We have to laugh.
If you've taken the time to review the videos from Monday night's COW meeting, you undoubtedly saw 5th ward Benedict Alderman Ryan respond to Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's State of the City address during the new business portion of the agenda.
If you haven't, or don't want to sit through the whole second video, you can use this link to review only Benedict Alderman Ryan's cry baby response.
Benedict Alderman Ryan's entire whine can be summed up thusly -- "Whaaaaa, don't make us feel bad! Whaaaaa, don't ask us to do anything! Whaaaaa, tell us what to do!"
Typical.
The PRU Crew has witnessed Benedict Ryan ask for direction so many times we sincerely wonder if this guy has ever had an original thought in his whole life! What really makes us laugh is that Mayor Schmidtzkrieg has given the Council direction -- specifically on water rates! But apparently Benedict Ryan didn't get the directions to the direction! We also wonder who dresses Benedict Ryan every morning.
Democracy paging Benedict Ryan! Democracy paging Benedict Ryan!
Figuring out what to cut, what to raise, and what to do to manage the City budget IS THE FIRST AND MOST BASIC JOB OF ELECTED OFFICIALS! But we have to assume Benedict Ryan didn't get "the memo" on that either so he doesn't know what his job is! Are there such things as public policy garanimals for Aldermorons? Benedict Ryan could sure use the easy-to-match directions!
Other elected officials, specifically the 3rd ward's Ald. Bachtard and the 2nd ward's Lord of the Manor, also whined their responses to the address in an online article in the Herald-Advocate -- with Bachtard under the particular delusion that criticism of aldermanic action and inaction is "politicking." We don't call him Ald. Bachtard for no reason!
Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's State of the City address may have been lacking in some areas, but the Crew thought the overall message was spot on. And the City Council provided more evidence at Monday night's meeting as to exactly what Mayor Schmidtzkrieg was addressing as this Council's failure to act in the best interests of the taxpayers of Park Ridge.Below are the videos from Monday's COW. The first video begins with a discussion of the water fund rates -- how do you feel these idiots performed?
video #00000.MTS PRCOW 2/8/10
video #00001.MTS PRCOW 2/8/10
For a more expansive editorial on Benedict Ryan's whine, hop on over to the Pub-dog's website.
21 comments:
Here's a clue for Bobby Ryan, if we don't have any money we can't do anything. Until Ryan and the rest of these chumps stop inflating expenses and overspending and start charging real rates for real use of things like water this town is headed down the financial drain. I didn't move here because I like high property tax bills. I thought the town had more to offer than other suburubs and I was willing to pay for what I thought I would be getting. What it looks like I'm getting is nothing but a bunch of do nothing idiots who can't add 2 + 2 or subtract 1 from 5.
Ryan wants "leadership" from the mayor, but when has he ever offered any "followership."
After watching the water rate discussion, it struck me that if these guys can't comprehend the simple reality and economic policy behind charging water users the full cost of the water we're buying from Chicago (along with whatever additional costs for water infrastructure and bonds that also need to be paid), they should do the honorable thing and step aside so that somebody else can try their hand at representative government.
Now I understand why they didn't want these meetings televised: the printed word can't do justice to this level of ignorance and stupidity.
Without the former horse's ass occupying the mayor's chair, Ryan can't find the "scent trail" to "follow"...
Every policy decision these folks make impacts the city budget...and our tax bills...
...and so far, they're batting zero.
I'm not eager to pay higher taxes or higher water fees, but if the city is in financial trouble because they aren't charging enough and are spending too much, then the elected officials aren't doing any of us any favors by not raising the water rates.
I would also like to see expenses cut, but I'm not any kind of expert and don't know where or how that can be done.
I will say for what I pay in taxes and fees I expect to continue to get basic services without cuts in those services.
3:42 PM
Welcome to the world of City overspending and overborrowing. We're servicing about $40,000,000 in bonds, including about $30,000,000 tied to uptown redevelopment that isn't even paying for itself.
Anything anybody doesn't like about the other persons agenda they malign by calling it politics. Bach is an idiot.
I just don't get this. If it costs the City of Park Ridge 15% more for water then why not charge 15% more water users?
Is the Council using some kind of new math I don't understand?
5:21:
What I understand is some of the Aldermen seem to be saying that since there is a fund balance in the water fund then they shouldn't charge water users the full fee.
What I think I understand is water funds have to be used to pay for water related costs to the city. So it sounds as if there haven't been any big expenses to the water fund and the city hasn't spent the money it has in the fund on any big expenses. God forbid the city shouldn't spend our money, right?
I would bet though, a day will come when the city gets hit with some big water expense and if they haven't got enough in reserves because they subsidized water users instead of charging them, then we will all get hit with some huge increase down the line.
5:28 PM
So there's a balance in the water fund. What does that have to do with the price of water? When the price of oil goes up, Mobil raises the price of gas irrespective of its retained earnings or other assets.
The only guy discussing this issue Monday night that made any sense was Schmidt, who KISSed it by arguing again for users paying the true cost of water.
The rest of the discussion was like a fleet of ships each passing the others in the night.
What a cluster.
It doesn't surprise me widdle Wobby Wyan is whiny.
Widdle Wobby Wyan doesn't want to take any wesponsibiwity for himself.
Anonymous @ 8:23,
My sentiments exactly...
