The Truth About Parks Funding: Hieftje and Company’s “Half Promise”
Recently a draft version of this article was inadvertently posted by POW!. POW! apologizes for this error. The correct version is below.
The Truth About Parks Funding: Hieftje and Company’s “Half Promise”
By Karen Sidney
The John Hieftje for Mayor campaign mailing just arrived. It contains a claim that Hieftje fought to increase the general fund allocation for parks. Here’s the real story.
When the city asked voters to pay more taxes for parks, Council passed a resolution saying that future parks general fund spending would increase or decrease at the same rate as all other general fund spending. The purpose of the resolution was to reassure voters that there would be more money for parks by preventing council from shifting parks expenses paid from the general fund to the new millage.
Voters subsequently approved increased parks funding through a ballot proposal that increased the millage. Instead of utilizing these funds approved by voters to increase overall parks funding, the next budget moved parks expenses for things like maintaining athletic fields and playgrounds from the general fund to the new millage. That freed up general fund money for other things, essentially turning the increased parks millage into a tax for non parks spending.
Council member Johnson introduced a budget amendment in May 2007 to restore $638,900 in parks general fund spending. Only council members Steve Kunselman and Ron Suarez joined him in voting to keep the promise made to voters. Mayor Hieftje and other council members voted no. Council members Mike Anglin and Sabra Briere were not on council at that time.
<http://www2.a2gov.org/legistar/detailreport/Reports/Temp/7242008144444.pdf>
The public refused to believe the council majority’s assurances that everything could be explained by the city’s method of accounting. In the August 2007 primary, voters chose Mike Anglin and Sabra Briere over candidates backed by council veterans. Two months later, council member Johnson was able to get council support to restore $287,586 of parks general fund spending. Mayor Hieftje co-sponsored the Johnson resolution. In other words, Mayor Hieftje and the council majority restored only half the amount they had promised to deliver for parks even after primary losses to grass roots candidates Anglin and Briere.
Additionally, the parks millage lasts for five years but the “half promise” is good for only 2 years. The latest budget documents call this funding a one-time expense. That’s budget speak saying the “half promise” will be cut from the next budget. Don’t be surprised if the next budget also revives the proposal to spend parks millage money for police. Whether the council majority gets away with spending the extra parks millage money for other things will depend on how many of the grass roots challengers (Vivienne Armentrout, Stew Nelson and Pat Lesko) get elected in August. They are all running against candidates endorsed by Mayor Hieftje.
(Karen Sidney is a local political activist and special guest writer for POW!)