Community Group Numerology!

As we reported to you in our COW recap yesterday, the City Council voted on an amendment to community group funding, offered by Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th ward), to restore full funding to community groups who are given dontions from the city coffers.

Neither Benedict Ryan nor anyone else at last Monday night's COW could seem to determine what "full funding" actually amounted to. The 6th ward's Unfriendly Ghost, Ald. Tom Carey, went so far as to say he could not "vote on the issue without knowing the numbers" shortly before he voted "no" on the issue, then changed his vote to "yes" on the issue.

We hope each of the Aldermorons checks either the City web site or reads through their Council packets this weekend before next Monday's City Council meeting. In both locations they will find the following information --

PRPaymentsCommunityGrps

Only $38,900 over budget! The PRU Crew just loves fiscal conservativism!

There are a couple of payments to community groups the PRU Crew would leave as-is, such as the contributions to the Center of Concern, the Maine Center for Mental Health, and Meals On Wheels. Everything else? Zilch. Let the artsy fartsy crowd hold some bake sales this coming year, and the Teen Center should be made to tap into their reserves -- which, last time we were able to check, was a fairly hefty sum.

What was that we heard Alderman Don Bachtard (3rd ward) say about not cutting enough?

If the Council is willing to consider cuts to things like weekend cleaning of Uptown, Holiday lights, Departmental training programs, Fire Department public safety education programs, and then ask City staff to take a wage freeze or suffer staffing cuts for one year, while also raising property taxes and various fees, the PRU Crew feels the Council can also ask most of these community groups to carry their own water for at least one year.

Belated Council COW Recap!

At Monday night's Council COW the longest part of the public portion of the meeting was devoted to discussion among the Finance and Budget committee action items.

This will be long and somewhat painful, PRU readers.

The first item on the Finance action list was approval of contributions to Community Groups. After the motion for approval was made and seconded, Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th ward) moved to amend the motion by asking that it be changed to restore full funding to each of the community groups. Alderman Jim Allspaghetti (4th ward) asked what the new number for the budget would be? City Manager Jim Hock responded that the amount would be somewhere around $15,000. Alderman Frank Wsooooolman (7th ward) asked if the amendment meant only the groups listed on the sheet in front of them or all the previously funded community groups? Benedict Ald. Ryan said they were the same. Ald. Wsooooolman said they were not. Benedict Ald. Ryan then said his intention was to restore funding to the groups that serve the most people.

Alderman Don Bachtard (3rd ward) then asked if Lutheran General Hospital had agreed to take over funding the meals on wheels program through the Senior Center and if the City funds the program and LGH then agrees to fund the program can the City get the money back? City Manager Jim Hock responded by asking, after the check is written and given how do you propose to get the money back? Ald. Bach didn't appear to have an answer. Alderman Bach then asked why the funding was in the budget? City Manager Hock replied that this is what the Council indicated they wanted at one of their previous meetings. The Lord of the Manor, Ald. Rich DiPietro (2nd ward) said the final approval would be given at next Monday's meeting and then the check would be cut. City Manager Jim Hock added that the amendment before them indicated full funding. Benedict Ald. Ryan indicated that he wished to leave $6,800 in the budget for budgeting purposes, at which time the Unfriendly Ghost of the 6th ward, Ald. Tom Carey indicated $6,800 was not the full amount of funding and that there were entities missing from the list of community groups before them, repeating the question about what the "full dollar amount is for Ryan's amendment?" City Manager Jim Hock indicated the Community Health Commission was not on the list of community groups before the Council. Ald. Carey then indicated he could not vote on something without knowing the number. This prompted the City Cluck, Betty Henneman, to say that she hoped the City would not withhold funding from these community groups for "too long."

After this in-depth and clarifying discussion of Benedict Ald. Ryan's amendment, the council voted 4 (Bach, Allegretti, Ryan, and Wsol) to 2 (DiPietro and Carey) to add full funding, whatever that means, to the motion approving funding for community groups. Then the Unfriendly Ghost of the 6th ward asked to change his vote to a "yes", in favor of the amendment.

The final motion to approve funding for community groups passed unanimously.

The next three items on the Finance action list, approval of payments for database administration, payroll services, and employee medical, dental, and life insurance passed unanimously with little discussion.

The Finance committee then moved to the issue of water rates and sewer fees. Benedict Ald. Ryan asked, if the City of Chicago raised the water rate 15% but the increase in the budget is only 5%, where will the money come from? Filling in for the absent Director of Finance was Finance Dept. Purchasing Agent Bob Kaderabek, who answered Benedict Ald. Ryan's question by saying the money would come "from reserves." Benedict Ryan then asked what "would happen by 2013 or 2014?" The Lord of the Manor offered that money from residents is what is being used because "residents have already been taxed."

The 6th ward's Unfriendly Ghost then seemingly attempted to answer Benedict Ryans' question by saying that there would be "incremental increases over time that will mitigate depletion of the water fund." Benedict Ryan then asked if the 15% rate increase is guaranteed at which time City Manager Hock answered that there would be another 14% increase next January. Benedict Ryan then asked if it would be better to include these increases in the property tax, based on the recommendation of former City Treasurer Carl Brauweiler who spoke at the last meeting. This question was seemingly ignored. The PRU Crew sees the wisdom in not pushing every expense through the property tax bill, despite Mr. Brauweiler's suggestion that property taxes can be "deducted" from federal tax bills. Anyone care to take a stab at why not pushing every expense through the property tax bills is a good thing for property tax payers? One of our friendly correspondents hit on this and the PRU Crew agrees wholeheartedly!

Alderman Wsooooolman then asked how much revenue is used for non-water expenses, to which Mr. Kaderabek answered, "None." City Manager Jim Hock then tried to explain the difference between fund accounting and actual money in the bank. Ald. Wsooooolman then asked when the water fund would be repaid? Mr. Kaderabek said the accounting would always be on paper.

