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Paid for by the Committee to Elect Jackie Holcombe. |
Jackie Holcombe for Mayor |
* VOTE: The motion passed with four ayes - Mayor Faulkner, Mayor Pro-Tem Johnson and Commissioners Stohlman and Snyder. From 4/22/08 Town of Morrisville Business Session minutes. (pages 7-10) |
What does Jackie mean when she says she wants to introduce "fiscal responsibility" within our town's government? |
* Spending must be based on a projected revenue stream, not on excessive tax increases * Recurring expenses cannot be routinely funded with one time revenues * Revenue and expense projections and reports must be clearly communicated and easily accessible by the public * Taxpayer funded land purchases must be for narrowly defined public purpose * Bond funds must be spent as approved by voters * Unexpected revenue shortfalls must be promptly addressed |
It is not only management of spending that defines fiscal responsibility, but also routine benchmarking, responsiveness to economic conditions, well defined priorities, and clear direction to staff to keep property tax rates low. “Taxpayers were understandably shocked at the 19% property tax increase proposed last year. Direction from elected officials in April* to raise tax bills by 19% was unnecessary.” |
Jackie believes that spending of bond money as approved by voters is critical to earning taxpayer confidence. “In 2004 and by an overwhelming majority, our voters approved a $5.7 million bond for constructing and equipping police and fire facilities. Yet some of those public safety funds were spent for other purposes. Better oversight is required.” |
* Providing clear council approved direction to staff * Pragmatically managing approved expenditures * Expanding accessibility to financial documents through simplified reporting * Requiring time based forecasts for all revenue and expenditures * Setting and publicizing clear and transparent funding priorities |
"Morrisville taxpayers deserve responsive leadership that will put in place conservative fiscal management practices, providing unambiguous direction to staff on spending priorities and implementing standards for clear, accessible financial reporting. Without raising taxes 19%.” |
As Mayor, Jackie will end the practices that led to last year’s proposed 19% property tax increase and the previous 10 year pattern of year-over-year double digit spending increases. She will introduce fiscal responsibility to town government by: |
Jackie believes that it is possible to ensure prudent stewardship of taxpayer funds by providing clear direction to staff, with close attention paid to service provision, infrastructure improvements and current economic conditions. “Morrisville has a solid tax base, good collection rates and historically strong growth. What is needed is fiscally conservative leadership that sets spending priorities based on taxpayer needs, not growth of government.” |