Last week we linked to the Burbcopschicago post, $afety Fir$t. The piece was about Red Light Cameras. But we also wanted PRU readers to become aware of the many officers who seem to feel they, themselves, are also being used as revenue generating machines for over-spent municipal budgets.
The Burbcops' post noted the cynicism of politicians who tell the public they are concerned for traffic safety matters, while behind the scenes the issue seems to be all about revenue generation.
So PRU readers, let's play a game -- The PRU Crew calls this game, "Suckers-R-Us."
Start...If you were an alderman, and you were on a city council that had to find a way to generate revenue to help reduce an unexpected city budget general fund deficit of $600,000...
Question #1...Would you vote to increase taxes?
Question #2...Would you vote to increase the parking tax by $1 per car at one of your largest local employers, say...a local hospital?
Question #3...Would you then think about that increase for a few days?
Question #4...Would you remember the amount of revenue that local hospital contributed to the city budget through the recent construction and permit fees the city collected -- the contribution that local hospital made to the new paint job on your town's water tower -- the money that local hospital gave to your constituents for repaving one of your ward's streets?
Question #5...Would you feel regret for having to increase the parking tax on that local hospital's employees and visitors?
If you answered "Yes" to question #5, go back to Start and begin the game again...
If you answered "No", proceed to the next question...
Question #6...After thinking about the increased parking tax, would you hit upon the idea that employees and visitors may try to avoid paying that extra dollar by trying to find parking in the residential area surrounding that local hospital?
Question #7...What would you do then?
Question #8...Would you send an email to the Public Safety committee chairman suggesting that the police department patrol the area to make sure no traffic safety issues arise from the possibility of more cars being parked throughout the neighborhood?
If you answered "Yes" to question #8, go back to Start and begin the game again...
If you answered "No", proceed to the next question...
Question #9...Would you send an email to the Public Safety committee chairman suggesting that the police department patrol the area to make sure your constituents aren't being inconvenienced by people parking too close to, or blocking, driveways?
If you answered "Yes" to question #9, go back to Start and begin the game again...
If you answered "No", proceed to the next question...
Question #10...Would you send an email to the Public Safety committee chairman suggesting that the police department be aware of a "revenue generating opportunity" surrounding the local hospital, because the hospital's employees and visitors may be looking to avoid paying the increased parking tax?
If you've gotten to question #10 and you answered "Yes", congratulations!
You could be a Second Ward Alderman.
Hey! Mr. Milissis! How'd you score?
March 6, 2008
Suckers-R-Us!
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14 comments:
All that you need to do for safety sake is to extend the yellow light
to 7-8 seconds. This has been proven to reduce accidents and Save us money - the tax payers.
If you install cameras now with the current yellow time - then you are going to have more accidents - like rear ender's up the wazooo. People will panic at the light when they see that its camera equipped.
Please look into this city fathers!!
Thank you.
People get mad at the police when they get tickets. Politicians push the police to write more tickets.
No wonder the police are screwed up. They get pushed and pulled like two headed llamas.
Where's the leadership?
He just retired.
If local government, in this case the City, did only what it was arguably competent to do and supposed to be doing (like maintaining infrastructure, providing for health and safety, etc.) rather than stuff it is clearly incompetent to do (like "manage" private redevelopment, subsidize private businesses, etc.), it wouldn't need to always be coming up with schemes to chase more revenue.
But, then again, if public officials all did their jobs competently and efficiently, there would be far fewer/no opportunities for graft, corruption and waste.
Oh well.
I volunteer at LGH and can tell you first hand how families with a loved on in the hospital for a number of days can be stretched to pay the current $9 a day or more if they leave and return during the day.
While this tax can appear to be small, it looks like the current Cook County tax increase to be covering incompetent management at the expense of those who can least afford it.
AJ
AJ,
I completely agree. Incompetent management...especially in government...always puts the squeaze on the "little guy" to cover up their own incompetence.
Crook County government might be the most blatant example...but I can think of another example much closer to "home"...
Since everyone is in such a good mood, I wanted to pour some more gasoline on the discussions. The Napleton deal includes $400,000 in clean up costs (estimated) for existing environmental contamination. Does anyone know how this benefit will be administred? The point being the cost was probably based on an independently produced environmental report; my experience is these reports tend to err on the high side as to cost. In other words, the actual cost of cleanup may be significantly lower than $400,000. Just guessing, but I bet the $400K is being handed to Napleton no questions asked.
5:02 - I think your right!
Audit??????????????
Question #6...After thinking about the increased parking tax, would you hit upon the idea that employees and visitors may try to avoid paying that extra dollar by trying to find parking in the residential area surrounding that local hospital? Yes I would, and have done so when I worked there in the early '90s.
Question #7...What would you do then? Park in Niles (from what I remember, the three streets in Niles by "North Park" did not have restricted residential parking signs (I previously lived on one of those roads). But you would need to be healthy enough to walk two blocks.
Why must LGH charge so much for parking? This hospital is part of a large non-profit (no corporate federal or Illinois taxes are being paid) health care system. The most recent financial information available online shows this health care system has a fund balance of just under $1.4 billion dollars and generated profits of over $120 million for the year ended 12.31.04. Perhaps LGH and the management of Advocate Health System does not need to turn all the operating centers of its hospitals into profit centers. Much of the land they sit on is not subject to property taxes. Give the visitors a break on the parking-cut the parking fee and any parking taxes assessed from the city of Park Ridge out of the enormously full cash accounts Advocate is sitting on.
Ever wonder why Bach pushes for the red light cameras? Perhaps someone should look into his connection to the CPD red light camera system....
Right on Anon 12:51! Northwest Community Hospital and Glenbrook Hospital don't charge for parking, so why does LGH? Greedy creeps!
LGH is going single rooms.
They need the money.
Seems the City Council authorized the building permit for the LGH Parking garage on the SW corner of Luther & Dempster. LGH tells its employees they can't park in it because of a clause in the permit (placed there by the City Council)banning employee parking.......
But now have violated that order because the other parking garage by Parkside, 25 years old and falling apart... closed for almost 2 years and still unknown if it will ever open....Where's the building inspector.....????
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