The Vanguard

Obama Fairness "Silence" Doctrine Comes Early to Menomonee Falls Village Board Budget Hearing

2008-12-01T22:53:00Z

Vanguard Coverage this Posting

Obama's Fairness "Silence" Doctrine comes early to Menomonee Falls
Attendance records of Village President and Trustees examined
School district enrollment on the decline through 2017-18
IRS cites Falls Cable Access
Police Department apologizes to false arrest victim
DA contradicts Village Clerk on her documents for 2004 voting irregularities that apparently don't exist
$700 billion taxpayer bailout follow up with Obama appointments
Jeskewitz unused sick leave payout
Donate blood at St. Mary's on December 9th

Obama Fairness "Silence" Doctrine Comes Early to Menomonee Falls Village Board for Citizens at Budget Hearing

The Vanguard attended the 2009 Menomonee Falls Village Board Budget Hearing on Monday, November 24, 2008 and was surprised to learn that President Obama's Fairness "Silence" Doctrine (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6597380.html?rssid=193) has already been implemented by the Village Manager and Village Board without any federal legislation being passed.

This appears to be the Village Manager and Village Board's idea of hope and change along with President Obama to silence anyone who wants to ask questions, make suggestions or challenge public policy decisions of the Village Manager and Village Board.

Never in the history of the Menomonee Falls Village Board have citizens been silenced at any Budget Hearing. Budget Hearings are required by law where taxpayers are given the opportunity to ask questions about the budget and engage with the Village Manager and Village Board.

The 2009 Budget is over $30 million.

The Vanguard wrote about the 2009 Budget matters (https://bloggers.mycommunitynow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/11/23/2009-village-board-budget-hearing.aspx) before the hearing to try and give the taxpayers a heads-up.

Any citizen could speak at the Budget Hearing for a maximum of 180 seconds and were then silenced by the Village Board. You read that correctly, 180 seconds for comments, to make suggestions, ask questions about the over $30 million in expenditures or public policy.

Only one of the three local newspapers attended the meeting. How sad.

The Budget Hearing, by design, was poorly publicized by the Village Manager and Village Board. It should have been included in a newsletter, if the Village had one, and it could have been included in the water/sewer bill mailings, but of course wasn't. There was little if any notice in the local newspapers of the upcoming Budget Hearing without any detail that mattered.

Rechlicz and McDonald are No Shows

Village President Rechlicz and Trustee McDonald were no shows at the 2009 Budget Hearing. This is consistent with their attendance records of the last few years. More on that later.

The Budget Hearing is probably the most important meeting of the year for Village Board Members to attend for discussion of the $30 million in expenditures funded by the taxpayers.

Seeing that there is only about 20 meetings (+/-) a year, is it asking too much of elected officials to attend the most important meeting of the year?

It's good to know the Village President is not going to be running for re-election in 2009 if he can't make meetings.

$2-$3 Million in Taxpayer Saving Ideas Squelched by Village Board Because of Their 180 Second Obama Fairness "Silence" Doctrine

The Vanguard was only able to submit a partial list of the following taxpayer saving ideas because of the Village Board silencing the complete list due to their 180 second Obama Fairness "Silence" Doctrine:

Renegotiate and restructure the $5 million unused sick leave lump sum cash payouts (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/08/20/5-million-taxpayer-tab-for-unused-sick-leave-backdrop-pension-cash-payouts-to-retirees.aspx) to retirees. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $120,000
Renegotiate and restructure employee contributions for health care premiums from 7.5% to 10% of the monthly premium. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $80,000
Eliminate Contingency Fund. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $100,000 (Note: This may have already been done for the 2009 Budget if citizens would have been allowed to ask questions at the Hearing)
Utilize Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) for employee health care plan. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $500,000
Renegotiate and restructure employee retirement and disability income plan where employees contribute 10% of the premium instead of the current 0% amount. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $130,000
Require Waste Management to pick up our garbage for free (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/07/10/the-great-garbage-debate.aspx). Our garbage used to be included in our property tax bill until Village President Rechlicz made it an additional cost of $90 in new taxes above and beyond the normal tax bill in 2006. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $1.3 million or $90 per household
Liquidate the majority of the taxpayer surplus account from Falls Cable Access. Taxpayer dividend: $400,000
Cap legal fees and take any overruns out of the $7.5 million Taxpayer Surplus Account. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $200,000
Freeze or cap employee salary/wage increases. Annual Taxpayer Savings: $150,000
Re-qualify for the State of Wisconsin's Expenditure Restraint Program (ERP). Annual Taxpayer Savings: $200,000
Look for higher interest rate bearing accounts for surplus and unused cash accounts. Annual Taxpayer Dividend: $100,000

These are very simple, practical and easy ideas to implement if our community only had a Village Board that would ask the necessary questions and had the courage to do the right thing for the community instead of the special interest groups.

Implementing these ideas would lower every home owner's property tax bill by a minimum of $100 just for the Village portion.

Now that's tax relief for the already overburdened homeowner heading into a recession who needs all of the extra money they can get especially for seniors and those on fixed incomes who have seen their account values, interest payments and pension plans take a huge hit recently.

The Vanguard has been asking for the elimination of the Contingency Fund and for employees to pay more for their health care premiums for over 5 years now. It's nice to see that employees now pay 7.5% or $90 a month toward their health care premiums instead of the previous 5% or $70 a month. It should now go to 10% for the new contract.

It would be nice to know this information, but the Village Manager and Village Board would not take questions at the Budget Hearing.

$50,000 here and $100,000 there and all of a sudden it adds up to a $1,000,000.

Imagine that.

The Village Manager and Village Board refused to answer any questions or accept any suggestions about ideas to save the taxpayers millions of dollars without changing, compromising or re-calculating Village programs or services because of their new 180 second Obama Fairness "Silence" Doctrine.

This is a shame and is so reminiscent of 18th Century Scottish History Professor Alexander Tyler's, The Fall of the Athenian Republic (http://theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/21PbAr/Hst/US/DmocAthnsUS.htm there are questions about the accuracy of this, but it is very true of our society today), because citizens were afraid to stand up for themselves to challenge their leaders when those leaders would tell the public one thing only later to find out those leaders weren't being totally accurate or truthful to the citizens.