Alderman Allspaghetti then went on to explain that the City's cash is "all in one account." After some further confused discussion, Benedict Ryan asked if the information on the public documents could be re-labeled for clarification. The PRU Crew feels that must be a punch line!

Alderman Bachtard offered that he would be voting "no" because this motion "lacks conscience" is a "tax hike" without "additional cuts" and "no additional service."

Alderman Wsooooolman remarked that "someone talked about getting elected based on transparency" and that telling the public that they're getting charged for water service but using the fund balance for non-water expenses is "not transparent." This elicited a response from Ald. Allspaghetti who said, "We have to buy water and we have to pay for it." City Manager Jim Hock added that the Council has indicated they want to adhere to a 33% to 50% fund balance policy, but that next year the General Fund would be at roughly 26% and the water fund would be at 20%, and that lower fund balances will effect future bond ratings if the Council continues to keep "eating increases." Ald. Bachtard said he was "in favor" of keeping fund balances but that he felt there were "other ways to do it" indicating that the Council has discussed "4 people being laid off." Some of our sources report that City Manager Jim Hock's constantly present smile seemed to "freeze in place on his face!" We're wondering if Bachtard understands the idiocy, or is it hypocrisy, of "revealing" confidential personnel discussions? City Manger Hock simply said that the water fund can only pay for "water employees."

Have our PRU readers made it this far? Staying awake? Everyone still have all their hair? There's more!

At this point in the evening Benedict Ryan asked that the City's financial advisor, John Peterson of William Blaire & Company step forward and answer questions about how other towns manage their fund balances. Mr. Peterson indicated that other towns use balances to absorb costs over years. Benedict Ryan then asked, if there has been a 15% increase in the cost of water to the City, is then asking for a 5% water rate increase from residents right?" Mr. Peterson indicated that the 15% increase in the cost of water could be covered by a 5% rate increase, to which City Manager Hock added that the water fund will still show a $404,000 loss next year.

Alderman Wsooooolman then asked Mr. Peterson, "How many organizations have a positive fund balance 4 or 5 times their debt limit?" Mr. Peterson said he didn't know that answer but he added that water funds "have exposure to heavy capital expenses" such as water main breaks and various repairs.

Alderman Bachtard then asked if Mr. Peterson is the financial advisor for other towns, and Mr. Peterson indicated he was. Alderman Bachtard then asked how "we compare to other towns -- is this hard to understand here?" Mr. Peterson responded that the accounting may be harder for some to understand but that Park Ridge's accounting isn't harder to understand than any other towns'. Bachtard then pushed further by asking, "Do we just not understand this? This seems like voodoo economics." The PRU Crew was sorry to learn Mr. Peterson did not take that big juicy bait and instead simply answered, "The cash balances are all in one place."

A vote on the water rate increase was then taken and passed by 4 (Allegretti, DiPietro, Ryan, and Carey) to 2 (Bach and Wsol).

The evening's fun continued next with discussion of the sewer fund. Ald. Allspaghetti said he didn't remember voting to create a sewer enterprise fund, which prompted City Manager Hock to say that they are "jumping around the agenda" and that "[this] is setting up the sewer enterprise fund."

Benedict Ald. Ryan then asked if, in the past, sewer improvement funds came from "some place else?" By now we would expect each and every Alderdunce understands where funds come from and that, if there is not a separate enterprise fund or another restricted fund specifically attached to projects, chances are pretty good money from the City's largest account is being used -- that would be, the big kahuna, the beefy football burrito, the venti latte, the...all together now...General Fund! Which is not exactly the answer given by City Manager Hock -- he simply said that money for sewer improvements has come from the City's General Fund and that the sewer enterprise fund and new sewer rate now being created would "only cover 60% of sewer expenses." The 6th ward's Unfriendly Ghost then clarified that the initial funding would be approximately $300,000 dollars from the General Fund, to which City Manager Hock added that was correct and another $896,000 will be raised next year.

The City Council then voted 6 to 1 (Wsol) to increase the sewer fees and create the sewer enterprise fund.

The City Council then moved on to discussion and passage of the prevailing wage ordinance, various parking space leases, and parking permit fees -- all motions passed unanimously.

The Council then discussed the idea of instituting a policy that would suggest the Council limit the City's debt to a certain percentage of [total] Equalized Assessed Valuation for property in Park Ridge.

City Manager Hock explained that even without such a policy in place the Council would still have to discuss and vote to incur debt.

Alderman Wsooooolman said he supports a policy that would limit debt and that would require all future Councils to do what they are supposed to do -- "seek voter input and support" from voters before incurring large amounts of debt.

O.k., everybody, pick your jaws up off the floor. Yes, this is the same Wsooooolman who wouldn't even second Mayor-elect Dave Schmidtzkrieg's motion to place a referendum on the ballot about spending $16 million for a new police station, but then at the last possible hour constructed his own confusing and poorly worded referendum on the same subject.

Alderman Wsooooolman must have seen the error of his ways. Or he's getting ready to run for Mayor in 4 years.

The Council, after listening to outgoing Mayor Howard's innuendo that Senator Kotowski may not be telling the truth about funding for the Park Ridge Point noise wall construction, took a break.

After everyone stretched their legs, visited the public restrooms, or spent time jawing amongst themselves, the Council returned to their seats and began the Procedures and Regulations Committee portion of the meeting.

The first item on the P & R agenda was discussion of whether or not to hold a public hearing to determine whether or not American Taxi should be granted 5 licenses to operate in Park Ridge.

Alderman Tom Carey, the 6th ward's Unfriendly Ghost, asked what the purpose of the public hearing would be? Stating that he hadn't heard complaints about there not being enough taxis in town. The Lord of the Manor answered that American Taxi is saying there is a need but that Park Ridge Taxi is saying there isn't a need, and that the purpose of the public hearing would be to determine that.

The Council then voted on the motion of whether or not to hold a public hearing -- the vote against holding a public hearing was unanimous; American Taxi will not get the opportunity to even present their "case" at a public hearing, and Park Ridge Taxi's monopoly will remain in place.

