WHAT THE PEOPLE OF BROOKFIELD ARE SAYING
Letters to the Editor & Viewpoints that appeared in local newspapers

Demand probe into library firing
11-4-09 (From The Landmark)
How many of you know what is happening at our public library? Library Director Kimberly Litland has made a series of bad decisions, starting with the recommendation of the purchase of a house in the Hollywood section of Brookfield (approved by the board) and culminating in the firing of one of our library's most valuable employees - Cindy Moriarty (supported by the board). To date the library board has been unresponsive regarding the firing.

For those of you who know Ms. Moriarty, I do not need to tell you she was a vital part of the library. And for those of you that don't, Cindy Moriarty was director of Children's Services for the last few years and an employee of the library for over a decade.

Ms. Moriarty even received special thanks from the board at their August meeting for her summer programs. She made the library a place that our children wanted to visit. She instilled a love of reading through the many programs she provided and through the book recommendations she made. She started a chess program for young players and a bilingual story time.

But her contributions were much more than a series of programs. She greeted the children, from toddlers to teens, by name. She made them feel welcome, as if this was their library. She had that "Mary Poppins" quality that is hard to describe.

Ms. Moriarty's reward for all of her hard work and dedication to the children of our community and our library was a capricious firing at the hands of Kimberly Litland.

It is hard for those who know Ms. Moriarty to imagine the perceived offense that justified the actions of Kimberly Litland that day. There are many questions that those in the community want answered. Why was Ms. Moriarty fired? Does our library have a policy for terminating employees? Was that policy followed? If Ms. Litland did not follow that policy, are there any repercussions for her?

As citizens of the community, we should demand an investigation into the firing of Cindy Moriarty from the Brookfield Public Library. The callous disregard for the needs of the children of our community will not be forgotten.

For the library board members to do nothing and simply hope that the community forgets is unacceptable.

Jerome Barrido
Brookfield

Brookfield board allows free spending
2-18-2009
C.P. Hall calls it making a mountain out of a mole hill, Michael Towner calls it no big deal, Cathy Edwards and Yvonne Prause say nothing but quickly vote to send a check to the library to cover the funds that the manager's office did not levy.

This is just another example of how little oversight the Brookfield village board exercises when it comes to spending our hard-earned tax dollars. This is not the first "mistake" made by management, but just another in a long line of abuses of the public trust.

Not only did the manager's office not properly levy all the money needed, reducing our revenues, but they seem to have no trouble with endless spending sprees. Here's just a few of the expenditures that have gone unquestioned by the village board.

A recent article in the Landmark highlighted Brookfield's expenditure for salt. While road salt has increased in price, the fact that Brookfield is paying more than $138 a ton, more than most neighboring suburbs, should be appalling to this board. Westchester recently had to purchase more salt at $54 a ton. The board OKs the purchase without question.

Did anyone question why the manager's office spent $19,266 on telephones in 2007 when only $3,335 was budgeted? And that's just one of many cost overruns. In the last eight months of 2007, the finance department expenses where $362,822, the amount budgeted was $208,671, which is $154,307 overrun despite not having a finance director on staff.

Why does this board continue to be silent as our tax dollars disappear? Ketchmark will argue that the village spent less than they budgeted. Yes they did, on services for the residents. Dollars spent on park maintenance were only half of the budgeted amount, maintenance on the train depot was reduced and expenditures for special events were cut by two-thirds. And those are just a few of the shortfalls in providing enough dollars for government services to the residents.

That seems to be a pattern with this board, no discussion and no questions. Without discussion they raise our taxes, without discussion they raise parking tickets, garbage rates, water rates and landscape waste.

Should they not look to administration to cut costs or at least spend the money appropriately instead of taxing and fining the residents to make up for the clear incompetence?

Yes, C.P. Hall, I believe it is time to make a mountain out of what you perceive to simply be a mole hill. Mr. Hall says it is not incompetence or mismanagement; he says it's simply a mistake. It is all that and the taxpayers of Brookfield deserve a village board that should expect better from its high-salaried management instead of silently excusing it.

Linda Stevanovich
Brookfield

Different standards for residents, businesses
1-28-2009
When it comes to enforcement of restrictions during the winter months, here in Brookfield they have two different standards.

As reported in the Jan. 21 Landmark ("Brookfield puts in call for more road salt") Village Manager Ginex stated that police wrote 748 tickets so far to residents in violation of parking restrictions.

Now, what about the businesses that clear the parking places for their customers and pile the snow on the sidewalks? How many tickets were written for that?

Every winter, instead of writing tickets for that violation, Brookfield spends thousands of dollars and brings out dump trucks and front-end loaders and hauls away those piles of snow. How much money does the village of Brookfield collect from the businesses for removing those illegal piles of snow? I'll bet not one red cent.

Ogden Avenue is now cleared so that pedestrians don't have to walk in the roadway, but what about 47th Street from Maple Avenue west?

Ted Schwartz
Brookfield

The Brookfield boll weevils?
1-21-2009
Sometimes you get the feeling that Brookfield is getting a Botox treatment from village officials. Trying to follow the so-called faux pas between the manager and library director regarding the tax levy and the shortfall of some $600,000 is like watching a magician move three cups around real fast. When you pick the cup that you think the ball is under, the ball-in this case, the money-is gone.

Last fall President Michael Garvey handed the manager yet another raise as a vote of confidence in his work ethic. I don't want to sound negative, and maybe the officials just had a bad hair day, but the taxpayers have a right to know just what is going on here.

Who is looking out for us? Should we just pray for some sort of intervention? Cash reserves dwindling, high salaries, lines of credit and wasteful spending are not what we need in this economy.

Reminds me of the boll weevil from the south. This bug devoured all of the cotton crop and the farmers were left with nothing but barren ground. They had no choice but to start all over and plant a different crop.

Seems to me the voters of Brookfield will have to do the same thing in April. Let's not have the current officials become the boll weevil of Brookfield.

Jane Harps
Brookfield

Same old snow removal games
1-21-2009
Well, the same old games are being played here in Brookfield. When it comes to taking care of snowfall, here in Brookfield, the village has the money and time to clean away the snow that businesses pile on the sidewalks when they clear the parking spaces for their businesses.

There is an ordinance that says you are not supposed to do that. There are times when these snow piles are three and four feet high.

I have been told by the village that the snow that they clear away is what is pushed on the sidewalks when the street is cleaned. Sure it is. We all know that in no way would you get three- and four-foot snow piles of snow pushed on the sidewalks when the plow goes by.

Someone must have their head buried in a snow bank to come up with that reply.

Two winters ago, I took one of the village people around and showed him all of the places where the sidewalks were blocked. Last year and this year nothing has changed.

The village has the money and time to clean up after the business, but when the side streets are plowed, all of the crosswalks are blocked. Is it right that the school children and pedestrians have to crawl over those blocked crosswalks?

What about the people who are walking to and from the train station? If they use Burlington Avenue, they have to walk in the roadway. Westchester is looking for a new manager, and I think it is time for Brookfield to do the same.

Ted Schwartz
Brookfield

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