The boiled frog theory (http://allaboutfrogs.org/stories/boiled.html) also applies in this situation. If you want to boil a frog, don't put him in a boiling pot of hot water because he will instinctively jump out to protect himself. Instead, put him in a kettle of cool water and gradually turn up the temperature while he perishes with a smile on his face because he didn't detect danger.

The same is true for citizens of Menomonee Falls. If they get their news from the three local newspapers and cable access, it's no wonder the Village Manager and Village Board can get away with sky rocketing tax increases and no input from citizens.

The Vanguard believes it's time for new leadership on the Village Board if citizens want lower taxes and an open and honest government.

Bueller...Bueller...BuEllis...BuDonald...BuLiga...BuEchlicz

Like the 1986 movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", when Ben Stein is taking attendance for Ferris Bueller's class, The Vanguard has been made aware of several Village Board Members missing or being late for a lot of meetings in the last couple years.

The Village Board meets about 20 +/- times a year. If a Board Member misses a Board Meeting they also miss committee meetings.

In the last two years, the following is a summary of the number of meetings missed or arriving late for the following Board Members:

President Rechlicz has missed or been late for a total of 10 Board Meetings so far in 2007-08.
Trustee McDonald has missed or been late for a total of 11 Board Meetings so far in 2007-08.
Trustee Ellis has missed or been late for a total of 9 Board Meetings so far in 2007-08.
Trustee Steliga has missed or been late for a total of 11 Board Meetings so far in 2007-08.
Trustee Steliga lobbied hard to be on the Library Board and has missed, been late or left early for 8 out of 12 meetings in '05, 9 out of 12 in '06, 10 out of 12 in '07 and 8 out of 10 so far in '08.

The Vanguard believes that local officials should have a better attendance record than this if they truly want to serve on the Village Board.

Let the Village Board know if you think they should attend meetings when they were elected to serve (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/index.asp?nid=292).

School District Enrollment Continues to Decline

The school superintendent gave The Vanguard a copy of the 2008 Facilities Report and referred to page 23 and Table 15 in the report for enrollment projections.

The superintendent was very kind and did not charge for the report which is a fresh change from the way the Village Manager does business as the Village Manager continues to try and keep information from the public instead of giving it out to the public by trying to charge astronomical amounts to purposely discourage the public from asking for information the public is legally entitled to about Village Government.

The District's enrollment projections are as follows with Consultant Applied Population Laboratory including Chapter 220, K-4 and Open Enrollment:

2008-09 4,225
2012-13 4,121
2017-18 3,814

Take out the new 215 K-4 students each year and the numbers are devastating.

This a far cry from what the community was told in 2002-03 when we were asked to pass a $32 million referendum including a new elementary school that was fortunately defeated by a 60%-40% margin in February of 2004 or we would be looking at closing even more schools than what we already are.

The superintendent also said for the future that new "open" seats each year would mirror the decline in enrollment for Menomonee Falls residents for the Chapter 220 and Open Enrollment Programs by limiting those new "open" seats to 10% of the enrollment for Menomonee Falls students.

IRS In Their Authority Cites Falls Cable Access on Lack of Federal 990 Tax Returns for the Last 15 Years

The Vanguard has obtained a copy of IRS Form 886-A, Explanations of Items, citing Falls Cable Access (FCAC) requiring FCAC to file Federal 990 Tax Returns per the original IRS order from 1992 when FCAC was incorporated and granted federal tax exempt status for a 501 (c) 3 private non-profit corporation.

The IRS in their Explanations of Items advises FCAC of the following:

To follow the guidelines found in the letter dated April 29, 1992 from the IRS which granted FCAC exemption from federal income tax under section 501 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in section 501 (c) 3.
This letter established the 990 filing requirement.
Based on information received from FCAC, a May 12, 2005 IRS letter from Debra Kawecki stated that FCAC was an "affiliate of a governmental unit" and is not required to file Federal 990 Tax Returns.
Upon IRS examination of FCAC records, the IRS determined that FCAC functions according to its classification granted on April 29, 1992.
IRS and FCAC agreed that FCAC should file Federal 990 Tax Returns.
The "governmental unit" never reflected FCAC operations as a part of its operations.
The IRS then obtained Federal 990 Tax Returns for the years 2004-06.
FCAC established reasonable cause for not filing 990's in the past and therefore would not be penalized by the IRS.
The IRS final review concluded that FCAC is required to file 990 Federal Tax Returns.

The Vanguard has written extensively about FCAC (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/tags/Falls+Cable+Access/default.aspx and http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/09/23/public-employee-benefit-costs.aspx) and their repeated negligence over the last 15 years along with the lack of any oversight or accountability by the Village Manager and Village Board of over $1 million in taxpayer's money in cable fees.

The taxpayers paid a consultant somewhere between $10,000-$20,000 in 2005-06 that concluded the Village Board and Village Manager needed to have much more oversight of FCAC that unfortunately has not been followed.

Why have consultants then if their recommendations are not going to be followed or at least debated for implementation? It's just the taxpayer's money right?

It is nice to know FCAC will now be accountable to the public with the filing of their 990 Federal Tax Returns even if the Village Manager and Village Board want nothing to do with FCAC as has been recommended by outside consultants.

To all of those citizens who endured the threats, taunts, scorn, ridicule, mockery and unprofessional behavior of FCAC representatives, thank you. Thank you for hanging in their when your Village Manager and Village Board would not do their job and protect you, the citizen, from these unfortunate attacks from FCAC.

FCAC's tax returns can be viewed at www.guidestar.org.

Police Department Apologizes to False Arrest Victim

The Vanguard has obtained a copy of a Police Department communication to the citizen who was falsely arrested by the Menomonee Falls Police Department earlier this year over a citation the Department said they had not paid (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/08/09/quot-sir-please-put-your-hands-above-your-head-and-spread-your-legs-quot.aspx) even though the citizen had.

It is nice to know the Department took responsibility and apologized for their error.

The Chief, in a written communication to The Vanguard, has made it known this type of human error will not reoccur.

We're still seeking to see what type of discipline, if any, was enacted for this error.

We're still working on an update for The Phoenix Computer Program that taxpayers paid $169,375 for in 2006.