On a side note...gotta love the coverage in the H-A. Jennifer Johnson's articles are a laugh-riot...
...and the article headlines are very very "special" for how not-so-subtlely they betray her bias...
"Aldermen's reaction to Schmidt's speech mixed"...why not refer to him as the Mayor...for a "fair and balanced" treatment of the parties and their respective govt. positions?
"Park Ridge mayor's speech accuses city leaders of fiscal mismanagement"...I think it was pretty much the Aldermen the Mayor called out, not "city leaders"...unless of course *somebody* at the H-A is delusional and believes the aldercreeps possess any of the qualities characteristic of real "leaders"...or is trying to "cast" them in that light.
What a consistent little twit JJ is...
Give Jennifer a break. If she had any talent she'd be working for a real paper.
After the PADS thing and reading the paper after being at those meetings, I cancled my subsciption. The paper is a joke.
Even if JJ was a combo Woodward and Bernstein in a low-cut dress, she'd still be out of work at a "real" paper - the bean-counters have decided news doesn't pay and so they don't, either. A former publisher was actually heard to say that these are considered entry-level positions - even such as Dwight Esau at the Journal! -- because they are stuck forever at contemptible pay. I knew a bylined Chicago Tribune staff writer - a talented one -- who, as a freelancer, had to live at home until her late 30s because the Trib didn't even pay expenses on stories they assigned and yet would not let writers write for anybody else to keep body and soul together.
The result has been the bifurcation of news sources into Left, Right, Crazed Far Right and USA Today.
On the plus side: That crappy, profession-wide policy is how we get the great blogs we rely on -- like this one. Educated, smart, interested, verbally adept? -- just do the journalism work of the nation for free!
Blogs = Journalism?!?!?!?!?!?! Please!!!!!!!!!!
The paper isn't journalism either!!!!!! That's for sure!!!!!!
Bean:
There were a few other things beside a possible slight to the Mayor that cought my eye.
1. $120.00 per proposed tax increase by flood task force and city staff for truck, 400K sewer study (2 freakin' year study!!!) and other projects.
2. Mayor inquires about what a 1 cent gas tax increase in gas tax.
Again, I am not defending the HA but if the name Frimark had been anywhere near these stories you all would have been beating the drum like crazy!!!!! What is it you all say???.....B.O.H.I.C.A!!!
Anonymous @ 3:13,
Correct...if Frimark's name were anywhere near those stories, you would hear plenty of screaming...and here's why...
Under Frimark the city budget deficits went unaddressed and unchecked...city infrastructure was allowed to continue to deteriorate...infrastructure maintenance and improvements were scaled back...and Frimark didn't simply "inquire" about tax and/or fee increases, but supported those things...and supported a $400K give-away to his pal Billy Napleton, along with another tax give-away of $2million for his pal Billy Napleton...and supported every attempt to saddle all of us with bond interest payments to build a new police station 5 times bigger than the current station...supported opening unregulated homeless shelters which would have introduced a whole new and "special element" into the community and which would have undoubtedly put further pressure on some of our city services...supported density/ zoning variances for his pals which would have also put further pressure on some of our city services...ignored repeated warnings about O'hare and then tried to blame other people for his failure to listen...used his position as mayor to position his business for personal gain...and was one lousy, inept, unfair, dishonest, lying jackass...who garbled every multisyllabic word that came out of his mouth...
So let's see...you seem to object to a mere proposal from the FCTF to address what is a serious and seemingly growing problem...are you saying you want the problem addressed NOW, but don't want to pay for it?...you don't want to be asked to pay for even your portion/fair share of fixing the problem?...or are you really angling for that oh-so-special rebate program the asshole from the 7th Ward proposed so as to BUY the "affection" of voters...?
And correct again...Schmidt INQUIRED about a possible way to increase revenue to the city, whose budget remains unbalanced and in deficit...you object to mere inquiries? You object to the idea that a possible gas tax increase of $.01 per gallon, which would be paid by people in AND FROM OUTSIDE of Park Ridge, be considered as a way to generate revenue for the city budget that is unbalanced and in deficit?
When and if Schmidt makes such inquiries about revenue increases by way of fees or taxes, and then turns around to funnel ANY of those tax/fee increases/dollars to his biggest campaign contributors, I promise you this, you will hear me scream...and you won't ever forget it.
Mayor Schmidt was certainly right in his last statement.
Park Ridge city government has been adrift since at least 1998 when Marty Butler, by then a state senator, died.
Wietecha spent his entire tenure as mayor crusading against O'Hare and chasing the bells and whistles of TIF Uptown Redevelopment while paying little attention to the nuts and bolts of infrastructure. And Marous was all Uptown all the time.
But Frimark was in a class of his own as a flim flam mayor. Every time I talked to him I was amazed at how little he actually knew about how the city operated, and even less about how a city this size should operate. For him, putting $2 million in Bill Napleton's pocket was more important than saving the taxpayers $2 million, or putting in $2 million of relief sewers.
Allegretti, Bach, Carey and Ryan are his guys, and it shows.
I live in Ryan's ward and he is a short timer so I would not get comfortable in the chair if I were him. He and the former mayor must sit together late at night and cry on each other's shoulders about how they are so poorly regarded by PR residents. It is for good reason.
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