Batavia School Board to Vote on Artificial Turf

Posted on January 26, 2016 by seektruth

School board meeting tonight. Topic: artificial turf.

They have on tonight’s agenda the grand total for track, turf, and construction/installation of $1.4 million, and how they plan to pay for it: $400k from 2017 budget for the track (taxes), $300k from anticipated budget surpluses in 2016 and 2017 (taxes), $200k from inactive student activity accounts (money students raised from fundraising), $200k from the Boosters, $300k from future fundraising (taxes until reimbursed, IF reimbursed). Continue reading →

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BPS101 Seeks $12 Million in Bonds

Posted on January 15, 2016 by seektruth

This past Tuesday (1/12/16), the Batavia School Board voted to apply for $12 million in bonds for capital projects through a program administered by the state. The bonds would, if awarded, have a higher interest rate than market value. The taxpayers would pay the interest, then the board would submit forms for reimbursement for part of the interest. The funds for interest reimbursement would come from the federal government and could be subject to sequestration or suspension of the program. The bond advisor recommended language be put in the contract to provide for the opportunity to refinance the bonds on the open market should the government fail to pay.

Despite the explanation with its caveats, board members Dremel, Lowe, Locke, and Stoops voted to seek the bonds; Gaspar and Dryden voted no. The measure passed.

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$12 Million in Bonds for the School District?

Posted on January 11, 2016 by seektruth
This Tuesday, 1/12/16, is a special school board meeting that among other things will involve the board taking a vote on whether or not to apply for $12 million in low or no interest bonds for capital projects. (Never mind the voters not long ago voted down $15 million in bonds.) These bonds come from the federal government via the state, and there’s no guarantee we would get them.
The bonds would not be allowed to pay for the artificial turf that is currently out for bid, but it would free up funds from the budget that could possibly go to the turf. At the last meeting it was made clear that there would be no cuts from the annual $1.5 million budget for capital projects, so the cost of paying this back would be added directly onto the tax levy, with taxes to pay back debt not subject to the state tax cap.
These bonds would not require a referendum to pass. However, Administration admitted residents could put it to referendum if they would do the work of collecting signatures.
If you would like to give the board your opinion on whether or not they should even pursue these bonds, there is a contact button at right.

 

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Former BPS101 Superintendent Ranks in Biggest Pension Payouts

Posted on December 6, 2015 by seektruth

Taxpayers United of America has compiled a list of the 200 biggest government pensions in IL. 81 of the 200 come from the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS). They then narrowed the list to the top 50 pensioners in the TRS.

Jack Barshinger, former Superintendent at Batavia, ranks #29 on that list of top TRS pensioners. The list can be found here (broken link from 2015; 2017 data drops him to #31 , with his annual pension up to $243,968). The 2015 entry for Barshinger reads:

29. Jack Barshinger •Title: District Superintendent • Employer: Batavia USD 101 • Annual Pension: $229,963 • Employee Contributions: $307,184 • Age at Retirement: 59 (Retired June 2013) • Pension Paid to Date: $350,381 • *Estimated Lifetime Pension Payout: $8.27 million • Percentage of Lifetime Estimate Paid by Employee: 3.7%

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School Board Raises Taxes by Maximum–Again

Posted on November 20, 2015 by seektruth

The Batavia School Board voted Tuesday, Nov. 17 to raise the levy by the maximum allowed by law (.8% + new construction). The vote was unanimous.

They also voted to spend $56,000 on a design proposal for artificial turf at the football field.

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City Council Cares

Posted on November 20, 2015 by seektruth

On Monday, Nov. 16, 2015, the Batavia City Council did something remarkable for a unit of government: at the public hearing on the budget, they listened to the people and voted to cut a final $150,000 from the budget so as to not raise property taxes.

Yes, just about everything else is going up, as the Prairie State burden keeps growing and infrastructure is aging and in need of work (increases: 6% electricity, 3% water, 6% sewer, $1 leaf and brush pickup, 1 cent gas tax, new 2% liquor tax), but that property tax sure felt like the last straw. Citizens have some control with consumption taxes, but the property tax would have hit everyone, with no way to reduce the impact. A few dollars added to the property tax bill may not seem like much, but it all adds up.

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Artificial Turf + Tax Levy Increase = Out of Touch School Board

Posted on November 14, 2015 by seektruth

On the agenda for Tuesday night’s (Nov. 17) Batavia School Board meeting:

  1. Vote to spend $56,000 on a design proposal for artificial turf. According to estimates from Sep. 2014, the artificial turf itself plus the necessary storm water detention that goes with it, would cost nearly $2 million for installation. Continue reading →
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City Budget Disaster

Posted on November 14, 2015 by seektruth

While the first meeting on the proposed 2016 Batavia city budget sounded as if the Council was really concerned about imposing greater burden on citizens, the second meeting was a tax-and-spend nightmare. Continue reading →

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City Budget Talks–Round 2

Posted on November 11, 2015 by seektruth

Tomorrow (Thursday) night will be the 2nd meeting for the City of Batavia’s 2016 budget. If you have any questions or concerns, the meeting is at 7pm, City Hall.

From last week’s meeting:
Not touched (assumed to be a given): 6% electricity rate increase, 3% water increase, 6% sewer increase

Discussed and leaning toward: increase leaf and brush pickup fee $12/yr (total $48/yr), increase gas tax $.01/gal (total $.02/gal), new 2% liquor tax, no property tax increase

City Finance Director Peggy Colby did an excellent job of laying out possible budget cuts, but unfortunately, the Council got sidetracked by “how to increase taxes more here to avoid increasing taxes there” and did not fully explore the options for cutting expenses. Maybe this week?

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Rate Hikes on the Horizon

Posted on October 12, 2015 by seektruth

To be discussed Tuesday, October 13, 7:30pm City Hall are proposed significant rate hikes for water, sewer, stormwater, and roads. This immediately follows a proposed electricity rate hike of 5.88% + $1.25 increase in monthly fee (discussion postponed last week).

What’s going on? Show up Tuesday night and find out.

Update (10/25/15): Discussion postponed yet again on October 13. Nothing on the agenda this week. Still waiting….

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