Demand fiscal accountability

Demand fiscal accountability

EDITOR:

Regrettably, being a watchdog of taxpayer’s dollars is not Liberty Local School Districts forte because something notable happened when a performance audit was completed on the district that should be a major embarrassment to the members of the board, the administrators, the superintendent, and an insult to the taxpayers of Liberty Township. The audit in detail explained how and where to save $1.2 million of the residents’ tax dollars. In the audit, the LLSD treasurer reported that even with renewals of the 7.9- and 3.1-mill levies, the deficit would swell to approximately $11.7 million by FY 2012-13. Fellow residents, to buy our way out of this (if possible) will cause indisputable hardships to Liberty’s tax base leaving no household untouched for years, if not decades.

Asking senior citizens on fixed incomes and low to middle income homeowners who may be a check away from foreclosure, bankruptcy, or unemployment to find money they don’t have, is as ludicrous as the organization that supported the levy in the spring election saying, “We should pass the levy for Walmart.” In monthly meetings, I asked the board numerous times, “How did you get in this financial mess?” and their answer was always a blank stare. Noting that administrative costs are more than double the peer average, a resident’s request asking the board to discontinue the special bonus given to administrative members was met with, “We don’t want to demoralize them.” I asked the board to forgo the levy in lieu of the economic conditions and numerous home foreclosures. “We get it, we all get it”, says the board president, and then they proceeded to a unanimous vote to place the new 9.9-mill levy back on the November ballot.

Finally, of the $53 billion dollars set aside in the federal government stimulus package to retain teachers for the next two years because of property tax losses, Ohio received over $1.9 billion and hopefully it gives the receiving school districts enough time to get their acts together. Until then, I encourage all Liberty voters to say no, again to this levy. Don’t make the vote of those who support the levy worth more than yours.

EDWARD E. PALUMBO Jr.

Liberty Township