DA Says He Doesn't Have Any Record of 2004 Voting Irregularities from Clerk's Office

The Village Clerk, through the Village Attorney, admits to several voting irregularities in 2004 that she says were forwarded to the DA's Office, but didn't keep copies, which she is required to do so by State Law, when The Vanguard asked her for copies of the documents she allegedly forwarded to the DA.

The DA's Office, in a communication to The Vanguard, states that he does not have any documents from the Village Clerk regarding 2004 voting irregularities that she alleges to have forwarded to him.

Someone is not telling the truth here and one has to hope the DA can be trusted when it comes to matters like this.

The concern of course is that the people who have committed these irregularities (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/10/15/cloud-hovers-over-integrity-of-menomonee-falls-election.aspx), as has now been admitted to by the Village Clerk, will go unprosecuted.

The Vanguard now hopes the Village Manager and Village Board will require the Village Clerk to follow State Law by forwarding matters of voting irregularities to the DA immediately and to keep copies of those irregularities to make sure the same people don't keep breaking the law.

It's also nice to know, through the Village Attorney, the Village Clerk is now following Federal Election Law of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 2002.

Unfortunately, the 2,592 voting registrations of 2006 and the 325 voting registrations of 2007 in Menomonee Falls were not verified by the Village Clerk as was required by HAVA since January 1, 2006 because the Village Attorney says the Village Clerk takes her direction from the State Government Accountability Board (GAB) which didn't start following HAVA until August of 2008 as a result of a lawsuit filed against them by AG Van Hollen.

The only thing that can be hoped for in future elections is that the Village Clerk will finally verify voting registrations to protect the integrity of our elections in Menomonee Falls to prevent the voting irregularities of 2004.

We should have the number of new voter registrations for 2008 sometime in January of 2009.

We Want These Guys to Run Our Financial System Under Obama?

Cross your fingers and "hope" this works for the sake of our country on the bailout:

Our new Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, whose job it was to oversee Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Citi, Bear Stearns, etc (http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/25/business/25sorkin.php).
Bill Clinton gets $2 million in speaking fees while banks struggle (http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=39902).
Citi Guru Robert Rubin didn't think there was a crisis (http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/31/news/economy/rubin_benner.fortune/) but got his $100 million while the meltdown continued all around him (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E6DD1338F934A35750C0A9669C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/R/Rubin,%20Robert%20E).
Citi's Vikram Pandit got his $216 million payout while his company collapsed and the taxpayers were asked to bail them out ( http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/14/business/citi.php).
Chrysler's Nardelli got $216 million for running Home Depot into the ground and now wants $25 billion more for GM and Ford from the taxpayers (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2007-01-03-hd-nardelli_x.htm).
We're supposed to give Citi $400 million so they can have their name on a ball park (http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2149039220081121)?
The sad thing is the government knew about this and chose to do nothing about it because of pressure from the very banks that are now looking for handouts from the taxpayers (http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/ignored_warnings.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008120106).

These people are all supporters, advisors and or nominees of Obama.

God help us all.

The same thing will happen in Menomonee Falls with the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund Bailout of the Village Board unless the citizens contact the Village Board (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/index.asp?nid=292) to let them know they want Waste Management to pay the $42 million and not the taxpayers as was originally promised in 2000-02 by the same members that are still on the Village Board (Steliga, McDonald and Jeskewitz).

Jeskewitz's Unused Sick Leave Payout Nears $22,000

The Vanguard has obtained the scheduled unused sick leave payout for retiring State Representative Jeskewitz.

The other legislators (Senator Darling and Kanavas and Representative Pridemore) representing Menomonee Falls have all publicly declined receiving this benefit when they leave the legislature.

The Vanguard has asked Representative Jeskewitz what her intentions are with the taxpayer's $22,000 for the unused sick leave payout and she has not responded.

We will continue to ask and hope that she will follow the lead of her colleagues and refuse the payout.

Sick leave should be used for sick leave, not cash payouts or health care premiums.

Is it any wonder the taxes are so high in Wisconsin?

Donate Blood at St. Mary's on Tuesday, December 9th

A number of readers of The Vanguard volunteer to donate blood to the Blood Center of Wisconsin (www.bcw.edu).

The next opportunity is Tuesday, December 9th, 1:30-6:30 P.M. at St. Mary's in Conference Rooms A & B on Main Street just east of the downtown bridge on the north side of the street.

Interested parties are invited to call Lori at 262-309-7292 or 414-353-8695.

Some 331 units or 993 components were received in 2007 toward the total amount of 20,000 components of blood products for hospitals in Waukesha County. Let's keep it going for 2008 as we finish strong to help others in need.

See you there.

Please feel free to leave comments below.

We appreciate you reading our blog especially when there are so many other interests competing for your time.

It's because of you and your encouragement that we keep writing.

Have a great week!

2009 Village Board Budget Hearing

2008-11-23T22:19:00Z

2009 Village Board Budget Hearing Set for Monday, November 24th, 6:30 P.M. at Village Hall

The Menomonee Falls Village Board will hear comments on their proposed 2009 Budget from residents on Monday, November 24th, 6:30 P.M. at Village Hall.

Any resident may attend the meeting and must be given a chance to speak by the Village Board to be heard on their particular concerns, questions and or comments about the budget.

A summary of the 2009 Budget Hearing Notice along with Budget Expenditures and Revenues are available by clicking here (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/CurrentEvents.asp?EID=195).

The Vanguard had a chance to review the 2009 Budget in detail recently and made a number of interesting observations that will be discussed in detail later.

Thank Public Officials for their Service

Menomonee Falls, like most other communities throughout Wisconsin, is fortunate to have what is basically considered good government. There may be disagreements and questions about policy and taxes, but for the most part government serves its purpose locally in the Falls.

The Village operates under a Village Manager/Village Board representative form of government.

The Village Manager is the CEO of the some $30 million - 229 employee organization with the Village Board acting as a Board of Directors similar to any well run private corporation only government is a public entity.

The taxpayers are the investors and stockholders of this public corporation.

Just like a private corporation, the taxpayers exercise their approval or disapproval of how they feel about their "public corporation" with their vote at election time.

Be sure to thank the Village Manager and the Village Board when you see them for their service to our community.

2009 Budget Highlights

The property tax levy for 2009 will be $18,069,050 up $709,719 or an increase of 4.09% from the 2008 levy of $17,359,331.

