Weatherston Says Village Going Broke

Before the Caledonia Village Board meeting got fully underway Monday, Trustee Tom Weatherston read a statement outlining for residents the precarious financial state of the village.

"The long and short of this is that the Village is slowly going broke," he read. "Your village board will have to make some very hard decisions ... we will be forced to lay off some of our staff, combine some village operations, and review our protective services."

Weatherston does see a small silver lining for Caledonia in potential development, and he told residents that while he supports smart growth that "compliments our conservation areas and reflects in the values of this community," they have to stop resisting that growth.

"We must all work together," he continued. "Resisting any and all development only makes our ever-growing income issue worse. We need to put on our 'Welcome to Caledonia' hats, get proper development and solve our long-term financial issues." 

President Bob Bradley said after the meeting that Weatherston is exactly right, but that he sees a brighter future once water and sewer get extended to I-94.

"Tom was right on the money, but the village is on a path for development at the I-94 corridor," he said. "I would love Walmart on Highway K out there once water and sewer get hooked up."

Bradley thinks Caledonia is still two to three years from being able to actively promote development along the expressway because the recently signed water agreement with the City of Racine has to get the okay from the Public Service Commission first.

"Once the PSC gives us their stamp of approval, we can get connected and create a new TID," he said. "I think we're still two or three years away from that, but time goes fast. It will be here before we know it."