Thank You For Your Confidence

On Tuesday, you elected me as your representative to borough council with over 98% of the votes cast in Ward 1. While a win may have been expected—this past spring you elected me as both the Republican and Democratic nominee—it is not something I take lightly.

I believe there is much we can do to improve our fine borough. Though I have been attending council meetings for the past few years, I have already registered for the Local Government Academy’s Newly Elected Officials course beginning on November 21. This 14-course program will help me to better understand my role as your representative on council and effectively work with fellow council members and staff to move the borough forward.

I must thank many fine friends and neighbors who helped me during my first campaign. To those who allowed me to place signs in their yards, worked at the polls, or proofread these blog entries, thank you. You certainly made my first political experience a positive one.

ElectQ.com will remain an active website. Over the next few weeks, the focus will change over to reports on Franklin Park Borough Council actions and my thoughts on what we’re doing and where we’re going. Please check back often.

Thank you,
David

Spending Your Money

2010 budget hearings have been completed and a final draft budget is being prepared. The proposed budget will likely be made available in November and voted on in December.

These charts are prepared using the figures originally proposed. I will update them as soon as I receive a copy of the final proposed budget.

Preparing budgets is a complicated process with many competing factors and requests to be considered. Having observed the borough’s budget hearing process and seeing the resulting budget this year, here are my thoughts on how I would approach this process in the future, if elected.

• I don’t believe the borough should be spending more money than it collects in any given year, except for some necessary capital expense loans. (Much the way you and I take out a mortgage or car loan.)
  
• I don’t believe in raising taxes to support increased government spending without your prior approval. Our real estate and wage taxes are based on percentages. This means that each time you receive a pay raise, or the value of your home goes up, the borough automatically receives more tax money from you—without raising your taxes.
  
• I see two budget problems the borough must address: the current, temporary reduction in income due to the recession, and the systemic problem of overspending. These two problems require different solutions.
  
  • When income drops, the borough needs to institute temporary, perhaps atypical spending reductions to compensate for the reduced income. These temporary cuts would be reversed as soon as economic and income conditions allow.
  • Long term, the borough must bring its spending in line with its income.
    

The Borough’s 2010 Budget

Borough Council began its 2010 budget discussions last month, a bit earlier than usual. Early revenue and expense projections were suggesting a 2010 general fund budget shortfall of $652,564.

The borough budget includes a number of restricted and unrestricted funds including the general fund, several sewer-system funds, the borough golf course fund, a capital reserve fund, and a highway aid fund. I cannot yet claim to fully understand each of these funds and the interactions between them. As this is my first year to request and receive all the detailed financial information available to council, I would like to share with you some budget facts and my initial observations.

Budget facts

• In January 2003, real estate taxes were increased to 1.283 mils (a 68% increase).
• Later in 2003, the borough refinanced its bonds, generating $740,000 that provided a one-time payment to the affected funds.
• Through 2007, the end-of-year cash balance for all funds increased:
  
  • 2005 $1.6 million
    
  • 2006 $1.9 million
    
  • 2007 $2.6 million
    
• Since 2007, the end-of-year cash balance for all funds has decreased:
  • 2008 $2.5 million
    
  • 2009 $1.3 million (estimated)
  • 2010 $.3 million (projected)
• Projected 2010 revenue for the borough is $6.3 million. An early estimate of expenses based on department requests and other rough projections is $6.9 million, though this will certainly change as council begins budget hearings.
  
• This year, the borough will resume its past practice of taking out a tax and revenue anticipation loan to maintain a positive cash flow early in the year.
  
• Interest earnings on cash balances will decrease from $89,000 in 2007 to an estimated $5,500 in 2010.

Budget observations

• During the past two years, budgeted expenditures have exceeded budgeted revenue. $1.4 million of excess spending has eliminated the significant cash balances the borough previously maintained.
• Interest earnings have been essentially eliminated as a revenue source for the borough.
  