The Council then moved to discussion and passage of an increase in the filing costs for trucks that violate weight restrictions. After some modest discussion, the motion passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was whether or not an "Appeals Process for Text Amendments Denied by Planning and Zoning" should be passed.

The Lord of the Manor moved to amend the motion to require an extraordinary vote of the City Council to override denials by Planning and Zoning. Ald. Allspaghetti then moved to substitute for the whole that a simple majority would be required to review and reverse a denial by Planning and Zoning.

We are told former Aldercreature Jeannie Markvetch -- we mean that in the nicest way -- spoke to this issue and asked who would initiate a review, an Alderman or an applicant? Ald. Allspaghetti answered that an Alderman would initiate a review. Ms. Markvetch -- really, in the nicest way -- indicated that she saw "all kinds of problems with this" and that the Council would be leaving these decisions for review in the "hands of those holding political positions."

Assistant City Manager Juliana Maller then asked the Council if they intended to hold full-blown hearings again, including the offering of testimony from applicants? City Attorney Buzz Hill answered that he understood this process would be limited to a review of the Planning and Zoning records only. The Lord of the Manor said that he expected that people would get up and address the issue because the Council has always invited citizen input and he would hope that would continue.

Ms. Markvetch then asked if Planning and Zoning denies an application, could the applicant file an appeal with the Circuit Court? Alderman Allspaghetti indicated that he did not think that was possible, but City Attorney Buzz Hill indicated that the Planning and Zoning denial could be subject to "Administrative Review" -- which the PRU Crew thinks means "yes."

Then CURRB spokesperson Judy Barclay asked how many text amendment applications have been denied by Planning and Zoning? Ms. Carrie Davis, the Director of Community Development answered, "None." Ms. Barclay then asked, "Then why change?" Ms. Davis responded, "Don't ask me!"

Ms. Barclay went on to suggest the Council "leave it out of the hands of elected officials."

The Lord of the Manor then offered that he "agreed -- leave it the way it was" but that he didn't think there were the votes for that so he "prefers a super majority vote be required" to over turn denials from Planning and Zoning. Benedict Ald. Ryan agreed with Ald. DiPietro, and Ald. Tom Carey moved to defer the matter to the next meeting.
The Council then voted to defer the matter for discussion at the next meeting by a vote of 5 to 1 (Bach).

The Council then moved to the discussion items on the Procedures and Regulations agenda.

The first item was whether or not to pursue an ordinance to require businesses to shovel snow from sidewalks. After some discussion, the Council decided to continue the discussion at their June meeting.

The last item for discussion was a riveting report by Fair Housing Chairman Nan Parson. Our sources tell us that by this time in the evening, some of those in attendance looked as if it were requiring every bit of their personal strength to keep their eyes open.

So the PRU Crew would like to offer big PRUdos to Ald. Tom Carey for staying awake and asking Ms. Parson some rather interesting questions about her activities as the Fair Housing Commission Chairman in relation to her now attending Human Needs Task Force meetings. We are told Ms. Parson admitted to attending the meetings in her "official capacity as the Fair Housing Chairman." Alderman Carey indicated that he found that problematic and thought Ms. Parson did not have the explicit authority to represent the City's Fair Housing Commission to the Human Needs Task Force.

Ms. Parson offered that she is always careful not to cross any lines, but welcomes the Council to please expand the Fair Housing Commission mandate and that she has a keen interest in matters relating to attainable housing. The PRU Crew wonders what "attainable housing" means, exactly -- as we frequently meet other people in Park Ridge who have managed to "attain" housing in Park Ridge.

With that the Council adjourned to closed session to discuss matters of collective bargaining.

So there you have it, dear PRU readers, our 2,882 word COW recap! We sure hope y'all made it this far!

Mea Culpa!

Photo by aliblu at buzznet.com

We offer our apologies to PRU readers for not having completed a recap of the City Council COW last evening for your reading displeasure today!

We hope to be able to incorporate our sources' notes with whatever is reported in tomorrow's Journal & Topics.

Mea Culpa!

Twofer! Gesundheit!

1. -- From the City Website.

The Park Ridge city website has put up a link to information from the Center for Disease Control, about the Swine Influenza (Flu). PRUdos to the city web master!

The information includes a section titled "What You Can Do to Stay Healthy" with reminders --

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
  

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
• If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

And because the PRU Crew likes graphic illustrations --

-- warning, not for the squeamish!


PSA from the Government of South Australia


2. -- City Council COW tonight!

Tonight's council COW agenda (.pdf) is packed with all kinds of fun things! The documents posted for review on the city's website includes a water & other cash funds memo (.pdf) -- the PRU Crew found page 6 to be very interesting.

As usual we hope to have a recap of tonight's meeting for readers tomorrow. We all may want to keep a box of tissue handy.

Wade In The Water Down In The River!

The PRU Crew decided to be indecisive!

Two favorites for you to enjoy -- courtesy of our PRU tech who's all about being in a water sort of mood this week, but can't decide between bluesy gospel or folksy religious!





Whatever state you're in, keep it fresh! Have a good weekend!

Slogging Through the TIF Swamp!

From -- mongabay.com

We recently received an article forward by a PRU reader -- Time for TIF sunshine

The article explains "TIF districts—we'll try to make this brief—are supposed to help revitalize blighted areas that wouldn't otherwise be attractive to developers. By designating an area a TIF district, the city lays claim to the new tax dollars generated by rising property values in the district. Those dollars, some of which would otherwise go to schools, parks or county government, are theoretically plowed back into the TIF district to promote growth."

The article goes on to say that two Chicago Aldermen, Manny Flores (1st) and Scott Waguespack (32nd), "...aren't trying to shut down the TIF districts, which generated $550 million for the city in 2007. What they're worried about is accountability. Because there's so little oversight of TIF spending, those millions are basically a glorified slush fund for Mayor Richard Daley's pet projects" and that "For years, former Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley railed about the TIF districts calling them "hidden tax increases" because they force local governments to raise taxes to offset the money siphoned off by the city."

