Written by Bob Balgemann
The board of trustees received copies of the spending plan for the first time during a budget review meeting at 6 p.m. March 12.
The public was not allowed to see the documents until 4:30 p.m. Friday. Since the township office closes at 4:30 the real first opportunity for residents to see the plan is when the office reopens Monday morning.
….General assistance is “up a couple of bucks’’ he said of the amount of money township government spends to help people in need. Belvidere Township budgeted $279,510 during the 2011-12 fiscal year and spent $47,945
….
As promised last year, the township is reducing its the general fund levy by 22 percent and the road fund levy by 24 percent.
Click on the following for more details: Public may see new Belvidere Township budget now | Belvidere Daily Republican
Lydia Gonzalez Reply
March 22, 2013 at 11:11 am
What does “maintaining enough money “to cover ourselves.” actually mean? It needs to be clearly stated and written. If Township only spent approximately 23% of the “General Assistance” fund then why didn’t they use the money to help folks, especially those in need, which I believe the money is supposed to be used for.
If Township salaries are included in the “General Assistance” fund the cost should be separated. I don’t know if the Township was aware there is a growing number of high school students that are homeless. This is a group that needs to be sought and helped.
It is terribly unfair that young people who have the ambition to finish high school don’t have a place to call home, and have a roof over their heads at night. Who knows there could be a future mayor or state representative in this group of young folk.
We need to do a whole lot better for the community if we ever want to feel pride for what Belvidere has the potential to accomplish.
