Just like a frustrated parent who cuts off their child’s allowance because they’ve misbehaved, the East St. Louis Financial Advisory Authority has voted unanimously to intercept all State funds.
The FAA, under the Financially Distressed Cities Act, is the overseer of ESL city finances and must approve all budgets and expenditures.
And once the intercept takes effect, ESL will lose control over all State revenue including sales tax revenue, motor fuel taxes as well as gaming tax revenue from the Casino Queen (which is roughly 50 percent of ESL’s operating budget).
Those State revenues would then automatically be sent to the FAA, which would in turn handle the payment of bills as well as manage other essential financial business on behalf of the City of East St. Louis.
For anyone who has paid attention to the bumbling, procrastination, defiance and ineptitude of Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. and ESL city government regarding budget issues, this has been a long time in the making.
Despite repeated warnings, deadlines and opportunities to submit a timely budget, ESL officials have repeatedly shown themselves to be completely incompetent and remiss in their obligations to manage their fiscal responsibilities as required, thumbing their nose at the FAA and their directives.
As an example, ESL has struggled to prepare their 2010 budget, repeatedly failing to meet deadlines and deadline extensions, while other city governments are already preparing their 2011 budgets.
In another instance, back in 2009, Mayor Parks approved an expenditure of $277,414 for payment by the Southwestern Illinois Development Authority to Metro-East Title for work on the old Broadview Hotel, at 411 Broadway, without the approval of the FAA.
Yet, the Distressed Cities Act clearly states that “No contract or other obligations shall be legally binding … unless and until it has received the approval of the authority.”
Mayor Parks was well aware of this, and his defiance as well as his inability to lead effectively have hamstrung the fiscal accountability and functionality of ESL city government, leading them to this new dilemma.
The FAA, on the other hand, must be commended for doing the prudent and responsible thing on behalf of the citizens of ESL.
It’s tantamount to taking the car keys from a drunken driver who just doesn’t realize that he doesn’t have the ability to drive safely.
What makes this even more impressive is the fact that the FAA recently had a “changing of the guard,” installing new members Marvin Lampkin (FAA chairman), Clarence Ellis and Jaquiline Settles to assist FAA Executive Director Patrice Rencher in finally holding ESL city government fiscally accountable.
This “new FAA” has hit the ground running and is literally asking the question “Who’s your daddy?”
Let’s hope that they maintain that attitude in dealing with ESL officials who have demonstrated that they have no interest in operating in the best interest of ESL taxpayers.
My advice to the new FAA is, simply, don’t punk out. Don’t allow the politicians and their operatives to persuade, threaten or even bribe you into doing their bidding.
The City of ESL has had ample time and opportunities to get its act together. Now it’s time for a little tough love.
Outgoing FAA Chairman Dr. Katie Wright and the crew, to their credit, kept Mayor Parks and company from running the City off a cliff into the financial abyss.
Now, the newly restructured FAA has the obligation to force ESL officials to drive the fiscal vehicle responsibly or hand over the keys. This is the beginning of that process.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.