Sound familiar?

The PRU Crew has spent much of the morning slogging through the swamp of TIF documents available for review.

We think a good place to start is by taking a look at the City's TIF district map (.pdf). The TIF district covers an area considerably larger than just the new Uptown redevelopment. All the property tax generating parcels within the TIF district are paying all incremental property tax increases, since the creation of the district, into the City's TIF fund.

We keep hearing that the Uptown redevelopment isn't yet fully "on-line" and supporting itself. O.k.

Well, what about all the other properties in the TIF district? Have those property values risen as a direct result of the Uptown redevelopment, as was promised would be the result when the TIF district was created? How much have those property values risen?

Remember people, the incremental property tax income is in addition to the millions in bond borrowing the City has done to finance the Uptown redevelopment.

Where exactly is all this money going?

We agree with the sentiments expressed in the Chicago Tribune article, it's time for some TIF sunshine.

A Letter from Mayor-elect Dave Schmidtzkrieg!

The PRU Crew has been told Mayor-elect Dave is heading out of town for a tropical vacation. We hope he enjoys the rest and takes some time to clear his head.

On Monday, we received a copy of the following letter from our Mayor-elect, and it is published here for your review.


April 7 was a tremendous day for ordinary citizens who have felt left out of the political process. Although some have mentioned that voter turnout was low, there were actually more votes cast in this mayoral election than there were four years ago. And the results of the referenda on the police station sent an unmistakable message to the aldermen which they have received and appear willing to respect.

More importantly, many people became involved who had never done so before. That bodes well for our city. The more people who participate in the political process, the better off we will all be.

I want to thank all of the residents who came out to vote for me. I was touched that nearly 5000 people were willing to put their trust in me. I will do my best to earn that trust. I will also do my best to earn the trust of those who did not vote for me or who did not vote at all. I will be your mayor as well. There is much work to be done and problems to solve. I will need the entire community's support as the City Council, the City staff and I address those problems.

I have already taken the first steps in fulfilling a major campaign promise: that is making flood relief and the sewer system our city government's highest priority. My Flood Relief Task Force is already taking shape and will be getting to work as soon as possible. I am also heartened by what appears to be a commitment from a majority of the aldermen to shift their focus away from building a new police facility at this time so that we can address the flooding issue.

I am not a perfect person and will no doubt make many mistakes along the way. However, I promise that my mistakes will be honest ones and that I will own up to them and try to learn from them. I ask the residents to be patient as the aldermen and I search for solutions to the many problems we face. Most of all, I ask the citizens to stay involved. The solutions to many of our problems lie in your ideas which you should feel free to share. I will listen to you and I will learn from you. Thank you again.

Budget BOHICA Recap!

As always, we thank PRU readers for their patience as the Crew gets its reports and act together -- our source reports indicate last night's meeting was even more than the usual cluster fudge, so it has taken us a bit of time to sort through things.

Our sources report that once again, in keeping with the hallmarks of the Frimark administration, the City Council approved the fiscal 2009/10 budget which, by all accounts, remains unbalanced -- there is still a $1.8 million deficit in the overall budget.

Despite the looming budget deficit, Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th ward) recommended restoring full funding to various community groups, along with restoring funding for weekend cleaning of Uptown. In reference to community groups, we are told Ryan said "every dollar spent on volunteer community groups returns 20% in value." We're going to let that stand as it's own punchline.

However, we do agree with Ryan's preference for continuing to fund weekend cleaning of Uptown. We mean this in the nicest way -- people are slobs -- maintaining some level of tidiness in one of our core business districts would seem to be an imperative.

In reaction to Benedict Ald. Ryan's comments, some member(s) of the audience engaged in muffled laughter, at which time Benedict Ald. Ryan complained to outgoing Mayor Howard of "audience noise." Outgoing Mayor Howard, never one to miss a chance to be petty, punitive and unprofessional, seized his last council meeting opportunity to prove the city budget isn't the only thing in city government that could be considered undeniably unbalanced. We are told outgoing Mayor Howard commanded that audience members refrain from "smirking or smiling", and they may not raise their hands. Outgoing Mayor Howard also threatened that he would demand acting Chief of Police Tom Swoboda physically remove anyone "smirking or smiling or raising their hands." We are told that these directives were issued in general terms but meant for those who have consistently opposed outgoing Mayor Howard's public policies and political positions.

The PRU Crew is wondering if after May 4th, we'll have anything fun like this to report to readers once outgoing Mayor Howard's powers are truly and finally taken away.

After the fun died down, our sources tell us Alderman Frank Wsooooolman (7th ward) made a motion to amend the budget and eliminate the 5% water rate increase, based in large part on the idea that the water fund is showing a $3 million dollar surplus. The motion was seconded by Mayor-elect Dave Schmidtzkrieg (1st ward) for the purpose of discussion.

As we understand it, Ald. Wsooooolman believes the water fund surplus should be drawn down in order to ease the fee burden on residents during this recession period. And Ald. Wsooooolman suggested that a new fund be created to combine the water and sewer fees which will then be used for various water and sewer related expenses, such as flood mitigation efforts.

On the surface, Ald. Wsooooolman's suggestion sounds reasonable. However, what the PRU Crew understands about municipal finance, funding, and fund accounting, reveals Ald. Wsooooolman's lack of understanding -- not in suggesting a combined water and sewer enterprise fund, but rather in suggesting that a $3 million water fund balance should be drawn down.

Without going into too much detail, we would like to point out that the general fund and nearly every other city fund is in deficit with projected deficits for the coming year. If you draw down one of the few city funds that have a surplus, you are likely to spend your way into bankruptcy.

We are told that Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th ward) stated his understanding of the water fund is that it is used to fund other city projects -- revealing that Ryan does not understand the nature of municipal accounting and what is meant by "restricted funds." When Ryan made this statement, he then looked to Diane Lembesis the Director of Finance for confirmation of his statement, by saying, "Isn't that true?" Ms. Lembesis succinctly answered, "No."

