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Streets & Alleys & Parks
By focusing on the things that matter, PEP keeps Brookfield moving forward

Since Mike Garvey and the PEP Party took control of the Village Board in 2005, Brookfield has seen over $17 million in improvements to its aging infrastructure. Tackling the worst streets first, over seven miles of Brookfield’s streets have been repaved, and 2.8 miles of water mains have been replaced. Our village now has a state-of-the-art water metering system that no longer requires door to door meter readers, freeing up public works employees for other tasks. At any given time, staff knows how much water is being used where, making it easier to find problems. Billing is now accurate, and the Village is no longer seeing lost revenue go down the drain.

Through joint cooperation with residents and the Village, 17 alleys have been paved, with 8 more in the works for this year. The previous administration had paved only 4 alleys in 4 years.

Garvey and his Board have also overseen more than $1 million in improvements and repairs to Brookfield’s parks. Check out the major renovation project at Ehlert Park, funded mainly thru an Open Space and Land Acquisition and Development grant. New walking paths and sports fields, combined with improved drainage, make this a great asset to our Village. Other parks have seen improvements too, such as new bleachers and fencing, asphalt repaving, parking lot repair, and even removing the old ugly, berm at Kiwanis Park.

By focusing on these types of projects, Garvey and the PEP Party have been able to make tremendous improvements in the aging infrastructure of our Village.

PEP Initiates Ogden Avenue Makeover

Improving the appearance and economic viability of Ogden Avenue has been a campaign promise of nearly every Brookfield political party for decades. Mike Garvey and the PEP Party were the first to keep that promise. After nearly 2 years of planning, research, and legal work, the Village Board passed the required ordinances in September of 2008 to create the first ever Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) in Brookfield. The TIF District is an economic tool that will allow the Village to provide financing and other incentives to attract new, desirable businesses and to assist existing businesses in improving their development. Most importantly, it does not involve any property tax increases for residents or business owners.

Successful TIF’s have been used to create the exciting downtown improvements in LaGrange, the Quarry Mall in Hodgkins, and most of the improvements on Ogden in Lyons. The implementation and administration of the TIF District is a long-term process and not a quick fix. TIF’s have been talked about for years in Brookfield and were even recommended in the Village’s 2020 Master Plan, but no steps were ever taken to follow through on this strategy until Mike Garvey and the PEP Party took office in 2005. Hiring Village Manager Rick Ginex, who had extensive experience with TIF districts as the former manager of Downers Grove, was critical. Ginex assembled the necessary economic development team, including hiring Assistant Village Manager Keith Sbrial, who also had extensive TIF experience, and bringing in the leading TIF consultants in the region to make the creation of the TIF possible.

While the creation of the TIF District was one of the most important pieces of legislation ever passed by a Brookfield Village Board, President Garvey and the PEP Board know that for the TIF to bring real economic development and improvements to Ogden, professional management and oversight must continue. However, VIP Party presidential candidate and former Village Trustee, Wil Brennan has promised to fire the Village Manager and Assistant Village Manager if had the chance. During the Brennan/Russ administration, Brookfield had 3 Village Managers in 4 years, with no economic development initiatives at all.

Mike Garvey and the PEP Party candidates believe it is important to keep professional management and oversight of the TIF in place in order to keep Brookfield moving forward.

VIP CAMPAIGN STRATEGY: VOTER AMNESIA

VIP Party President John Gallagher said he could not conceal his pride about the great slate the VIP Party is running for the April 2009 Election. He claims the slate, led by Bill Russ and Wil Brennan, “judging by their past records,” are the people to get things done for the Village. He says they will bring “full discussion on all Village issues, no complaining, grandstanding, just work, action and tangible progress.” What was he thinking? Did he forget about the 4 years that Russ and Brennan controlled the Village with their VIP majority from 2001 to 2005?

Well, Bill Russ and Wil Brennan do have a past record, and it would appear that it is one they want the residents to forget. Their record is devoid of full discussion of the issues. Meaningful public comment was removed from Board meetings and critical decisions were discussed for the first time by the Board and voted on the same night with no chance for public input. “Work, action and tangible progress”? The VIP controlled Village Board routinely took the entire month of August off and went the entire month of December without meeting. They paved 4 alleys in 4 years. They ignored a scathing report on the condition of the Building Department and refused to address the problems. They cut all funding for economic development. Health inspections were stopped at Brookfield’s food establishments. Their record on fiscal responsibility? It is atrocious! Three out four years of deficit spending drew reserves down 2.7 million dollars. The state required Village audit was filed late 3 out of 4 years.

