GOV, Broadview a financial mess [BV]

I like Broadview, but after reading Suburban Life (Debrah Bonn) Village President Henry Vicenik seems woefully out-of-touch, almost senile. Vicenik is talking about homerule when it's clear Broadview isn't taking care of basics.

If the Village of Broadview can't do the simple stuff, why should residents vote to give the incompetents more power?

Here are some quotes:

A 2003-2004 budget could not be located....

If Broadview can't even find its budget, it's probably safe to say it wasn't used as a management tool.

[Auditor] Zabinski said the village did not produce revenue projections for the year so it's unclear if the revenues exceeded or trailed expectations.

...unclear if the revenues exceeded or trailed expectations?

The water fund, which lost more than $233,000, was another area of concern for Zabinski.

"A deficit in the water fund is a concern because it should have reserves for capital repairs in the future," she said. "You should always try to run a positive there to cover your capital outlay, and this is the second year in a row they've had a deficit."

Trustee and finance committee chair Sam D'Anza pointed out that the audit doesn't include changes made to the water and garbage funds in 2005.

"Hopefully, these funds will be in better shape," he said.

Hopefully? Is this faith-based governing at the local level?

When asked by residents, he said home rule and its additional taxing power is "something that we have to consider."

The first step is to manage Broadview competently under the existing rules. Then if Broadview needs more power, then consider homerule.

Village staff isn't getting the job done and it doesn't sound like the elected officials are really competent either. Unless the article is misrepresenting the situation it's time for personnel changes in Broadview.