Our sources report that, at this point, audience members tried to stuff their feet in their mouths to keep from "smirking, smiling, or raising their hands", and they tried hard not to laugh either.

The discussion of Ald. Wsooooolman's amendment also included a lengthy critique from Alderman James Allspaghetti (4th ward), which included Allspaghetti criticizing Ald. Schmidtzkrieg for seconding Ald. Wsooooolman's amendment, as Allspaghetti thought Schmidtzkrieg was in support of the 5% water rate increase.

When it was Mayor-elect Schmidtzkrieg's turn to speak, he explained to Ald. Allspaghetti that he believes when an alderman brings a motion to the council it should be "a courtesy to second a motion for discussion." PRUdos to Mayor-elect Schmidtzkrieg. And the PRU Crew finds it ironic but honorable in the extreme that Mayor-elect Schmidtzkrieg extended this courtesy to Ald. Wsooooolman, when Ald. Wsooooolman has previously failed to do the same.

When the council was finally ready to vote on Ald. Wsooooolman's amendment, it was defeated by a 2 to 4 show of hands, because Robert's Rules of Order are just so much stuffiness.

After more nonsensical and circular back and forth among the council, a final vote on the city budget was taken.

The unbalanced city budget was approved 4 (Schmidt, DiPietro, Allegretti, and Carey) to 2 (Wsol and Ryan).

B.O.H.I.C.A!

We've also received reports that outgoing Mayor Howard requested a police escort to his car after the meeting. We assume this is because Mayor Howard believes someone or anyone may want to physically do harm to him. We do not believe this for a moment. Mayor Howard is soon to become an unfortunate footnote in Park Ridge's history. He lost. He's almost gone -- literally and figuratively.

To outgoing Mayor Howard, the PRU Crew would like to offer the following thoughts on the subject -- we think the unkindest cut of all is leaving you perfectly intact to have to feel, be fully aware of, and live through each dying moment of your mayoral reign. And we believe everyone else understands that too. So don't worry yourself about it. Nobody wants you to miss a thing in the days to come.

Budget BOHICA!

The City Council will be meeting at 7:00 pm tonight for the required budget hearing. The regular City Council meeting will begin at 7:30 pm.

Of the 10 items listed for action on the City Council agenda (.pdf), 6 items -- 2 which are proclamations -- are listed as part of the consent agenda, which is explained as "* All items listed with an asterisk are considered routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of those items unless and Alderman so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the Agenda."

And it would appear that the City Council so routinely creates commissions that there is no discussion necessary for tonight's agenda item, * a. Final approval of an Ordinance Creating an O'Hare Airport Commission (Article 4, Chapter 10), which is described in the background material cover & documentation (.pdf) as --

4-10-1 COMMISSION ESTABLISHED

There is hereby created the O'Hare Airport Commission. The O'Hare Airport Commission's objective will be to provide a forum for public discussion and serve as an advocate for reasonable sound and environmental levels associated with flights flying to and from O'Hare Airport over Park Ridge. The Commission shall conduct research; educate the public; and advocate for improvements.

4-10-2 FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission shall be charged with the following duties and
responsibilities:

1. Monitor sound and air quality

2. Research and advocate for a decrease in the frequency of
flights over Park Ridge

3. Make recommendations to the City Council on potential and
proposed legislation that will affect the decibel level in homes and schools in Park Ridge. This shall include funding sources for soundproofing, tax benefits for homeowners, and encouragement for quieter aircraft.

4. Communicate regularly with city staff, elected officials and
the public on the Commission's progress.

5. Make recommendations to the City Council on potential and proposed legislation that will affect aircraft and airport related public health and environmental issues that may impact Park Ridge.

City Manager Jim Hock's cover memo does not include an "x" in the box usually marked off to indicate whether or not an action item may "Require an Expenditure of Funds:"

The PRU Crew is wondering just how exactly the commission will accomplish its functions, detailed above, without any funding. The PRU Crew is also wondering what, if any, budget impact the creation of this commission will have by way of the usual "staff support" that is provided by the City.

But we understand that such details can wait for discussion at a later date. Tonight the City Council has a budget hearing and has to "c. Approve Fiscal Year Budget Beginning May 1, 2009 and ending April 30, 2010."

It would be silly to discuss things like any budget impact for the creation of a new city commission tonight.

And while city employees are looking at a wage and hiring freeze, as part of the painful process of balancing the city budget, the powers that be are looking at adding another bureaucratic layer of functioning. Way to go! Keep this up and city staff may soon come to spend all their time in meetings!

B.O.H.I.C.A.!

Beautiful Day!

Have a beautiful weekend!

School Daze!

Last week the PRU Crew's attention was drawn to an article in one of the local rags -- District 64 Board asked to approve $385,000 in new salaries.

The article notes that "Last year, the School Board was asked to consider $700,000 in new staff positions, but the board opted instead to approve half of the positions requested, resulting in a cost of about $425,000 for the 2008-09 school year." So it comes as no surprise that the newest recommendation to increase staffing goes beyond the previously recommended budget.

We can't say with any certainty whether or not any of these staffing recommendations are absolutely necessary or not. But the PRU Crew is aware of at least one tangent issue -- the hiring of an additional school nurse and the position taken by the State's nursing union on treatment of children with diabetes.

It is the union's position that only a trained and registered nurse is capable of over-seeing the administration of medical care such as the injection of insulin for diabetics. This of course is not absolutely true since diabetics have been injecting themselves since forever, and parents of diabetics have been injecting their diabetic kids since forever. However, if one stops to consider the function and purpose of a union, then one may come to understand that taking the position that only a trained and registered nurse is capable of administering medical care sure goes a long way in securing jobs for nurses, which is of course one of the functions of the union. In fact, the State's nursing union has regularly opposed legislation that would allow diabetic children themselves, or a teacher, to administer insulin when necessary. This opposition has regularly created havoc in the lives of diabetic students, and mandated some bizarre routines for both students and parents -- in some cases, requiring that a parent pick up a child from school, move off school property, receive an insulin injection either self-administered or from a parent (we assume not all parents of diabetics are trained and registered nurses; ditto that for school age children), and then the student is returned to school.

