The Village Budget

Safeguarding Our Municipal Finances

The Village Voice Party has always believed that solid finances and a balanced budget are the backbone to successful village management.  Budgeting is one of the biggest keys to managing money and a balanced budget (particularly in government) is when the revenues are equal to the expenditures.

When the first Village Voice trustees were sworn into office, one of their first missions was to balance the budget, and balance it they did!  Through measures of cutting extraneous spending and personnel, not only was the budget balanced but they fought their way out of a huge deficit.  And the same is true today.  The seated Village Voice trustees have continued to make the budget a priority, since it is budgeting that helps you reach your goals.

Village Voice members bring many years of financial expertise to the table.  In addition to a balanced budget some of the more recent focuses of our trustees have been best practices, accountability, preferred vendors, documenting procedures and streamlining processes. 

To elaborate; best practices are a set of guidelines, ethics or ideas that represent the most efficient or sensible course of action.  It is our goal to strive for the highest possible standards in how we make decisions and set standards for our dealings, processes and procedures.

Accountability, by definition is “being responsible for what you do and able to give satisfactory reason for it.”  Not only do we hold village employees accountable, but also, we hold ourselves accountable to all of the village residents.

When we use preferred vendors for things such as office supplies, it helps keep costs down.  Additionally, it saves the staff time as the terms and conditions have already been established.  This is also an area where expansion is possible.

Documenting procedures is important in many ways.  First, it helps in having a written record on how things are conducted and done.  It aids in training and cross-training.  It will also help with legacy planning, when personnel either leave or retire.

Streamlining processes benefits everyone.  It helps personnel manage their time and work in the most efficient and effective  manner.  And we have all heard the adage, “time is money.”

All of our Village Voice trustees, are dedicated to fiscal responsibility and know that anything tracked gets better.

With such due diligence and practical mechanisms in place, the Village Voice Party hopes to continue navigating the village into a fiscally strong future.