"Decisions" by: *laura242 at deviantart.com
Most of us are predominantly guided by either our heads or our hearts.
Achieving the right balance requires judgement, and the healthy temperance of both.
Have a good weekend.
-- Addendum -- press release
Dave Schmidt dave@parkridgemayor.com
Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 11:35 AM
subject: State income tax receipts
11:35 AM (2 minutes ago)
Good morning. I am writing to set the record straight on my position regarding Governor Quinn's plan to slash the amount of state income tax receipts that the state sends to municipalities like ours. An article in this week's Herald-Advocate misstates my position.
Under Governor Quinn's plan, Park Ridge stands to lose approximately $930,000 which is presently included in our budgeted revenues for next year. A couple weeks ago, I was asked whether we should be factoring the proposed cut into our budget. I unwisely said that I did not believe so, because I viewed it as a political ploy on Governor Quinn's part to push through an income tax hike. However, given the horrendous state of Illinois' own budget situation, I should have taken Governor Quinn at his word.
At the budget workshop last Saturday, I asked our State Representative, Rosemary Mulligan, if she believed we could count on that money. She expressed her view that Park Ridge should plan on the reduction. I then cautioned the aldermen that they should heed Rep. Mulligan's warning. I reiterated that warning on Monday night at the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting during my mayor's report. However, the Herald-Advocate article incorrectly implies that I still do not believe we need to worry about the reduction in state income tax revenue.
Unfortunately, taking the reduction into account is going to necessitate further budget cuts in addition to those already proposed by City Manager Jim Hock. This is not going to be pretty folks, but our long-term financial survival depends a great deal on what we do over the next few weeks. I encourage you all to attend the meetings and stay informed about this process. Have a great weekend.
March 26, 2010
Decisions!
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19 comments:
Good message, PRU.
The newspapers are bad, and it is almost as bad that the Mayor has to keep apologizing for his errors with the budget. I guess I should be happy he recognizes his mistakes because none of the others do or admit if they do.
I'm not holding my breath for the mayor or the aldermen to make decisions to dig the budget out of the hole we're in.
If they can even get the budget balanced they'll spend us right into another hole by the end of next year.
Three years of them spending past the budget limits and adding expenses and doing nothing for this town is all I need to know.
Now we are losing police and fire employees when public safety is the first thing a government is supposed to take care of.
It's stupid not to charge for full water use and it's stupid to give away money to groups for the arts when we can't even keep police and fire employees working for us and our safety.
Mayor Dave is the only responsible person willing to show leadership on the budget. I hope residents turn out tomorrow to support him.
anon 5:22,
Support the mayor for what? He already got the council to raise water fees. Other than demanding everybody else come up with ideas for balanceing the budget, what are we supposed to support the mayor on? Are we supposed to support the mayor in blaming Hock for not balancing the budget?
I think it's time that the Mayor and the city Council stop taxing the taxpayers because of their inefficiency over the years. It's time to get rid of the assistant to the assistant to the assistant. The hand holders that are making over $120,000 plus a year. Stop using the taxpayers as your checkbook.
By the way....
The Library.....
The discussion was how they cut $300,000. Now follow this.....
2009-2010 budget...$4,900,000 approx
2010-2011 budget...$5,100,000 approx as originally proposed
they reduce their 2010-2011 budget to $4,800,000
Ok, so the question is how did the original budget go from 4.9 to 5.1 million.
Are you ready?
4% pay increases
and they don't even have a union.
and now they take credit for a $300,000 cut.
OK....so the Mayor and most of the folks on the blogs have been screaming about how slow this process is and we whould have had a budget back in February...correct?? Well it would appear that if this all would have happened as fast as the Mayor had wanted we would have certainly have been screwed considering that even the all knowing Mayor was wrong about the 900+K as little as one week ago. Apparently he never thought to ask Rosemary or any other state offical about this issue until last Saturdays meeting.
Anonymous @ 1:26,
...incorrect.
What the Mayor asked for, but did not receive, is a preliminary budget document...back in February.
The City's fiscal year, by law, does not end...and begin again...until April 30th/May 1st.
IF the Clowncil had been making actual decisions "back then," on any of the budget items still being discussed, there is nothing that would have stopped them from making any necessary adjustments to the budget before the fiscal year end...they might even have been "ahead of the game."
All through the year the Clowncil "adjusts" the budget...unfortunately over the last two years they've "adjusted" the budget by continuing a very dirty habit of deficit spending...
It's my personal opinion that we're all a lot better off when government processes are slow... I'm of the belief that the faster a government body makes a decision on an issue, the less likely that decision is going to be fully understood and the more likely that decision is going to produce some unintended consequences...
What the Clowncil has NOT done is give themselves a good long time to mull over all the information and issues coming at them...and NOW what they will be FORCED to do is make decisions more quickly so as to get the budget documents finalized by the fiscal year end.
That being said...this particular Clowncil could probably have given themselves six full months of budget discussion and debate and we'd likely not be any better off...
Bean
Agreed! Example.....this health care issue. I believe the issue was hurry up and get it passed, we'll tweak it later. Don't read too much into it now, figure things out after.
Bad Governmental practices. One I would care our City NOT to adopt.