And we see that some local priests aren't the only group of adults willing to use children as pawns in political maneuvering.

The PRU Crew also decided to take a look at what else the School District 64 powers that be have been up to.

Some of our readers may remember our post -- Pas Plus Francais. In that post we noted "The standard minimum guideline for weekly instruction for FLES programs, last time we looked, is 75 minutes per week. So, it looks like the district's program isn't just light on grammar, but also light on instruction time."

The district has a FLES (foreign language in elementary school) review committee, which has been tasked with, what else, reviewing the district's FLES program. In the March 9, 2009 School Board minutes (.pdf) we read that the School Board asked questions of the committee -- the first question being, "Has the level of student achievement in the FLES program been affected by the decrease in instructional time?" And the answer is...? Well, see if you can figure it out --

"Ms. Betts explained a table with Educational Ends assessment data for 3rd grade and 5th grade students with 75 minutes of FLES instruction in the original program and with the current 50 minutes per week of instruction. This data was measured from 2001 – 2008.

When the number of minutes decreased in 2005, the assessment and target level of proficiency for 3rd grade were also changed, so a true comparison is difficult to measure.

For 5th grade students, the number of questions on the FLES assessment remains unchanged, but the targeted proficiency level was reduced. Therefore, as with 3rd grade, it is difficult to answer Question 1 as to whether a decrease in minutes directly impacted student achievement."

We think that may mean "yes."

The next question the School Board asked was, "If instructional minutes are increased from 50 to 60 minutes per week, where will this additional 10 minutes come from in the school day?" And the answer is...?

"The elementary schedule is divided into daily blocks of time for reading, language arts, and math. There are also specific times for p.e., music, art, and FLES. The remaining time is used for social studies, science, health and “other” activities, such as civil behavior, holidays, current events, etc. Ms. Betts proposed that the additional 10 minutes of FLES instruction come from this “other” category."

The third question posed by the School Board was, "Would the additional 10 minutes be better spent in another area of the curriculum?" And the answer is...?

"According to data presented, the amount of instructional time District 64 allocates for reading/language arts, science, and social studies is on target with the State average.

However, District 64 is below the State average for math instructional minutes. Fifteen additional minutes were allocated to reading/literacy because of the EIS/RtI initiative.

While some districts choose to allot their instructional minutes and money toward reading and math in order to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), District 64 values teaching the whole child, and continues to allocate minutes for art, music, FLES, health, etc.

Ms. Betts stated that it is the Board’s decision to determine the best use of the additional 10 minutes. The elementary schedule is very fluid. Teachers have more opportunities to capture teachable moments throughout the day, unlike a middle school “bell” schedule.

Ms. Betts summarized by saying that there is no proof that the 10 additional minutes will equate to higher student achievement in FLES. Best practice calls for 75 minutes per week. The goal of our program is to provide students the highest level of proficiency we can. At the April 6th Board meeting, administration will present the additional costs for increasing the number of instructional minutes. A final decision from the Board is expected at the April 27th Board of Education meeting.

Following the presentation by Ms. Betts, the Board discussed whether the additional 10 minutes will have a beneficial impact on students’ language proficiency. Several Board members said the costs to add the ten minutes will be an important element in their decision."

Il est seulement de l'argent. Oh! Excusez-nous! Pas plus francais! Better make that es solo dinero!

In other School District 64 news we read in the School Board report of April 6, 2009 (.pdf) on page 8 that the administration has revised their recommendation to eliminate the Honor Roll in response to School Board members' reluctance. The aptly named Miscellaneous Sub-committee recommends that if the Honor Roll isn't eliminated "the sub-committee also feels that the other categories for student recognition should be recognized equally." The administration's response is that "The administration understands the Board's reluctance to eliminate formal recognition of academic achievement. We agree that academic achievement is an extremely important goal in school and needs to be formally recognized in some way, but believe that other aspects of student growth, effort and involvement should also be recognized."

Uhhhmmm, the PRU Crew was under the apparently deluded impression that academic achievement is THE GOAL in school. We guess we've failed to understand the message that everybody's awesome.

Slacking Off!

The PRU Crew is slacking off today, or more accurately our equipment seems to be on strike. But we invite readers to click our link in the sidebar to the Pub-dog's web site. Their two most recent posts are very good and worth your time.

The Wednesday rag also provides some entertaining reading -- we especially liked the SpeakOut section and the advice to Mayor-elect Dave Schmidt to "distance himself" from "this crew" and "these blog people." And our daily readership continues to climb.

We also noticed outgoing Park Board member Dick Barton has two letters in the Journal & Topics today, but he only signed one of them with his own name.

As lame-duck Mayor Howard's campaign dollface would say, happy reading!

Boldly Going Nowhere!

"Revenue -- the Final Budget Frontier. These are the voyages of the Park Ridge City Council. Their annual mission: to explore strange, new fees and taxes, to seek out new cuts in services and new capital expenditures, to boldly go nowhere as they've done before."

Our sources report that last night's budget review COW was an exercise in futility that raised more questions among the City Council, and revealed more of their lack of understanding of the budget process, than the taxpaying public may have hoped for.

After the meeting began, outgoing Mayor Howard turned the gavel over to the 2nd ward's Lord of the Manor, Ald. Rich DiPietro, who is chairman of the City Council's Finance and Budget committee.

The City Council unanimously voted to reserve the City's volume cap (.pdf) without discussion.

Then City Manager Jim Hock succinctly explained the current state of the City budget by saying "revenue generation has been a problem" in the current economy, along with "unanticipated expenditures such as the cost of road salt."

Mr. Hock also explained that while the State of Illinois has proposed a 50% increase in the income tax, the legislation proposed in Springfield expressly excludes municipalities from receiving any greater portion of that income tax increase as they normally would.

