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
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.
15 comments:
I am confused. I thought this was reviewed and discussed at the last City Council meeting and it was decided that it would NOT be done. The budget would be "as is." Why are they still discussing it?
First I want to say that I like the arts and I support the arts. I think all the different forms of art enhance our existence.
That being said, I think Government should take care of basics first. We are looking at our taxes going up, our city employees being laid off, and the budget the Aldermen passed still has a big defacit in it.
PRU, I am not sure I agree with you about giving nothing to these groups, but I agree with you that this is an area in the budget that can tolerate some cutting at this time.
Lots of thoughts on this one but I will try and narrow it town.
First of all, one of the most overused and underpracticed words thrown around by politicians (and the public) is oversight. I would like to think that if our elected officials are giving almost a quarter mil a year to these organizations, they would be keeping an eye on what we are getting for our money. How are these organizations managing their own budgets? What percentage of their budget does our contribution represent? Have their been other cuts? How many PR citizens take advantage of the services provided....etc...? I realize that this is quite a bit to ask for $100.00 per month, but having a familiarity with all of the above on an ongoing basis would help them to make these difficult decisions. Just saying "I would hate to see these programs cut" does not cut it!!
Second, we all need to understand that their are programs provided by PR as well as state and federal govt that are paid for by us that we never use. Just becuase I do not use it does not mean that there is no value but the elected officials better be able to show why and where the value is. By my math, if you wack all the "artsy fartsy" funding that represents $63,000 - about 25% of the total tab. Some will think the 63K is well worth it and others won't. Some will think we should stop funding to all on this list until the budget is taken care of. You can go down a list of park district programs and library programs and road paving and you will find different opinions about what is the right choice or use of money.
It is our elected officials responsibility to make these decisions and have them stand up to scrutiny.
The $100/mo aldermen shouldn't have to be doing the oversight. That should be done by the city employees for whom this is their full-time job.
But the real problem is that these organizations are almost all "private" yet they seem to count on taxpayer funding without any commensurate accountability to the taxpayers. In fact, they are actually being rejected by the taxpayer (or else they are being mismanaged), because if they were providing something that had sufficient demand in a cost-effective manner, they wouldn't need government subsidies.
anon 2:29:
How does your last sentence apply to a program like meals on wheels??
In the case of Meals on Wheels Chicago (corporate name: THE CHICAGO FUND ON AGING AND DISABILITY), a 501(c)(3) corporation, I would be talking about their private donors because you'll always find "customers" willing to accept free food.
If I recall...and things might have changed...the Meals on Wheels program that the city funds is the one through the Senior Center...no?
Do Senior Center members/volunteers deliver meals to people in need in Park Ridge?
hmmmmmm....So any program such as this that cannot completely support itself via private donations gets a bullet. Thanks for clarifying.
By the way, I might quantify the meals on wheels client base in a different way that people "willing to accept a free meal". Many are shut ins who are low/fixed income and who are or may be malnourished. Oppps, there I go being libral again.
Anonymous 405,
Please...you're contributing to giving liberals a "bad name"...
I just went and checked...the Park Ridge Senior Center is not, repeating NOT, the sort of Meals On Wheels program you believe it to be...
In fact, it is listed as a "Congregate" program...meaning...
>>Congregate Meal Site - A congregate meal site merely indicates that there is a central facility where people meet to have a meal and socialize. This is a great opportunity for seniors to get out of the house, get a good meal, and make new friends.
There may or may not be transportation provided to this location and this is going to depend on the resources and practices of the organization. Even if there isn't such transportation available, most locations have public transportation that runs close by.<<
...as listed on...
http://www.mealcall.org/
meals-on-wheels/
il/park-ridge.htm
Your description of recipients of this program being "shut-ins or low/fixed income" doesn't fit with how this program, specific to the Senior Center, is described...and I do not see anything that indicates "need" as being a requirement, but that doesn't mean that the Senior Center doesn't have some criteria for this program...but they certainly haven't made it available for review...in fact, the blurb for the Senior Center on the Park District's web site doesn't say anything about meals for "needy" Seniors, but does discuss >>The Senior Center offers a number of Social Services to any senior in the Park Ridge area. These programs include a social worker, Rules of the Road Review, health and wellness screenings, financial counseling, Notary Service and Defensive Driving.<<
...and, as far as I'm concerned...unless you are the US mint, everybody is on a "fixed" income...of course, some incomes are "fixed" higher than others, but "fixed" they are...
Bean,
I think Lutheran General runs the Maine Township meals-on-wheels program and that is the one the city of Park Ridge contributes to.
It appears that the city council has its own...agenda!
Listen up....we don't have the funds
for your pork plan!
If you need money - just call Howie...he's got it stored somewhere
to the tune of 350K!
Anonymous 513,
Oh! Then why was Bach talking about some discussion the city mgr. is supposed to have with LGH about "taking over" this funding and trying to get the money back if LGH already runs the program...?
This makes no sense...
And why would anything Bach talks about make sense??
Rorschach says: Hold "staff" accountable. (I hate it when the city establishment refers to the city government's staff as "staff" -- it sounds like they are some kind of infection living in a petri dish.) The aldermen should be demanding that "staff" bring clear information to public meetings. It is inexcusable that the aldermen and the citizenry can't get a clear picture of what's going on.
Boy I thought the idiots in Washington were the only ones who thought the folks were sheep...
I guess I stand corrected...
How fast one forgets after an election how to go back to spending "other people's" money.
HP
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