April 1, 2010

Cluster F#@%K! -- Addendum! and ***



As some of our faithful PRU readers may have noted a comment was left on our last post saying audio of the Saturday budget workshop is now available on the City website. How exciting!

So we visited the City website. Yes! The audio for the Saturday budget workshop is available on the City website, if you can find it! The search will go something like this:

-- Go to the City home page
-- Click on the menu item Calendar and Agendas (left side of your screen)
-- Click on Look Up Past Events
-- Scroll down to the line item and click on 3/27/20108:30 a.m. City Council Budget Workshop
And voila! You'll see "Video Recording of this Meeting: (will be available when processing is complete on YouTube)" and below that two possibilities for listening to the audio recording of the Saturday budget workshop.

But should you not be able to find the correct web page for the Saturday budget workshop audio recording, and should you find yourself equally or more interested in Monday night's 3/29/20107 p.m. Special City Council Meeting & Budget Workshop***, you can click on that line item and -- voila! You can still listen to the audio recording OF THE SATURDAY BUDGET WORKSHOP! -- because, as of our last check at 10 a.m. today, it's posted under the Monday City Council meeting too!

And at this point, the PRU Crew doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

We suppose we should take some twisted measure of sickening comfort in reading on the City website that --

4/1/20107 p.m. CANC Special City Council Meeting & Budget Workshop: This event has been cancelled.

4/3/20108 a.m. CANC Special City Council Meeting & Budget Workshop: This event has been cancelled.


Addendum --

The audio file for last night's meeting can be heard here:
3/31/20107 p.m. City Council Budget Workshop

*** -- the correct audio tape is now available.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any of you insiders hearing why exactly these meetings have been canceled???

Anonymous said...

Maybe they are playing an April Fools day joke on everyone?

Anonymous said...

Come on!!! Schmidt must have called or e-mailed some of you to comment/gossip about this.

Anonymous said...

They figure they still have 25 days left to fix the budget, plenty of time for those idiots. Just keep firing people and all the problems will go away.

Anonymous said...

Based on the cuts and additions voted on at last night's meeting they are ready to send the proposed "balanced" budget to the Council. That is why the two additional meetings were cancelled.

Anonymous said...

$165,000.00 new expense dollars to the airport commission whiners of which $105,000.00 is for lobbyists.

These alderidiots are nucking futs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bean said...

Anonymous @ 1:14,

Yes they are.

Pubulic safety personnel get pink slips in preparation for negotiations about positions and salaries and benefits...

"Other groups" (actually engaged in providing services to taxpayers here in Park Ridge) are asked to take cuts and/or payment deferrals...

...but sure as sh#t, we've got $165K to blow on "community awareness" re: the OMP...because, ya know, nobody knows about O'Hare...folks might just think all the noise is coming from those big landscaping mowers all over town...and residents and local elected officials can't be bothered (or trusted?) to actually take on the task of lobbying their Fed.-elected officials...you need "professional schmoozers" for that...

...and hey, Mayor DipSchmidt needs another reason to accompany the Economic Development Director...or is that the new CP&D Director...or wait, maybe she's the new Asst. City Mgr....???...on another "optimistic trip" to Washington D.C.

Oh, wait...no...I'm wrong...if the city hires "professional schmoozers"...Mayor DipSchmidt can spend the $1000 from his mayoral salary some place else...shop local!

Anonymous said...

So when did Dave Schmidt get so close with Kim Uhlig?

ParkRidgeUnderground said...

Anon@2:22 unpublished --

Nope. Not going to go there.

Anonymous said...

So I got my spokesman today - yippee!!!!! In his address the Mayor talks about the budget crisis. On the very next page (3) it appears the city is trying to talk credit for resurfacing this spring....yeah resurfacing!!!!! Wow there are a lot of areas on that list. What the hell is all that going to cost??? Is it to late to stop or scale back??? With this budget crisis, that had better REALLY need resurfacing, unlike when they did my neighborhood last year.

M. Anderson said...

$165,000 for the Airport Commission? I hope this is a joke. I'd hate to have to run for office to stop this idiocy again.

Anonymous said...

Mark....we'd hate for that as well!

Anonymous said...

It's just a jump to the left
And then a step to the right
With your hands on your hips
You bring your knees in tight
But it's the pelvic thrust
that really drives you insane,
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Anonymous said...