Mr. Hock then went on to explain that City staff is recommending cuts to the budget that include a wage and step freeze for all employees, along with postponement of the alley paving program, withdrawal from the Northwest Municipal Conference, stopping the removal of vermin, and other various cuts to departmental budgets.

Ms. Carrie Davis, our new Director of Community Preservation and Development, indicated that the City would no longer give out traps and come to remove various vermin from residents' property "for free." Residents will now have to contract with private vermin hunters to get the job done.

Mr. Hock also proposed the creation of a sewer enterprise fund -- this fund would involve the shift of expenses from the general fund to a specific sewer enterprise fund and money for the fund would be generated through a substantial increase in the current sewer fees. Mr. Hock indicated the benefit of such an enterprise fund would be monies in the fund would be restricted to use for the sewer system. Mr. Hock also proposed that the City reinstate a maintenance schedule for cleaning, vacuuming, and video taping the sewer system.

The current sewer fee would be raised to $4.73 per household for the first 5000 gallons of water used per month, and is based on the water usage -- the assumption being the amount of water used is also the amount of water going into the sewer system. Our sources tell us the annual cost per average household would be somewhere in the area of $55. However, the City Council also discussed a 5% increase in the water fee which would also add to the annual household bills.

At this point in the evening several of the Aldermen questioned whether or not creating this fund would help address any recommendations for repairs to the sewer system the consultant hired to study trouble spots in the system may bring to the Council.

After much discussion about the sewer fee and sewer enterprise fund, nothing was settled.

A couple of people in the audience then addressed the Council about cuts being made to community groups that support the arts. Alderman Don Bachtard (3rd ward) indicated it was "heartbreaking" that the Council's earlier indication that cuts in funding to community groups should not be made, are still on the table.

Our sources report that soon after the committee chairman, Ald. DiPietro, suggested that the Council meet again because there were still too many questions among the Aldermen.

With that the Council moved to go into closed session to discuss matters of collective bargaining.

So there you have it people, a quickie COW recap of our City Council boldly going nowhere.

Editorial addition -- we are also told the City Manager handed out several documents to the Council during the meeting, however, none of the documents have been posted on the City's web site, nor were the documents shared with the audience in attendance at last night's meeting.

Cash COW!

Tonight the City Council is scheduled to meet at 7:00 pm for a City Council COW budget review. The agenda (.pdf) for the meeting includes a closed session to discuss collective negotiating matters and approval of an ordinance to reserve the City's volume cap. Reserving the City's volume cap is explained in a memo (.pdf) by Finance Director Diane Lembesis as -- "We reserve the volume cap, which is bonding authority given to municipalities by the state. We can either use it ourselves or possibly sell it to a third party for a fee."

Tonight's City Council COW agenda also includes "Review FY 2009/10 Budget." Our sources tell us the City Council will be discussing suggested cuts in order to balance the City budget. However, notably absent from the information posted on the City's web site are any supporting documents for what that agenda item and discussion may entail.

Of course. Why would anyone want to read any supporting documentation discussing cuts or expenditures of City revenue for the coming year's City budget? It's not as if the City Council will be discussing cuts or expenditures that involve taxpayer dollars, and the services taxpayers fund with their dollars.

Of course not -- expecting information like that to be shared with taxpayers is just silly. Though the PRU Crew has been cryptically told our readers may want to keep an extra shovel, reinforced plastic garbage bags, and a supply of rat traps on hand for use throughout the coming year.

We can't wait to find out what that's about.

Happy Easter!

Dragon Egg by Ron Barnett of Hidden Dimension Galleries

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Quickie Council Recap!

Good afternoon, PRU readers!

Last night the City Council met and our sources report a lot of tired faces, especially the face on the man who will soon be vacating the big chair. We're also told there was a small and polite smattering of applause as Mayor-elect Dave Schmidt entered the council chamber.

The council meeting began with the usual niceties and then moved on to passage of the consent agenda, which included the final reading of the approval of an ordinance for a special use to allow stadium lights at Maine South High School.

As our regular PRU readers may recall, anything on the consent agenda is not subject to discussion unless an Alderman pulls it off the consent agenda. We're told there were some unhappy campers in the audience who didn't quite understand how that works.

The council then passed some proclamations. Among the proclamations were honors for the Main South Hawkettes Varsity and Junior Varsity squads. We're told parking around City Hall was at a premium.

The council also passed a resolution proclaiming April to be Fair Housing month. Ms. Nan Parson, of the Fair Housing commission, said a few words and wished Mayor Howard well for the future. Our sources tell us Mayor Howard looked as if he wasn't paying attention. This does not come as a surprise to the PRU Crew.

The council then moved on to the first reading of an ordinance creating an O'Hare Airport Commission. Alderman Frank Wsooooolman (7th ward) amended the ordinance to include the requirement that the commission make recommendations to the City Council regarding action to be taken in the area of health issues related to O'Hare airport.

After the amendment to the ordinance was unanimously passed by the council, the 6th ward's Unfriendly Ghost, Ald. Tom Carey, decided it was time to ask about the amendment. He inquired as to Ald. Wsooooolman's intent, which Ald. Wsooooolman explained as being in recognition of health related issues, as opposed to simply recommendations about how to deal with noise issues. With the explanation having been given, the council unanimously passed the first reading of the ordinance creating the city's O'Hare Airport Commission.

The PRU Crew is wondering how much will be budgeted from the City's dwindling coffers for the operation of this commission.

Under new business, Mayor-elect Dave Schmidt recognized Mrs. Gerry Butler who was also in attendance at the meeting. For those who may not know, Mrs. Butler is the wife of former Park Ridge Mayor Marty Butler. Mrs. Butler was one of those who urged Ald. Dave to run for mayor, and she served as his campaign chairman. Mrs. Butler received a standing ovation from those in attendance, with the exception of Mayor Howard.

