Reforms address Water Commission, budget issues

January 21, 2010 (Lombard, IL) – Better communication and higher professional requirements for board members are just a few reforms to the DuPage County Water Commission announced today by DuPage County Board Chairman Candidate Dan Cronin. Joined by DuPage County Board Member District 4 Candidate Brad Webb, Cronin proposed a comprehensive, eight-point fiscal accountability agenda to address concerns about the Water Commission as well as the county’s budget process.

“People are rightfully outraged about the missing $19 million at the Water Commission and want to know why this happened,” Cronin said. “It’s important that we take action to prevent this from happening again in the future.” Cronin and Webb propose a bi-annual report by the Water Commission to the DuPage County Board and a group of mayors and managers. The plan also seeks specific professional requirements for future Water Commission board members, including experience in finance, accounting or engineering.

Cronin and Webb also outlined a plan to mitigate any budget crisis caused by the sustained economic recession. “In more than 600 pages of budget documents, there is no crisis plan if revenues fall short,” Webb said. “Frankly, as a business owner, this makes no sense to me. You have to prepare for the worst, especially in this uncertain economy.”

The proposal would require the formation of a crisis budget plan should revenues fail to meet projections in future budgets. Department heads and elected officials would be asked to submit prioritized reductions that could be immediately implemented to achieve cost savings. Furthermore, Cronin and Webb contend that the county needs a long-term financial plan based on economic realities. “The current budget is based on an economic recovery this year,” Cronin said. “While we all hope this occurs, it’s unclear when the economy will fully recover and how long it will impact county government.”

In order to determine if county services are cost effective, Cronin and Webb recommend the creation of a performance measuring system. “Taxpayers need to know if they are receiving a solid return on their investment,” Cronin said. “We need to look at every tax dollar we spend. Does the result justify the cost? This is what we need to know.” The National Advisory Council of State and Local Budgeting recommends such a benchmarking system to ensure tax dollars are “making efficient use of resources.”

Cronin also discussed working with other local officials to consolidate services and save money. “Every unit of government is suffering from the impact of this recession,” Cronin said. “This is an opportunity to work cooperatively and creatively to make sure needed services are still offered without asking for more money from overburdened taxpayers.”