• Projected 2010 revenue is nearly identical to 2007 revenue, yet projected 2010 expenditures are 12.5% higher than 2007.
• Department budgets, as presented, did not acknowledge decreased revenue projections. The Policy Department was the only department to present a budget containing a creative approach to staffing that could significantly reduce overtime costs. Many departments presented budgets identical to 2009 and a few increased their budget requests, often due to union wage increases.
  

Franklin Park Borough Wins

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Yesterday, you decided that civility and moving forward are more important than personal attacks and paralysis. You voted for moving Franklin Park beyond personal agendas.

Together with your support, I won both the Republican and Democratic primary elections yesterday. That means in November, I’ll appear on the ballot as both the Republican and Democratic nominee. (A special thank you to registered Democrats who typed in a Write-In candidate for the first time.)

The unofficial results are:

Republican Primary

• Satish Jindel - 87
• David Quatchak - 244

Democratic Primary

• Satish Jindel - 15
• David Quatchak - 44

My sincere thank you to everyone who helped me during this campaign. I hope we sent the signal that running a positive, respectful campaign focused on issues and experience is not only the right thing to do, it can be the winning thing to do.

Thank you,

David

It’s Primary Election Day—Please Vote!

As you head to the polls today, think about what matters to you and how we can move Franklin Park forward. Through this primary election campaign, I’ve spoken with literally hundreds of residents as I visited Ward 1 neighborhoods. The unanimous view is that we need to make our local government more responsive, not paralyzed . We need to more carefully guide development, not reduce our oversight. We need to focus on borough business, not personal agendas.

Today, you’ll make your choice. Throughout this campaign season, I’ve worked to provide you with the information you need to make an informed choice. Together, let’s move Franklin Park forward.

Talking Over Breakfast

Sunday morning’s Pancake Social at the Franklin Park Fire Hall was a great way to meet with borough residents, listen to their concerns, and enjoy a good, homemade pancake and sausage breakfast. Thank you to all the volunteers who planned, managed, and cooked for this event, sponsored by the Franklin Park Republican Committee.

Shortly before the breakfast ended, I was informed that a candidate for borough office has come under attack for a personal, non-public matter. I urge all candidates and their supporters to stay focused on promoting themselves and their candidates in a positive, respectful, and professional manner. That’s what all of us must do—not just me, not just you, but your neighbors, and our whole community.

Education of a Voter

If you’re reading this, thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to learn something about our local government and me as a candidate for borough council. Off-year elections, those with no federal offices on the ballot, often generate little interest and produce some of the lowest voter turnouts. That’s odd when you think about it, as local decisions can often affect you more directly than decisions made in Washington. It’s Franklin Park Borough Council that makes decisions concerning our local roads, parks, programs, snow removal, garbage pickup, public safety, and what may be built around the corner from your home or even next door.

Thank you for being among a group of voters taking the time to learn about local issues and candidates. You’ve made the decision to choose a candidate based on ideas for making Franklin Park better, not the size of roadside yard signs. You've made the decision to choose a candidate based on his record and experience, not empty promises and political rhetoric.

Nancy N. recently sent me this email after finding my profile on the League of Women Voters’ smartvoter.org:

Thank you for participating in smartvoter.org—if I were in your ward, you would have my vote, partly because you care enough to engage with the voters through this web site. Your participation shows real respect for the voter and the democratic process. Please encourage other candidates to participate as well!

Thank you, Nancy, for taking the time to learn about local government and my ideas for making it better.

I feel obligated to provide you and Nancy with the information you need to make your decision about who will represent you in local government. There is simply not enough time going door to door, or enough space on a yard sign, to discuss the details of what is happening on borough council or my ideas for serving Franklin Park. Fortunately, this web site, and the League’s web site, do provide an effective forum for an exchange of ideas. So far, my opponent has focused on placing more yard signs. He has chosen to provide you with no information on his experience or his ideas.

Please share what you’re learning here with your neighbors, or forward any of these posts to fellow borough residents.