The new Village Manager is finally and correctly submitting balanced budgets which had not been the practice of the previous Village Manager who retired from the Village the first time in 1996 drawing his full time free WRS Pension (http://etf.wi.gov/index.htm), was rehired by the Village Board 2 days later with full benefits at no cost for the same position and salary with a lifetime appointment without any job performance reviews and then retired again 11 years later in January of 2007 while earning some $1.7 million in salary, retirement and benefits at no cost to him, but at a huge cost to the taxpayers (click here for more details about double dipping contracts for public employees http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/09/14/double-dipping-public-employee-contracts-is-the-end-near-for-our-sake-let-s-hope-so.aspx).

The Vanguard believes this increase is not necessary and could easily be eliminated with a few simple suggestions to the Village Manager and Village Board which will be detailed later.

Unfortunately, the three local newspapers don't inform the taxpayers ahead of time what is going on with their money and the public is left, once again, in a reactionary mode of thinking on the budget instead of a proactive one by knowing ahead of time what the intentions of the Village Manager and Village Board are.

The following are some interesting observations about the 2009 Budget that taxpayers probably don't even know about which has an incredible impact on their property taxes, the garbage tax and water/sewer bills:

Staff reductions of nearly 30 positions since 2006. The new Village Manager told members of The Vanguard last year that he wanted to reduce staff positions by 20%. The Vanguard remembers conservative members of the Village Board asking for a complete structural review of Village Operations by the Village Manager or by an outside firm with a financially incentive based contract for taxpayer savings in 2003-2004 which unfortunately was completely squelched by Trustees Steliga, McDonald, Jeskewitz and Ellis. Imagine all of the savings the taxpayers could have enjoyed for their own pocketbook and our local economy over the last 5 years that was deliberately squandered by the same tax and spend Trustees of the Village Board.
There were 258 positions in 2006, 253 in 2007, 239 in 2008 and now 229 for 2009. There can be a debate about what positions should or should not be eliminated, but it is inarguable that a structural review needed to be done for a long time. Programs and services will not be eliminated or compromised.
The new $1.3 million Garbage Tax, which we were told in 2006 by the Village Manager and Village Board was going to be a one year experiment, was created to deliberately skirt the "governor's property tax freeze" by calling it a fee instead of a tax. The 2009 Garbage Tax is now going to have a 6% increase with the new tax going to $90 per household when it is completely unnecessary to do so (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/07/10/the-great-garbage-debate.aspx) if we only had a Village Board that would look out for the best interests of the citizens instead of special interests and corporations.
$15,000 of the taxpayer's money goes from the Village Board to the Chamber for "tourism" which is used to pay their rent to the Falls Fest Board which is made up of some of the same members of the Village Board (Steliga, Jeskewitz, etc.).
$2.25 million in debt service payments for the new library, village hall and police station of the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund that is woefully short (at least $17 million) of being paid for without taxpayer's money and will hit the tax rolls hard starting in 2016 (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/09/30/public-employee-benefit-costs-ii.aspx) if not sooner unless something is done soon.
$2.9 million in revenues for garbage tipping fees from Waste Management when the community was told by Trustee Steliga, McDonald, Jeskewitz and Ellis in 2003-04 that payments would be at least $3.1 million annually.
$1.42 million to the City of Milwaukee for water that may not even be necessary to purchase if we only had an update of our own water supply and quality.
$10.7 million in total debt service payments.
$93.2 million in outstanding debt service payments through 2027. Another $30 million +/- was defeased or taken off the books in 2005-06.
$4.311 million to MMSD in property taxes or "capital charges" from a portion of Menomonee Falls taxpayers.
$1.691 million to MMSD for treatment charges for a portion of waste from Menomonee Falls residents.
$310,000 in cable access taxes from Time Warner back to the Village.
Quality of Life cost for contracted services of $120,000. Not even sure what this is. A good question for the Public Hearing on the 24th.
Property Assessment contracted services of $287,850.
Communication/Information Systems contracted services of $118,000.
Revolving Capital Fund of $1.316 million.
Taxpayer Surplus Account of $7.538 million which far exceeds the recommended amount by Moody's Rating Agency of $2 to $4 million.
Numerous double-dipping contracts are included in the budget as covered earlier (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/09/14/double-dipping-public-employee-contracts-is-the-end-near-for-our-sake-let-s-hope-so.aspx).
Unused sick leave lump sum backdrop pension cash payouts are included in this budget as covered earlier (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/08/20/5-million-taxpayer-tab-for-unused-sick-leave-backdrop-pension-cash-payouts-to-retirees.aspx).
State of the Art $3 million Health Care Plan for village employees at a contribution rate of $90/month for a family plan and $45/month for a single plan on a pre-tax basis for the employees with the taxpayers picking up 92.5% of the total premium or about $2.775 million.
Retirement and Disability Income Pension Plan contributions of about $1.3 million at no cost to the village employees.
Legal Fees of at least $250,000 when we have a full time Village Attorney already paid for.

Here are some simple suggestions from The Vanguard that would easily eliminate the need for the 4.09% or $709,719 tax levy increase that would allow for the continuation of salary increases and great benefits to village employees without any additional position eliminations or cutbacks in programs or services:

Renegotiate contracts to restructure unused sick leave cash payouts or take any potential costs out of the already existing $7.5 million Taxpayer's Surplus Account that has already been paid for by taxpayers instead of taxing them again. Taxpayer Savings: $120,000
Renegotiate contracts to restructure employee contributions for health care and dental premiums from 7.5% to 10%. Taxpayer Savings: $80,000
Eliminate the Contingency Fund. We already have a contingency fund of $7.5 million. Taxpayer Savings: $100,000
Renegotiate contracts to restructure health care plan to offer HSA's to continue offering great benefits at a substantially reduced cost giving employees some of the savings instead of the insurance company. Taxpayer Savings: $500,000
Renegotiate contracts to restructure employee WRS Pension and Disability Income Plan seeking a 90/10 split in contributions instead of the current 100/0 split that currently exists with the taxpayers picking up the entire tab of $1.3 million. Taxpayer Savings: $130,000
Require Waste Management to pick up garbage for free as is required of most corporations throughout America who make millions off a local community. Taxpayer Savings: $1.3 million
Liquidate the majority of the Cable Access Taxpayer Surplus Account and give it back to the taxpayers who paid for it in the first place. Taxpayer Savings: $400,000
Cap legal fees at $250,000 a year and use the $7.5 million Taxpayer Surplus Account for any additional costs. Taxpayer Savings: $200,000
Freeze wages or give a 2% raise instead of a 3% raise as was done in 2007 and 2008. Taxpayer Savings: $150,000 minimum
Qualify for State Expenditure Restraint Program (ERP) to match Governor's Tax Freeze. Taxpayer Savings: $200,000
Look for higher interest rates for the millions of cash balances on hand. Taxpayer Savings: $250,000

These simple suggestions would be extremely easy to implement if we only had a Village Board that had the courage to do so.

