding of about $80,000.00 each year to our airport. In addition the revenues generated at the airport, about $60,000.00, are not used to reimburse the general fund but kept by our airport as optional spending money. Optional spending money for use in funding airport expansion projects that offer little additional benefit to the entire Edgar County taxpayer base.

We already own and operate the airport. In these economic times, expansion at our airport is simply too expensive for this county.

This $60,000.00 in airport revenue needs to be retuned to the general fund as it should have been all along.
In our prevailing economic situation; these funds should be used in paying off our outstanding debt as quickly as possible and in meeting our sheriffs departments shortfall of 75 or so thousand dollars: and in responsible preparation for the needs ahead.

WE DO NOT NEED AIRPORT ZONING FOR A PROJECT WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT; FOR ONE THAT WE CANNOT AFFORD; FOR ONE WE DO NOT NEED AND FOR ONE THAT WASTES LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL DOLLARS.
We do need our sheriff’s department to provide services.

This county can accomplish the airport’s 24/7 fuel access need, a true need of the airport by spending 5% of a $30,000.00 project ($1,500.00) …………………………AND NOT $60,000.00 this year.

This is far better than adding a combined debt of 1.3 million dollars to everyone.

There is no such thing as free money…if there was our pockets would be full. Adding debt to our county taxpayers for airport expansion, such as this, also requires matching funds from our bankrupt state. The State of Illinois can only borrow their contribution and increase taxes on us!

Our federal government is in the same predicament. It will incur debt until it cannot take on any more and then increase taxes to pay off the unwarranted spending of free money on projects that were of little benefit; that utilized “free money”.

Thank you for reading this, Sincerely Rob.