Anon: 9:47
Yeah ok, you took it right out the tea-baggers manual. You could care less about getting it done "right". Right to you is to strip it of any use at all.
The Karl Rove play book says if you can't win just stop the process.
I'm glad they "pushed it through". It's about time they stopped pandering to the right winged nut jobs and just did the right thing.
"In the last quarter century, we have made remarkable progress toward that goal, opening the doors to millions of our fellow countrymen who were seeking equal opportunities in education, jobs and voting.
Now it is time that we move forward again in still another critical area: health care.
Without adequate health care, no one can make full use of his or her talents and opportunities. It is thus just as important that economic, racial and social barriers not stand in the way of good health care as it is to eliminate those barriers to a good education and a good job.
Three years ago, I proposed a major health insurance program to the Congress, seeking to guarantee adequate financing of health care on a nationwide basis. That proposal generated widespread discussion and useful debate. But no legislation reached my desk".......Richard Nixon - February 6, 1974.
You are right. Addressing health care reform happend way toooooo fast!!!!!!!
Anon: 10:44
Yes, thank god they stopped pandering to the right wing nut jobs and have now switched to the left wing nut jobs.
Why don't all you "winged" nut jobs leave those of us in the middle alone...?
Cuz when it all comes down to it, they are all "politicians" and their mouths are still moving so I can tell theyre still saying whatever it is they want you to hear...
Red or Blue, it doesnt matter since we all seem to end up black and blue either way. And while we're on the subject, back in the day, the red referred to the left and blue to the right. Maybe it is fitting that over the course of about 25 years (or so) they have completely reversed their colors and no one seems to notice...but only because it doesnt really matter. Some of us will continue to be "tugged at" from both sides...
Maybe if Park Ridge got rid of "Ms. Carrie", the self- proclaimed protector of Park Ridge's blighted and increasingly vacant uptown, we would see less empty storefronts and more revenue. You know you're in trouble when the person you are paying to help grow local business is referred to by all who know her as "difficult to deal with". Everyone knows that unless you are trying to open a restaurant in Park Ridge, you have NO SHOT at locaing a business in the core uptown area. Look at the block where Panera is located. There is a reason that much of the class-A retail space on that block is empty. It takes MONTHS to get approval on anything in this town. And we wonder why Niles, Des Plaines and even Edison Park are getting plenty of new retail? It's because we have a draconian gatekeeper who thinks her job is to pass personal judgement on everything. "Sorry, we'd really like to see a restaurant in that block". Oh yeah? Check your watch! We're in a deep recession. And beggars can't be choosers. Don't cry about budget cuts, people. The shortfall is fixable, but not if we continue to thwart new business at every turn!
10:44,
TSK TSK, if name calling is the best you can do without even knowing to whom you are answering, I'd say is typical.
My point was simply to address a previous comment of sometimes taking things a little slower and fully understanding and openly discussing the budget may be the better way to go.
But hey, if cram it through with little discussion, back room deals, and minimal knowledge is something you're compfy with, then good for you. I'll bet though when your taxes or fees go up you're the first one screaming.
Peace
Anonymous @ 1:37,
"Ms. Carrie" isn't paid to "grow local business." She's paid (rather well) to enforce the rules and regulations of our local zoning code and city planning.
Your description of Uptown as "blighted and increasingly vacant" is the same characterization which brought us the TIF...so maybe we should TIF the TIF? bwaaaaaaahhhaaaaaaaa....
...and didn't I recently hear Shotgun Parker and Dick "Haney" Barton tell everyone how the Economic Development Director has brought 40 NEW businesses to town?...and I admit to wondering if anyone's kept a list of those...and if [those] 40 new businesses are in addition to the 30+/- new businesses HOward Frimark had claimed he brought to town...how did all these "new businesses" get past the "draconian gatekeeper?"
While the saying "beggars can't be choosers" is "catchy," I'm not willing to cast Park Ridge as being "beggars"...or maybe you're also in support of bringing billboards to town?...why stop at there...package liquor stores, anyone?...4 AM liquor licenses?...video poker?...adult bookstores?
I've never applied for a business license in town, so I'm uncertain about how long the process takes, but I will say I've gotten the distinct impression it takes a lot longer when a new business is looking to be made an exception to the rules...under which all the existing businesses in town are required to operate...
Well said Bean!!!!!
I echo those sentiments!!!!
When the TIF and Uptown Redevelopment were still just ideas instead of reality, their proponents baited us with prospects of Barnes & Noble, Borders, Ann Taylor, Gap, Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Whole Foods, and too many other such businesses to name.
But by the time reality set in, Whole Foods had been switched to Trader Joe's, Ann Taylor became Chico's, and the rest of those wish-list businesses were nowhere to be seen. Even Walter E. Smithe, which reportedly had expressed interest in returning to Uptown, was "replaced" by Amphora.
Rumors also still make the rounds that many of the businesses in the new Uptown structures are surviving on free or minimal rent.
I can't believe that Carrie or anybody else at City Hall scared off all these businesses that were supposedly considering Park Ridge.
Anonymous @ March 27, 11:27a.m.
Huh? Who said the library is getting a 4% raise? How did this comment escape everyone's attention? More information, please!
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