If you like these ideas, please contact the Village Board and let them know you want tax relief and free garbage pick up that will save every homeowner a minimum of $100 on their property tax bill for 2009 and beyond (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/index.asp?nid=292).

Please make every effort to attend the 2009 Village Board Public Hearing (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/CurrentEvents.asp?EID=195) keep your property taxes lower and for the continuation of good services for your tax dollar.

Post Election Follow up

Unlike the local newspapers and members of the established press and media, The Vanguard will follow up on previous news stories to put things in a proper perspective.

Please consider the following post election news stories as one can only shake their head in disbelief and a "you've got to be kidding me" thought this stuff actually happened:

Interviews of Obama Supporters on Election Day being asked very basic questions and failing miserably. The results will astonish you (http://www.howobamagotelected.com/).
Zogby Poll tells more about Obama Supporters (http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1641).
Obama courting federal employees for their vote on taxpayer time (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111602440_pf.html).
Howard Kurtz, Washington Post, exposes the press and media establishment boosting Obama for financial gain (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111602374_pf.html).
More distrust and journalistic violations of the press and media establishment from Rupert Murdoch's perspective (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10787_3-10098194-60.html).
Liberal billionaire George Soros becomes Obama's think tank funding source for now and the future (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aF7fB1PF0NPg).
Bill Ayers, domestic terrorist and Obama confidant, on Good Morning America (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453052,00.html) explaining why he should have bombed more American establishments. This is scary.
Thank goodness for Cardinal Stafford telling it like it is (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php.14355.html?n=14355).
The more things Obama promotes as change, the more the stay the same (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081120/D94ILB280.html). Back to the past with the future.
Operation Destruction for anyone who dares to question the Obama Campaign (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D94ISUJ87&show_article=1). Joe the Plumber will be just fine and hopefully won't be taxed too much if he is able to buy his own business to serve people and hire employees to live the American dream.
Obama is still two months away from being sworn into office and he is already cutting back on most of his promises (http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Obama.advisers.expecations.2.869896.html).
Please read this report from the Ohio Inspector General's Office about what the Obama Operatives (various state employees on government time) illegally did to Joe the Plumber during the campaign and get away with it only to be caught and hopefully prosecuted (http://watchdog.ohio.gov/oiginve.htm). Now if only our local law enforcement agencies would act so quickly when the same is done in Menomonee Falls and Waukesha County by government officials.

Thanks for reading. More to come next week.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Vanguard to you and yours.

We really do have a lot to be thankful for in spite of what a handful of people and certain members of the press and media establishment try to convince us otherwise.

Thank the good Lord for your health, your family, your home, your church and friends even if you may be going through challenging times in your life right now.

Everything will be ok with God's help and prayers to Him.

He is always good and gracious.

Please enjoy these reflective thoughts and history about Thanksgiving as you gather around the table wherever that may be on November 27th:

http://www.thanksgiving-day.org/thanksgiving-day-quotes.html
Click here: Thanksgiving (a great video)

Post Election Thoughts and Future Challenges

2008-11-14T00:26:00Z

Post Election Wrap-up

Congratulations to President Elect Obama. He is our President and we must, for the sake of our country and the world, do what we can to support him and his administration.

That doesn't mean we must accept everything that will be proposed by the new administration, but we must be allowed the privilege to have an open and honest debate without the fear of being persecuted and destroyed because we may not agree with or accept the new ideas that many feel will not be in the best interest of America.

Let's strive for a better America instead of the hate and vile that has been sent President Bush's way for 8 years now. We're better than that and our country will be better for that.

America is the envy of the world when it comes to elections and how smooth transitions are from one administration to another.

Campaign Follow-up

Let's hope that State and Local Officials, in the some 13-15 states with ongoing fraudulent voter registration investigations, follow through with their investigations and prosecution of A.C.O.R.N. and other voter registration groups across America that have committed thousands of crimes with election laws so we don't have a repeat of 2008 in 2012.

President Obama must call for a complete and thorough prosecution of the very tax supported organizations that committed these illegal acts and outwardly supported him with their election fraud (http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/printer_21751.shtml) in order to stand by his campaign pledge of hope and change.

A.C.O.R.N. officials knew they were committing criminal and fraudulent acts and chose not to do anything about it making sure Barrack Obama got elected first (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20081030_Fired_ACORN_employee_testifies.html) and then apologize later no matter who was destroyed in the process.

Fear used against A.C.O.R.N. workers if they didn't meet their quotas for voter registration (http://www.nypost.com/seven/10202008/news/politics/acorn_instilled_fear__workers_134390.htm).

Even the Catholic Church is calling for a probe of A.C.O.R.N. monies that were sent to them by the church(http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/04/catholics-probe-aid-directed-to-acorn/print/).

Even Obama Staffers had to pull their double votes for him when they were exposed in Ohio as voting twice, which is a felony(http://www.nypost.com/seven/10252008/news/politics/bam_staffers_pull_their_bogus_ohio_ballo_135152.htm).

The same 100,000 voters registered to vote in Georgia and Florida (http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/100000-georgia-voters-also-registered.html). Gee, do you wonder who these people voted for? This must be stopped for future elections.

Remember when we were told incessantly during the campaign by President Obama that incomes for Americans were dropping rapidly?

Now we know just the opposite is true (http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/11/05/exit-polls-show-huge-increase-incomes-04-will-media-care). Where was the press and media?

Was the media and press bias toward Obama? Of course they were. It's time to stop whining about it and use the resources we still have while we can to get the news out in a fair and balanced way like Fox News, Talk Radio and bloggers when the mainstream media members continue to crumble before our very eyes because of their arrogance, bias and mismanagement.