I can't tell you how much I feel at hearing the ohare commission members and the council talk about the great concern they have for all the children and families now suffering from jet noise. They want to do more studies on the bad effects of the noise and the air toxins and make sure our childrens health and life are not put to great risk. Yes, my feelings on this subject are deep. As a resident of the second ward who has lived with all of this for 20 years but now gets some quiet times when the new runway is used I cannot express all the feelings I feel at the council and the commission members being so concerned now.

Anonymous said...

3:53:

With all respect, I would have been happy to support this issue had you brought it up. I know you are not going to believe this, but it was not a matter of not carring about your issue. It was a matter of not knowing you had it so bad. Until the new runway opened, I had no idea that it was this bad. I have not lived here 20 yrs, only coming up on 6 but in my time here prior to the new runway, I had never heard any folks from the 2nd ward or anyone with issues complain, let alone organize and get in the face of the Aldermen.

JKM said...

wow. complete ignorance.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:53-when you bought your house 20 years ago you knew where the ORD runway was and that you were buying a house directly under the flight approach path. You therefore paid accordingly for your house. Those of us now suffering along the Belle Plaine corridor who bought our houses long before the new runway or a plan for one chose not to live under an approach for a runway at ORD. So we also paid accordingly. Now our enjoyment of our homes has been greatly diminished as well its value. That is the BIG difference in the situations.

But with the current state of the city finances propose to give $165,000 to a group (that does partially consist of real estate agents and mortgage brokers whose own personal economic well being is based on the level of our property values) fighting ORD expansion and a lawyer lobbyist is beyond irresponsible. Why would Hock even put this in the budget?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Hock DIDN"T put it in the budget. That award goes to Alderman Bach who proposed the $165,000 only to be one-upped by Alderman Ryan who suggested $200,000 than Alderman Allergetti not to be out done threw out the $250,000. The $165,000 was the winning bid!

Anonymous said...

4:07 PM:

If you were not aware of the airplane noise over the first and second wards during the six years you have lived here, then you must have been under home confinement wearing one of those ankle monitors. Because if you were up at Maine East, or Northwest Park, or Northeast Park, or Hinkley, etc., you couldn't miss the planes and the noise.

And the reason you didn't hear any of us constantly complaining is because we watched and listened to former Mayor Ron Wietecha spend over $1 million of our money and complain about it incessantly for over 10 years and get nowhere with the FAA, the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, our federal officials, etc.

Meanwhile, you were asleep at the switch for the past six years while O'Hare was building the new runway. So now that you've finally woken up, you think you can "get in the face of the Aldermen" and have the city throw more of our taxes at the problem like something has changed and it's a whole new ball game?

Guess again.

Anonymous said...

4:46 You'll never win the "I paid more for my house so I deserve more consideration" argument. First ORD doesn't give a s**t how much you paid for your home. And secondly get over yourself, nice of you to put yourself above others within the same community. These people who bought homes in "other neighborhoods" than yours are the very same people who your children are involved in sports with, boy scouts, girl scouts etc..
Nice to know you believe yourself to be better.

ParkRidgeUnderground said...

The PRU Crew hopes to be calling the city mgr. Mr. Hockdini in the near future, if he can pull himself out of the trap the Council just put him in.

Good luck with your meeting this evening Mr. Hock.

Anonymous said...

Meeting....what meeting? Does it involve the "cone of silence?"

ParkRidgeUnderground said...

Special Board of Education Meeting -- District 207

The Park Ridge TIF discussion should be fun!

Anonymous said...

This sucks. I bought my house four years right under a existing flight pattern. Why? Because we knew the runways would cut down the noise and so far it has. So now I should pay taxes to close those runways and send them back over my house. F that. Is anyone interested in taking on my lawsuit against the city?

Anonymous said...

The argument that the home buyers along Belle Pl. paid more than the home buyers in the 1st or 2nd wards is a loser out of the gate and shows lack of understanding of the local real estate market as a whole.

The old and new homes in the Manor area of the 2nd ward are on par in value with any of the homes along the Belle Pl. stretch.

Methinks 4:46 and others need to get out more.

The argument I find most disingenuous is the concern for the health effects on the children and residents in town.

If these concerns exist now why didn't they exist before? If these concerns existed before, why weren't the Belle Pl. residents up in arms? If it isn't the noise that is really the only issue the Belle Pl. residents care about, why are the Belle Pl. residents only now so concerned about air quality and the general quality of life for everyone in town?

I do agree with 4:46 that given the current budget constraints and city personnel issues it is beyond irresponsible to give one red cent to any lobbyists. It also strikes me as a fools errand since I don't believe lobbyists could possibly mount a better defense of Park Ridge interests than the attorneys we've previously lost money on.

Anonymous said...

