At the last Bremen Township board meeting on Tuesday, January 21st, William R. Healy, CPA, presented the Annual Financial Report to Supervisor M. Maggie Crotty and the Board of Trustees.
The audit found that Bremen Township is on firm financial ground, with no debt and cash balances in every account. The Highway Department, led by Commissioner John Flaherty, was also debt free with a cash balance. These findings earned a triple AAA rating from Moody’s and the highest rating of AAAm from Standard and Poor’s rating services. A fund rated ‘AAAm’ demonstrates extremely strong capacity to maintain principal stability. ‘AAAm is the highest principal stability fund rating assigned by S&P Global ratings. This is no small feat, considering that Bremen Township is one of the lowest taxing bodies in the State of Illinois.
Supervisor Crotty is proud of the fact that the township has been able to maintain and continue to provide the many services that the township offers with no tax increases to its residents. She stated that these results were a team effort and a reflection of the commitment and fiscal responsibility of the Board of Trustees to lessen the burden of taxes for our township residents. The primary function of the Board of Trustee’s is to serve as auditors and have earned being complimented and recognized for their service. The Bremen Township Board of Trustees include: Mary Catuara of Midlothian, Keith Gomillia of Markham, Kathryn Straniero of Oak Forest, and John M. (Mike) Tatro of Crestwood. The remainder of township elected officials are Assessor Willie A. Jones of Hazel Crest, and Clerk John Lord of Midlothian.
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Under the leadership of Highway Commissioner John Flaherty, the department was able to reduce costs by performing many of duties in house with the highway staff instead of using outside contractors, for projects such as storm sewer installations and re-ditching culvert drains. These savings will be directed to future resurfacing projects that are planned for the upcoming season.
In closing, independent financial professionals have declared that the practices that Bremen Township have established and implemented are among the best policies available.