This teacher should be fired for her blatant bias in the classroom for Obama (http://www.belch.com/blog/2008/11/06/reason-142-to-homeschool-obama-teachers-wont-bully-kids-who-support-mccain/ and http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=309760 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bvqmY1eM-s). These videos are very troubling.

Check this out from the Washington Post of all papers on biased coverage (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/07/AR2008110702895.html).

Joe the Plumber feels the wrath of the Obama Campaign...Joe the Plumber in Ohio asked a simple question when President Obama stopped by his neighborhood and immediately felt the wrath of the Obama Campaign when he challenged Obama on his welfare check idea to those Americans that don't pay any federal income taxes from those who do pay federal income taxes.

An immediate attack was launched against Joe the Plumber by Obama Operatives in the State Government of Ohio by looking up and releasing his confidential and personal information to the press and media in an effort to destroy Joe the Plumber because he dared to challenge an idea being promoted by President Obama.

Smelling a rat, the local press started to look into the matter and found out that Obama Operatives had indeed committed crimes by violating Joe the Plumber's legal rights with their abuse of office (http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/24/joe.html?sid=101 and http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/29/joe30.html?sid=101) by having contradictory stories (http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/31/joe.html?sid=101).

The Governor of Ohio finally exercised some good judgment when the heat was put on him to suspend the Family Services Director for the State of Ohio for abusing her office in a political operative manner and the violation of an individual's confidential and personal legal rights (http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/122613671476860.xml&coll=2&thispage=2 and http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/11/07/ddn110708helenweb.html and http://www.democracyforums.com/showthread.php?t=22575).

We will follow up.

Hopefully Joe the Plumber can buy that plumbing business and live the American dream without fear of being abused by democrat government operatives in Ohio.

The Vanguard is intimately familiar with government officials who set out to destroy those who dare ask questions and suggest changes for the operations of government. It is not a pleasant experience, but justice and accountability always prevail in the end if patience is allowed to work.

Obama's Advisors and Supporters at the Heart of the Fannie Mae Freddie Mac Meltdown that Directly Led to the $700 Billion Taxpayer Bailout

There's an old adage that says, "You are who you hang around."

During his campaign and post election speeches President Obama continuously made reference to cleaning up Washington D.C. and bringing hope and change.

Let's hope he does bring this kind of change that he promised and not a repeat of the people that he has surrounded himself with so far for his entire life.

This could not be more true of President Obama with just a few of the following examples out of hundreds that exist:

Franklin Raines of President Clinton fame, took $90 million in compensation out of Fannie Mae and had to resign in disgrace for fraudulent accounting practices and was fined having to forgo some $25 million and is still under investigation (http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/09/fannie-mae-fatcatfriend-of-obama-buys-49-million-penthouse/).
Jamie Gorelick of President Clinton fame, took over $25 million out of Fannie Mae in 1998 alone and is now on the transition team for President Obama (http://www.thefinancialskinny.com/politicsandmoney9.html). Be sure to watch the video of Barney Frank in this link. It's disgusting.
James Johnson of President Clinton fame, took over $21 million from Fannie Mae and later had to resign from the Obama Campaign because it was revealed that he was involved in the accounting questions at Fannie Mae and received extremely questionable loans from bankrupt mortgage company Countrywide and their criminal CEO Mizilo (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/us/politics/12veep.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&oref=slogin).
Herb Sandler, former CEO of Gold West Financial, sold his $24 billion sub prime mortgage company in October 2006 to Wachovia that ultimately led to their unfortunate demise (http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-10-05-636413817_x.htm) and amazingly enough an operating loss of $23.9 billion just 24 months later. What a country. Saturday Night Live had a skit about this guy and his wife ripping off Americans which was later removed from their website because Sandler complained.
The press didn't do their job either (http://www.620wtmj.com/shows/charliesykes/32256244.html?blog=y).

President Obama Considering Immediate Changes

It has been widely reported that President Obama wants to immediately move on some of the following issues:

Lifting the ban on federal funding of stem cell research when recent technological advances in the area have improved greatly possibly eliminating the need for stem cell research (http://www.livescience.com/health/081110-embryonic-stem-cells.html).
Imposing the ban on offshore drilling for energy and oil independence which will cause the price of gasoline to go back to $4 a gallon immediately (http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=315348). Remember gas was over $4 a gallon this summer and has dropped over $2 a gallon since President Bush signed an executive order to lift the offshore drilling ban.
Free the terrorist prisoners at Guantanamo and try them civilly in America (http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/10/obama-planning-trials-guantanamo-detainees/).
Wants to impose the Fairness Doctrine on talk radio to silence those who disagree with him (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6597380.html?rssid=193).
Granting amnesty to illegal immigrants and his voting record (http://profiles.numbersusa.com/improfile.php3?DistSend=IL&VIPID=1162).
Supports global warming and climate change legislation (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aL32Caq6UNuw&refer=home) which would kill jobs and corporations in America for an issue that doesn't even really exist (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,450067,00.html).
Improving education. Let's hope it's not like his failed $160 million Annenberg Project in Chicago with terrorist William Ayers, Reverend Wright and Father Pfleger (http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=308875824685359).
Hopefully President Obama will at least pay his campaign workers in Indiana who cried out, "That's my money." (http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=9299280)
Wants to sign Freedom of Choice Act taking the lives of little babies at anytime (http://www.lifenews.com/nat4359.html) and even the Catholic Church is taking him to task on this issue already (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/11/the-bishops-sta.html) because Obama doesn't want to punish his daughters by having a baby (http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/).

These are just a few of the examples of where President Obama wants to take America.

Local Election Results

Congrats to Senator Alberta Darling and Congressman Sensenbrenner. They have done a very good job of representing Menomonee Falls and we look forward to their service in the years to come.

The presidential results are as follows:

2008 McCain/Palin 61% (13,006) Obama/Biden 39% (8,363) turnout 88% total of registered voters 24,697

2004 Bush/Cheney 66% (13,954) Kerry/Edwards 34% (7,196) turnout 97% total of registered voters 22,129

2000 Bush/Cheney 66% (11,932) Gore/Liberman 33% (6,151) turnout 82% total of registered voters 22,776

1996 Dole/Kemp 54% (8,067) Clinton/Gore 38% (5,688) Perot/Choate 8% turnout 81% total of registered voters 18,857

1992 Bush/Quayle 50% (8,220) Clinton/Gore 30% (4,949) Perot/Stockdale 19% turnout 100% total of registered voters 16,359

Village Board Budget Hearing November 24th at Village Hall

Please plan on attending the Village Board Budget Hearing on Monday, November 24th at Village Hall starting at 6:30 P.M.

