Brookfield First is a group of concerned homeowners that love the Village of Brookfield and are very concerned about Brookfield’s future! We want to keep all residents informed about the actions of our village board and staff and how it affects US the residents and taxpayers.

Our platform reflects the view that the primary mission of Village government is to competently and economically provide basic municipal services, and to address other issues that may arise, including proposed development projects, in an open and forthright manner in accordance with the applicable provisions of village codes, in a manner intended to preserve the historic character of the Village which we cherish, and to take into account both the interests of potentially impacted individual residents as well as the interests of the Village as whole. As a result, we see Village government primarily focused on its role as a responsible steward of Village affairs.

As simple as that mission may sound, we believe that in recent years our Village government has drifted from that platform, creating the need for an organization like ours. It is our hope and expectation that we will work cooperatively with other groups interested in good local government, and that when the philosophy we advocate is put into practice, even potentially divisive issues can be addressed in a spirit of civility and neighborliness.

At all times, we would welcome your participation in our committee's work, and your comments, ideas and questions. To that end, we invite you to utilize the BROOKFIELD FIRST OPINION SURVEY PAGE feature of this website consistent with the procedures described there to promote honesty and accountability.

Thank you for your interest in Brookfield First.

PLEASE READ OUR FIRST VILLAGE WIDE BROOKFIELD FIRST NEWSLETTER BELOW…

BROOKFIELD FIRST

SUMMER 2009 NEWSLETTER - FIRST EDITION

As a group of residents who are seriously concerned with the direction that our Village is headed we decided that our best course of action is to help keep you the residents of Brookfield informed. We believe that the changes our village board and manager have taken over the last few months will have dire consequences on all of us if left unchecked. To this end, we are initiating a newsletter called BROOKFIELD FIRST. And with this initiation we are hoping that we will be able to reach out to you and that you will give us your support and feed back on the matters contained within each and every issue. In future issues, we will be providing you with a recap of the actions that the village board and village manager have taken on your behalf. When you receive future issues, whether you are glad or mad about what is going on, please contact us. Your opinion counts and we will do everything we can to make sure your opinion is heard. In the meantime, we hope you find this first issue interesting as well as informative.

Where has all the money gone?
Money problems started back in December 2007 when the village board was banking on strong property values to help balance the budget for year 2008. Per the Landmark dated December 18, 2007, “On December 10, 2007 village officials unveiled a revised budget that leans heavily on the most recent reassessment of Brookfield properties, estimating that the village will take in at least $300,000.00 more in property taxes in 2008 than it did in 2007”. This did not happen. OOP’s.

Another big blow came about last fall when the village manager forgot to submit the tax levy to the County for the library to the tune of $669,000.00. The Village was then stuck paying the levy amount to the library from our general fund. This money will never be recouped. If we had that money today, we wouldn’t be in such a horrible monetary mess. This short fall caused under the Village Manager’s watch has had a devastating effect on the Village budget. Has anyone had to answer for this? We haven’t heard any apologies, have you???

Village Layoffs
As most of you know, the village has laid off seven full time employees and two part time employees. The employees that were laid off include one fireman, one secretary from the fire department, two police dispatchers, two public works employees, and one village hall clerk. While we are aware that in this economic slowdown some lay offs may have been unavoidable, we can’t help but ask ourselves the question, what if we had the $669,000 dollars we spent on the library levy? We also have to question why not one management position was eliminated. Is the residents’ safety not that important?

I guess it doesn’t matter if you don’t live in Brookfield. I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s not your spouse or child that needs the help of our police or firemen. Right now our village has one management position for every three employees. A little top heavy to say the least.

These layoffs affect all of us who live in Brookfield. Here’s how. Even though no police officers were laid off, the village was already down two officers, one due to a termination earlier last year and the other due to a hiring freeze. With two dispatchers laid off, we have to take one officer per shift off the street to cover the emergency calls coming in from the residents. The public works lost two employees. This will affect the residents by having fewer employees to plow your streets and to keep the appearance of our village (they have already cancelled the spring pick up). Incidentally, the public works department has four supervisors and twelve employees. The absence of the village hall clerk has left the village short handed resulting in slower times for the residents to get answers to their questions. Try calling the village hall and see if you get someone to answer the phone.

The final layoff is the one that scares us the most and that is the fireman that was laid off. Did you know that the village was already short one fireman? Another fireman is on sick leave and another left his position for a job with another village. So technically we are now short three firefighters. As a result we now have seven firemen/paramedics per shift. This means that four men are committed to the two ambulances and that leaves one fireman to man each of the three trucks. At the north fire station if the ambulance is out on a call, that leaves one man to answer any call north of the tracks. Isn’t there some sort of national standard for Fire Departments? Is this really in the best interest of our residents? Let’s hope that no one loses their property or a life due to this layoff.

Water Bills and Vehicle Stickers
At the June 8, 2009 village board meeting, a resident asked why you couldn’t pay your water bill or get your vehicle sticker at the village hall anymore. It has to be done either by mail or with the three drop boxes located in the village. President Garvey stated that many other communities were doing the same thing due to the recession. Village Manager Ginex stated that the staff recommended that the village do this to help them complete their daily duties. Again we found ourselves asking the question, “Isn’t helping the residents of Brookfield job #1”? Out of 27 surrounding communities that we contacted we discovered that 26 of these communities continue and encourage their residents to pay their water bills at the village hall. These same communities also encourage the residents to purchase the vehicle stickers at the village hall. However several of the communities we contacted do not issue vehicle stickers. But the only community that does not allow you to pay your water bill or get your vehicle sticker at the village hall??? BROOKFIELD. We wonder where President Garvey got his information.

Finally
What is right with our Village is not what the Village Board or Manager does but what the residents do. Brookfield has many fine, hard working and devoted residents. In this our inaugural issue we would like to take the time to thank a resident who has gone over and beyond the call of duty – not just once or once a year but year after year. Betty LeClere we feel exemplifies what is really fine and great about our village. As current president of the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce (not to mention the Rotary Club too), Betty has overseen the creation of some really wonderful programs. We cannot thank her enough for all the work that she has done for the village. We hope that you agree too. So, when you see Betty, why not thank her yourself.