Unsustainable Budget Hole Filled With 'Green' Money

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Following is an excerpt from Thursday's Janesville Gazette concerning the $1.8M windfall that will be paid to the County for allowing a high-voltage transmission line to cross the county in 2009. The money, according to the State of Wisconsin, is supposed to be used exclusively for Parks and Conservation Projects. Instead, the money is being earmarked for county operating expenses.

JG Excerpt:
JANESVILLE — The Rock County Finance Committee this morning denied the parks committee's request for a full-time community coordinator position and to use a one-time, $1.8 million payment exclusively for parks and conservation projects.

Rock Environmental Network Response:

The $1.8 million dollar payment is a bonus. A win. A lottery ticket. A payment to the County for allowing power lines to cross our land.

It is money that the County wasn't counting on to balance the budget, pay for day to day operating costs, or copy machines.

The State of Wisconsin says that the $1.8 million payment is exclusively for parks and conservation projects.

The article states that Rock County has applied and been approved to spend about 2/3 of the money, or around $1.2 million - on operating costs, leaving 600,000.00 to the Parks Dept to be used instead of property tax dollars to fund the parks and conservation departments in 2009.

So basically, Parks and Conservation are getting nothing extra. Tax dollars that would have been spent on Parks & Conservation will be diverted to the general fund - so the 600K is money P&C would have gotten anyway.

Farmland preservation projects, Clean Air programs, Clean up our Waterway, Conservation projects. There are a million ways that this money could be used to make our County a better place to live - without worrying about new copy machines. (We are supposed to be going paperless anyway - so forward thinking is required)

The money doesn't belong in the general fund. It belongs to the Citizens of Rock County.

Please read the article carefully, and take action.

If you haven't already done so, please email the Rock County Board of Supervisors at webmaster@co.rock.wi.us or contact the County Administrator, Craig Knutson at 757-5510 to voice your opinion. It is critical that you make contact before Wednesday, November 12th. -- REN