The VIP Party wants you to think that because Bill Russ has given up on the idea of getting elected Village President again, that things will be different with Wil Brennan running for President and Bill running for Village Clerk. They must be hoping that Brookfield residents have the same case of amnesia that John Gallagher apparently has. They want people to forget that Brennan was the Finance Chairman in the Russ administration, including the time period when Bill secretly used Village funds to pay his friend’s property taxes. What did Brennan know about this? What does he think about it now? Brennan voted for each of the deficit budgets under Russ, never questioning the late audits, never questioning abuse of Village credit cards by Russ, never questioning Russ plastering his name all over village property. Brennan turned his back when water bills were improperly written off for friends and party members, including Russ’ own water bill. And what about that report that was so critical of the code department? Brennan responded that he wanted to do something about it too, but his “hands were tied”. By who? Russ? How can you trust someone who has repeatedly ignored his oath of office to protect the residents’ tax dollars?

The residents will remember that Bill Russ and Wil Brennan had their chance when they ran the Village for 4 years. They will remember the 4 years and 14 VIP campaign workers hired as Village employees, 3 Village Managers in 4 years, 3 Village Attorney’s is 4 years, numerous Village Board and Committee resignations, and late audits and deficit spending. Brookfield cannot afford to repeat the Brennan/Russ mistakes.

That’s the thing about the past...it can’t be changed. But, the residents can avoid repeating it.

FOCUS ON GRANTS BRINGS IN BIG DOLLARS
Nearly $7 million in grants brought in under PEP

When Village President Mike Garvey and his board were looking over resumes for a new village manager, one of the most important criteria was to find someone who had the knowledge and expertise to aggressively pursue available grant money. Garvey and the PEP Board found their man in Rick Ginex. Since coming on board in 2005, Ginex and his staff have been able to procure and administer nearly $7 million in grant money. Some have been small but important grants, like the one for bullet-proof vests for the police department or the one for breathing apparatus for the fire department. Others have been large like the $5,143,000 in federal money for street improvements. Other grants have been obtained for improvements to the Prairie Avenue and Congress Park train stations, the Village Hall commuter parking lot, improvements to Ehlert Park, the pedestrian bridge, and streetscaping improvements along Broadway. Every dollar received in grant money is a dollar less that the Village Board needs to go to the residents for.

Ginex and his staff have been able to obtain these grants in-house at no additional cost. Prior to Ginex taking over, the previous administration had used an outside grant writer due to the then-village manager’s lack of experiencewith the grant process. The outside grant writer was paid $400 per month, plus 5% commission on any grant received. If that contract had been in place now, over $350,000 of the grant money would have been paid out in commissions! Hats off to Ginex and his staff for not only bringing in nearly $7 million in grant dollars, but also for saving us $350,000 in the process!

A Bigger Bang For Your Buck

Since taking office in 2005, Mike Garvey and the PEP Village Board have continually sought to bring fiscal responsibility back to Brookfield. One of their first goals was to insist that staff submit a balanced budget each year, with realistic revenue projections and responsible expense requests. This was extremely important due to the out of control spending that Garvey and his Board inherited from the previous administration, where their years of deficit spending drew down reserves $2.7 million!

Simple but logical improvements have continued in the financial area. For instance, the fiscal year was changed to mirror the calendar year. Previously, the fiscal year ran from May 1 to April 30. By changing the fiscal year, construction projects are able to be bid earlier, prices are more competitive, and projects are completed sooner. Imagine under the prior system trying to go out for bids in early summer for work to be done that year!!

The budgeting process has also improved. In the past, Department Heads would submit their budgets simply based on the past year, with across the board increases. This left the Village Board with little input in the process, and led to increased spending. Now, the Board sets goals for the departments, and they are held accountable in reaching these goals. This has led to better accountability, more controlled spending, and overall better planning.

In these challenging economic times, Brookfield residents rely on their Village Board to look out for the taxpayer money. By taking a fiscally responsible approach, Mike Garvey and the PEP Board have been able to operate under balanced budgets, submit financial audits on time, and reign in out of control spending. This is the kind of approach that will keep Brookfield moving forward.
 

Village Wins Financial Award

Village staff announced that Brookfield has once again received A Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, presented by the Government Finance Officers. This award is given out to government units whose comprehensive annual financial reports achieve the highest standards in government accounting and reporting. This is the third straight year that Brookfield has received this award while under the leadership of Mike Garvey and the PEP Party. The Village did not receive the award from 2003-2005 under the prior Brennan/Russ administration.