You can view a summary of the Budget by clicking here (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/CurrentEvents.asp?EID=195).

The property tax levy is scheduled to go up 4.09%. That doesn't necessarily mean that tax bills will go up 4.09% though.

Lots of questions need to be asked before the budget is passed.

Every citizen is allowed to speak at the Public Hearing.

The 2009 Budget is available for review at Village Hall Monday-Friday from 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

The garbage tax, that we were initially told by the Village Board was going to be temporary in 2006, is now permanent and is going up 6% this year from $1.2 million to almost $1.3 million or $85 per household to $90 per household (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/CivicAlerts.asp?AID=90) and $180 for a duplex, $270 for a 3 unit and $360 for a 4 unit complex.

When the garbage tax, which use to be included in the property tax bill until 2007, and the property tax levy increase are combined, there will be an increase of more than 10% for the Village's portion of the tax bill and that is totally unnecessary if the Village Board required Waste Management to pick the garbage up for free and pay for the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund without any taxpayer's money.

Let's use the example of Waukesha County's Budget for Menomonee Falls (http://www.menomoneefallsnow.com/watch/?watch=23&date=11/12/2008&id=48407). It's less than a 1% spending increase.

School Superintendent Confirms Mark Belling Show Report on High School Administrator's Issue with Young Female Student

The School Superintendent invited The Vanguard to his office for a complete review of all of the pertinent matters involving a veteran administrator at the high school and his totally inappropriate behavior toward a young female student that was reported on the Mark Belling Show earlier this fall.

The Vanguard can confirm that everything that was reported on the Mark Belling Show about the inappropriate behavior of this veteran administrator toward the young female student is completely and unequivocally accurate.

The details of the disgusting and inappropriate behavior by the veteran administrator toward the young female student will be left for others to discuss, what's important in this matter is that it was handled in a direct and firm manner by the school superintendent for the protection of the young female student and her family in effort to assure the community this will not happen again to any student and that discipline for staff committing this type of behavior will be done so in a fair, firm and unbiased manner without respect to friendships that may been developed between staff.

The young female student's 2008 Graduation Day was ruined when she left the building in tears when the veteran administrator was on the platform handing out diplomas. It was her and her parent's understanding this guarantee (not having the administrator on the platform) was in place from those (high school staff) who intervened on her behalf because the principal at the high school never responded to her or her parents the entire school year about the matter.

Wouldn't a simple phone call, email, letter or personal meeting with the family have been the right and appropriate thing to do instead of ignoring it?

The School Superintendent observed the confrontation between the parents of the young female student and the 2 high school administrators after the graduation ceremony.

The School Superintendent was contacted about the matter by the parents and the young female student after graduation asking for help.

The superintendent immediately sprang into action directing that an immediate investigation be done.

The Vanguard can report the following after meeting with the superintendent:

A thorough investigation of the matter involving all parties was done and was completed with a meeting between the young female student, her parents and the superintendent on September 19, 2008 bringing the matter to closure so that all parties will be able to move on.
The facts, findings and resolution of the matter have been laid out as follows: 1. A mandatory 3 hour sexual harassment training course for the entire high school administration that was completed in October of 2008. 2. Notices have been given to administrators by the superintendent with specific caution and directives for future incidents that may occur like this.
The two (2) high school male staff members who intervened on behalf of the young female student showed exemplary behavior with their assistance for the student.
The entire district has had the Code of Conduct and Sexual Harassment Policy upgraded and reviewed as part of this situation.

The Vanguard was very impressed with the school superintendent's handling of this situation and his commitment of making sure this doesn't happen again with the measures that he has put in place to improve communication, reporting requirements and sensitivity to matters such as these to protect students and to assure that all staff members are treated equally for disciplinary actions.

The New Destination Signs Are Here, The New Destination Signs Are Here...Well, Sort of

Like Steve Martin in the 1979 movie, "The Jerk", when he excitedly proclaimed, "The new phone book is here. The new phone book is here.", after seeing his name in the phone book for the first time, The Vanguard is proud to announce the Village has finally installed destination signs for the $42 million Municipal Facilities Complex including the library, police station and village hall that was opened and dedicated over five years ago in July of 2003.

The Vanguard has been calling for destination signs throughout the village for a long time now (http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/08/31/quot-excuse-me-could-you-tell-me-how-to-get-to-the-high-school-quot.aspx) and is very glad to see them come to fruition after efforts to erect the signs began over 5 years ago at no cost to the taxpayers. The Vanguard has also been asking for the Municipal Complex to have identification signage on the buildings as well so residents, guests and visitors know where to enter for Village Meetings, Municipal Court, police matters or which building is actually the library.

This would have been extremely helpful for someone to have stopped by the Police Department to report a drunk driver, a stalker, a crime, an accident, an injury, storm issues or just to go for temporary protection, but for years (over 5 to be exact) none of the buildings were specifically identified.

It is hoped the destination signs were paid for out of the approximate $60,000 Settlement Account of the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund as a result of a settled lawsuit between the Village and the building contractor during the construction and ultimate completion of the library, police station and village hall and not out of the taxpayer's pocket.

Now if the Village Manager would only have these signs displayed throughout the Village, as most if not all communities do throughout Wisconsin, with the costs to be covered by the some $60,000 Settlement Account of the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund. These signs are incredibly easy to produce and install. The Village has a great staff that has already been budgeted for and would be happy to have these signs done and erected in no time at all.

What would it take to have 20-30 of these signs made and erected? Maybe $75-$150 a piece or $2,000-$3,000 total for the signs? Not much, considering we already have some $60,000 to pay for it at no cost to the taxpayers and the professional staff to put them in that have also been budgeted for out of the some nearly $6 million Public Works Employee Budget.

These signs give a sense of warmth, pride and direction for local residents as well as guests and visitors to the Falls.

