GOV, Broadview cuts staff to balance the budget [BV]

Suburban Life (Debrah Bonn):

Broadview residents are mobilizing against the termination of 36 village employees -- including 22 policemen and firefighters -- even warning of potential legal action if the village follows through with what they are calling a drastic reduction in work force.

The village faces a deficit of about $1.7 million and handed notice to 36 employees last week that they would be laid off effective Thursday, June 1. The bulk of terminated employees are police officers, firefighters and public works personnel.

Westchester Herald (David Pollard):

Letters informing Broadview employees they were going to be laid off were issued April 26.

Receiving layoff notices were 10 police officers and one records clerk, 12 firefighters and one clerk, 10 employees in public works, two in the village's building department and two in village administration. The layoffs go into effect June 1.

I remain unsatisfied with Village Board President Henry Vicenik blaming the cuts on the failure of Broadview's home rule referenda. See Proviso Probe.

Vicenik and the rest of the Broadview leadership had a responsibility to manage the village competently given the parameters they had. Broadview wasn't a homerule community, yet Vicenik and others created this crisis.

Vicenik and others were hoping the voters would bail them out of the mess they created. The taxpayers rejected the homerule referenda soundly.

Remember, when Broadview was audited it couldn't find the budget to see if the actual spending matched the plan. See Proviso Probe.