Also under new business, Mayor-elect Dave Schmidt said he would be creating a Flood Control Task Force and asked that those interested in serving on such a task force submit their names to the City.

The PRU Crew feels most task forces are window dressing for problems the city doesn't know quite how to manage. However, if this task force should demand that the city's entire sewer system be video taped, and that the video tapes currently being made of the city's sewer system are thoroughly examined and explained, they may just produce something useful in the way of information. The City Council lacks any real depth of understanding of the current state of the City's inner-structure and sewer system.

With that the City Council adjourned to closed session to review and approve other closed session minutes, and to discuss pending litigation.

We are told Mayor Howard couldn't clear the room fast enough -- hollering for everyone to vacate the chamber so they could get started on their closed session, even while some Aldermen had left the room to take a bathroom break.

And there you have it people! A quickie council recap!

How Sweet It Is!

Get Out The Vote!

Last time around, we got some complaints about our election day graphic.

So today, cleavage for everybody!

Let's Close the Curtain.

As our regular readers know, the PRU Crew supports Dave Schmidt in his run for Mayor. At the risk of not having any more corruption to tell you about on an almost daily basis, we urge everyone else to do the same.

We are grateful to Dave for taking this long-shot chance, and running against someone he was warned would pull every dirty trick in the book -- someone whose perversion and depravity knows no bounds.

We've watched as Dave has endured the grinding of his character, his reputation, and the use and abuse of his innocent family members. But Dave has stayed the course and stayed out of the gutter.

In Dave Schmidt we see the opportunity for Park Ridge government to again become an institution of, by, and for the people. Dave Schmidt's record as an Alderman is replete with highlights of his being the voice of the people as important issues have come before the council.

Tomorrow is election day. The polls open at 6 a.m.* and close at 7 p.m. We hope all of you will find time to cast your vote. This election hinges on your turning out and refusing to let the local power brokers and their uninformed sheep control the game.

For all the reasons we've ever written about on this blog -- for all the lies, secretive dealings, incompetence, and failings we've observed in the Frimark administration, isn't it time we put an end to the Cocky Howard Horror Show?



* voterinfonet.com correction! Thanks to a PRU reader.

Park Ridge's Got Talent!

The PRU Crew is pleased to introduce to you the Uncumbent.com

Baby Elephant Walk - Henry Mancini

Our PRU.ADMIN insists on music, and if you do too you can start the player then right click on the Uncumbent link and enjoy the show! Be sure to read the footnotes!

Have an unconventional weekend!

Cecil B. DeMelidosian!

The Question -- Should we televise Council meetings?




The Question -- What effect will the casino have on the citizens of Park Ridge?




The Question -- Now that it looks like the casino is in place, do you think there is a way to make it a benefit to Park Ridge?




The Question -- What is your position on taking campaign contributions from businesses that do business with the city?




The Question -- Explain your position on the need for a new police station.




The Question -- Explain why Park Ridge Taxi can't have competition.




Addendum: By request.
The Question -- How do you feel about Red Light cameras?




To view all the video segments of the last debate go to Melidosian's Videos

The Never Raucous Caucus!

Above is the 2009 Caucus Candidate page from the District 64 & 207 General Caucus website. If you want to know more about the candidates and the reasons the caucus selected them, you're out of luck looking on the General Caucus website.

Despite the fact that each of these candidates submitted their resumes and filled out a questionnaire for the Caucus, it seems that mums the word when it comes to sharing that information with the voters.

All of the slated candidates for seats on the District 64 School Board are going to be elected, because they are running unopposed -- we expect each of these candidates will cast a vote for themselves and each other, and that will clinch the deal.

The PRU Crew doesn't feel unopposed candidates are the worst thing ever to happen in an election, and we don't dismiss the quality of an elected official's work because he or she ran unopposed. However, we do feel that unopposed candidates who do absolutely nothing to let the general public know why they are running, what they think about issues, and don't bother to show up at public forums to give voters a chance to get to know them or ask questions, aren't worth voting for. The PRU Crew will not be casting votes for any of the District 64 School Board candidates.

The candidates selected by the General Caucus for seats on the District 207 School Board are running in a contested race. You may have seen their signs around town, or met one of them at the train station this morning.

Mr. Ed Mueller and Ms. Margaret McGrath will be getting the unanimous votes being cast by the PRU Crew. We feel Mr. Mueller has a proven track record of fiscal responsibility on the District 207 Board and Ms. McGrath's Park Ridge residency alone is enough for us to want to keep those seats occupied by Park Ridge residents.

The other candidates running are incumbents Eric Leys and Marijo Bustos, both residents of Des Plaines, and newcomer Eldon Burk, also a resident of Des Plaines. District 207 Board members not up for re-election this cycle are Joann Braam of Des Plaines, and Donna Pellar and Sean Sullivan of Park Ridge.

We expect both Mr. Leys and Ms. Bustos to be re-elected, along with Mr. Mueller, and we have no objections to their retention as board members.

This means the battle will be between Ms. McGrath of Park Ridge and Mr. Eldon Burk of Des Plaines. Do the math people.

The PRU Crew would hate to see the opportunity for Park Ridge based representation for a fourth seat on the District 207 School Board get lost, with Park Ridge representation left to Mr. Mueller, Ms. Pellar and Mr. Sullivan -- we'd like to think we can offer something better than Mr. Sullivan, and we believe Ms. McGrath is it.

We also believe Ms. McGrath's professional experience as an attorney, specializing in the administration of corporate pension funds and employee benefits, is experience that far outweighs her likely challenger for the open seat -- Mr. Eldon Burk, a retired educator who once served as assistant superintendent at Maine West for 29 years. Mr. Burk's background as a Des Plaines Library Trustee, former assistant superintendent, and educational foundation member isn't nearly enough for us to want to forgo voting for Ms. McGrath. Further, as reported in the press, Mr. Burk is an advocate of spending District 207's reserve funds and expanding programs for ESL (English as a Second Language) students. The PRU Crew sees red flags waving in the background behind Mr. Burk.