It would be so nice to see them along Appleton Avenue, Good Hope Road, Silver Spring, Pilgrim Road, Lilly Road, County Line Road, Menomonee Ave., Main Street, etc. as other communities do directing people to and showing the pride for Wells Fargo Funds, Kohl's Corporate Center, North Hills Country Club, various churches, private and public schools, shopping areas, Silver Spring Country Club, Harley Davidson, athletic complexes, parks, Old Falls Village, etc.

Here's what the destination signs and identification signage looks like if you haven't seen them yet:

Please thank the Village Manager and let him know if you would like to see them throughout the Village by contacting him at 532-4241 or mfitzgerald@menomonee-falls.org.

The money is there, we just need someone to get it done. Five (5) years is a long time to wait.

A reader of The Vanguard, who works in downtown Milwaukee, shared what the City of Milwaukee's destination signs look like and thought it would be nice if the Falls had something similar to Milwaukee's after reading the posting on destination signs:

Water and Wisconsin (East) Water and Wisconsin (West)

Now we can say we have some of them in the Falls thank you.

Trustee Steliga Misses or is Late for Most Library Board Meetings

A reader of The Vanguard, familiar with library operations, asked us to look into the attendance record of the Village Board Representative for the Library Board, Trustee Jeff Steliga who also is required to give a report from the Village Board to the Library Board at each meeting.

The Library Board meets about 9 times a year.

For 2008, Trustee Steliga has been late or absent from 6 of the 8 meetings so far.

For 2007, Trustee Steliga has been late or absent from at least 4 of the 9 meetings if not more. The Village website doesn't have all of the minutes from the Library Board for 2007 so it is unclear how many other meetings Trustee Steliga may have missed or has been late for.

We will have an update for the rest of 2007 as well as 2005-06 for Trustee Steliga's attendance at the Library Board Meetings.

DA Contradicts Village Clerk on Reporting of 2004 Voting Irregularities

The Waukesha County DA recently left a message for The Vanguard which totally contradicts what the Village Clerk, through the Village Attorney, has reported about 2004 voting irregularities involving forged signature(s), perhaps false addresses, apparent illegal registrations, etc.

We will keep you posted on what we find out.

Let's Use the Alaskan Permanent Fund As An Example for Waste Management, The Garbage Tax and The $42 Million Municipal Facilities Fund Bailout

We have reportedly extensively on what should be done with the annual $1.3 million garbage tax and payment of the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund Taxpayer Bailout ( http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/09/30/public-employee-benefit-costs-ii.aspx and http://blogs.menomoneefallsnow.com/the_vanguard/archive/2008/07/10/the-great-garbage-debate.aspx) to keep as much money in Menomonee Falls with free garbage pick up and to make sure the taxpayers don't have to pay for the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund as we were originally promised in 2000 by some of the same members that are still on the Village Board.

Governor Palin has strongly promoted the Alaskan Permanent Fund (https://www.pfd.state.ak.us/ and http://www.apfc.org/home/Content/home/index.cfm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Permanent_Fund) as a way to work with Corporate America who stand to make millions off a local community.

This is a great idea and it could be easily done in Menomonee Falls with Waste Management if we only had a Village Board that would do so.

Let the Village Board know you want free garbage pick-up and complete relief from the $42 million Municipal Facilities Fund by clicking here (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/index.asp?nid=292).

It's time for tax relief.

Thanks for your time.

Have a great week.

You are welcome to leave a comment below.

Exercise the Privilege of Voting

2008-11-03T16:48:55Z

The Vision of Our Forefathers

Our forefathers were incredibly visionary in their thinking and with their decisions from over 220 years ago that laid the groundwork for us today when it comes to voting.

Having declared their independence from a suppressive and oppressive government without regard to personal and professional persecution and sacrifice, our forefathers knew it was the right thing to do for citizens to be given free, open and honest elections.

Regardless of political affiliations, our forefathers simply wanted everyone who was a legal citizen of the United States and legally registered to vote.

Let's honor our representative government and our forefathers by exercising the privilege of voting on November 4th.

Here are some of our founding documents that shaped our country and its independence when it comes to voting:

Declaration of Independence (http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/)
Bill of Rights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights)
Federalist Papers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Papers)
United States Constitution (http://www.theusgov.com/the%20constitution.htm)

The attached Village link will hopefully assist you with any questions you may have for voting in Menomonee Falls on November 4th (http://www.menomonee-falls.org/index.asp?NID=520) or you can call the Clerk's Office at 532-4200.

The State of Wisconsin has great links available for help in voting if the Village is unable to do so:

Basic voting questions (http://elections.state.wi.us/faq_que_list.asp?fid=27&locid=47&linkid)
Where to vote (https://vpa.wi.gov/)

Taking a Break Until Next Week

With such historical proportions at stake for the November 4th Election, The Vanguard felt it was in the best interest to take a break until next week at which time we will jump back into the saddle with more postings that will continue to reveal what is really going on in the Falls.

It's important to vote especially in close elections.

The attached link will give you a brief example of some of the closest elections in our nation's history (http://www.multied.com/elections/Disputedelections.html) and why it is so important to vote.

Get Your Candles Soon Before It's Too Late

Elections are very important and this is simply one of the many examples that exist why the public has a right to know what the candidate's positions are and what they stand for when it comes to a person's vision as president especially in the area of energy.

We know now Senator Obama and his Campaign wants to punish energy companies who provide us with electricity with punitive taxes and fees in order to bankrupt them if they don't comply costing Americans their jobs, livelihood and security along with the forfeiture of tax revenues to local, county, state and federal governments when the energy companies go bankrupt.

Senator Obama's interview promising the bankruptcy of energy companies and extremely higher energy costs (http://www.wsaz.com/political/headlines/33726759.html) for those who don't comply.
Ohio Energy Official weighs in on Obama Energy Bankruptcy Plan (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Ohio-Coal-Association-Says-Obama/story.aspx?guid=%7BDFD1EBEB-73EC-4661-B8BA-40D8EBD7D93D%7D).
West Virginia Official decries the Obama Energy Bankruptcy Plan (http://www.wvrecord.com/news/215679-coal-official-calls-obama-comments-unbelievable).

Hopefully Target, Wal Mart, Kohl's, Yankee, etc. will have an ample supply of candles for us if Obama wins on November 4th.

Have a great week!