PRU, the audio tapes are better than nothing but I was wondering if you had an eta for the videos?

ParkRidgeUnderground said...

Anon@7:37 --

Sorry to have to tell you we don't.

Anonymous said...

You live next to a freakin' airport, people, you can't win. You knew it when you moved in. So deal with it or move.

Anonymous said...

We just gave pink slips to police officers, firemen and community service officers. But we have money to blow on O'Hare!!!! If anybody in the city thinks that any amount of money is going to change what is happening at O'Hare, you need to pull your head out of your rectum. This is funded by the City of Chicago, The State and the Federal Government. You think any of them care what Park Ridge has to say. No matter which direction the runways go, someone is going to be in the flight path. THIS BOARD GOT PLAYED BY A FEW LAWYERS AND BIT, HOOK LINE SINKER!!! Thanks BY OWNER

M. Anderson said...

On the bright side, at least our fellow residents are having a discussion about the wisdom (or not) of spending $ on the O'Hare fight. 10 years ago there was no debate of the matter. Ron Wietecha led and the lambs followed. Along with hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars.

Here's hoping a lively debate of the issue will prevent another dump of taxpayer money through the outhouse hole.

And don't worry, Anon. 3:08. You can have it this time.

Bean said...

Well, thank you for that, PollyAnderson...

...:::snorksnorksnork:::...

Anonymous said...

Yes-we along the Belle Plaine corridor do know we moved by an airport. But for the "I don't know how many times" we had very little air traffic for the first 16.5 years we have lived in this area. We would never have chosen to buy a home directly under an approach pattern to a runway at ORD.

Additionally, we do not think we are better than those in other areas of PR and do not think the folks in this area deserve more consideration. (But we do deserve some). If you are reading that into my comments then you are not a good clarvoyent. Stop your ridulous assumptions-you sound like an ass.

But we do have a right to speak out about the situation that has been thrust upon us and for which our elected officials (Frimark and the councilmen like 5th warder Ryan from the Belle Plaine corridor area) so thoroughly dropped the ball on. But at this time, any cost to address the OMP matter to salvage something positive out of it for the Belle Plaine corridor (and soon to be the Grandville corridor) should not be borne by the city of PR at this time. There is no money to spend on this. There are many more important matters to spend city resources on. It is pathetic that our educated elected officials appear unable to understand this.

Anonymous said...

10:09: said "We would never have chosen to buy a home directly under an approach pattern to a runway at ORD"

The only question then is will you choose to continue owning a home directly under an approach pattern to a runway at ORD? My guess is you won't, so what is it you want?

Anonymous said...

Anyone who says they didn't know about the plans for OHare or the new runways have been thrust upon them like some big surprise after living in PR for 16.5 years is full of it.

You people had every chance in the book to make your case and fight and you were all too stupid or deaf to notice all the talk about OHare.

Anon 10:09 you are nothing but a whinging loser who wants everyone to stop everything and pay attention to you now because you are the ones who dropped the ball and you want everyone to pay big money for lobbyists for you now too. You are nothing but a stupid whinging loser.

Anonymous said...

We should all make do with less police and fire protection too because of the budget but you whinging losers don't care what we all lose as long as you get your lobbyist money. This all is sickening.

M. Anderson said...

I've lived on Belle Plaine for 13 years and at various times over those 13 years, many very loud planes have gone right over my home. I knew what I was getting into when I bought. None of this is a surprise.

It's very convenient to live near O'Hare. We can't expect the planes to taxi to Niles and take off from there.

In fairness to Anon. 10:09, she is admitting we shouldn't be wasting taxpayer $ on this.

Anonymous said...

Bean,

Help me out here. How is it that the homes on the south end of town (near Higgins) along the oldest runway, were able to get through remediation with regards to the noise contour, WITHOUT HIRING A LOBBYIST?!

To my knowledge, homes even further north (near the new Grandville runway) have been contacted and are in the process of their remediation. Again WITHOUT A LOBBYIST.

How can that be?

Bean said...

Anonymous @ 8:37,

;)...just another sweet mystery of life...

Anonymous said...

I feel bad for these people. They are kind of silly and sad at the same time.

Anonymous said...

I heard about this earlier today and I still can't believe it.

The aldermen must be out of their minds or completely stupid.

Weren't any of them awake through the last ten years?

I've been told there's a local political group starting up and I hope they come up with new people to run for alderman.

I don't think our town can take much more of these aldermen.

Anonymous said...

5:56

Please refer to the 8:37 anon post.

Things have been done over have past 10 years and it didn't cost $ one.

Keep up.