In your editorial “Hoping for the best” (The Landmark View, June 28), you seem to address only the cost of the additional firefighters and police officers, which are definitely needed in North Riverside.
Crime is on the rise and our firefighters are now doing double duty as paramedics, which has cut a chunk of our spending that was going to an outside agency. But you do not address the excessive salaries of the administrative staff as well as perks they receive.
Significant raises were approved even though the administration knew the financial constraints the village is in. The manager-to-employee ratio is way out of whack. Instead of asking for tax increases, the village needs to show fiscal responsibility by addressing salaries, excess staff and overhead.
Susan Simons, North Riverside
