Memorial Day, 2010

Found at -- fumccoppell.org

Moment Of Remembrance

In 1996, a humanitarian organization based in Washington, D.C., known as 'No Greater Love' conducted a survey on children and asked them why do they think there is a holiday on Memorial Day. It was agonizing to hear their remarks that were all associated with barbecues and extended weekend parties and celebration, while they hadn't the vaguest idea about the sacrifices of the soldiers in whose honor it is celebrated. One of the children was even quoted as saying that this was the day when swimming pools open!

Thus, the organization came up with the idea of 'National Moment of Remembrance' to remind and especially, let the future generations know about the real meaning of the holiday. The idea clicked with the President and Congress and since 1997, it became a standard American tradition.

National Moment of Remembrance requires everybody to keep silent for a minute, exactly at 3.00 pm (local time) when 'Taps' is played and reflect on the glory of those who have shed blood for us. The federal government hopes to raise public awareness about the heroes and their valor by introducing this moment. (source -- Memorial Day Tribute.com)

COW(Finance/P&R/PW) 5-24-2010 -- video!

Alright already! You can stop asking now!




For our faithful PRU readers and those who have asked --

Our smaller, more efficient City Council has opted to go into a holding pattern on some of the issues before them. The PRU Crew feels such a holding pattern is probably a good idea. For our part, we've been following the legislative updates on the Illinois Municipal League's website.

Another Committee of the HOLE!

The only thing faster at swallowing your money than a Las Vegas card table is a government body. If any of our faithful PRU readers are interested in watching, live and in person, how fast one of their local government bodies can swallow money, you're in luck!

There's another Council COW meeting tonight at 505 Butler Place! And the agenda (.pdf) is packed full of fun! The general topics covered will be under Finance and Budget, Public Works, and Procedures and Regulations!

Under the Finance and Budget action items to be covered is COW approval of that stickiest of wickets -- approval of contributions to community groups (.pdf). While the Public Works portion of the agenda includes 4 out of 5 action items guaranteed to satisfy some urges for local economic stimulation! The Procedures and Regulations portion of the meeting will include concerns relating to land sharks and candygrams.

So faithful PRU readers, if you haven't got anything better to do tonight, beginning at 7 p.m. at Park Ridge City Hall you can watch your money get swallowed by the money black hole, a.k.a. your local city government!

Smile!

By -- jchip8 at Pixdaus.com

Let the sunshine out! And have a great weekend!

Comment In The Spotlight!

Thanks to our faithful PRU readers for your patience today -- what follows is a bit long and dry but we feel it's worth your time.



A commenter asked on our post from yesterday, what the Illinois Statutes and Park Ridge Municiple codes say in relation to the Mayor's job and the City budget. We thought we would highlight the question and offer answers in a post for today.

The Illinois statute which addresses the forms of municipal governments and the roles of the corporate authorities and governing body is 65 ILCS and is titled "Municipalities." By the by, for those who may not know, ILCS stands for Illinois Compiled Statutes.

65 ILCS discusses the structure and form of City government. In the statute, you will find --

"Sec. 3.1‑40‑30. Mayor presides. The mayor shall preside at all meetings of the city council. Except as provided in Articles 4 and 5 of this Code, the mayor shall not vote on any ordinance, resolution, or motion except the following: (i) where the vote of the aldermen has resulted in a tie; (ii) where one‑half of the aldermen elected have voted in favor of an ordinance, resolution, or motion even though there is no tie vote; or (iii) where a vote greater than a majority of the corporate authorities is required by this Code or an ordinance to adopt an ordinance, resolution, or motion. Nothing in this Section shall deprive an acting mayor or mayor pro tem from voting in the capacity as alderman, but he or she shall not be entitled to another vote in the capacity as acting mayor or mayor pro tem."

The above is likely one of the sources the Park Ridge City Attorney was referencing when he said Illinois law defines "corporate authorities" as including the Mayor, when the Park Ridge City Council was discussing the issue of supermajority voting to override denials by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

65 ILCS also says --

"Sec. 3.1‑40‑40. Vote required. The passage of all ordinances for whatever purpose, and of any resolution or motion (i) to create any liability against a city or (ii) for the expenditure or appropriation of its money shall require the concurrence of a majority of all members then holding office on the city council, including the mayor, unless otherwise expressly provided by this Code or any other Act governing the passage of any ordinance, resolution, or motion."

and --

"Sec. 3.1‑40‑45. Ordinances; approval; veto. All resolutions and motions (i) that create any liability against a city, (ii) that provide for the expenditure or appropriation of its money, or (iii) to sell any city or school property, and all ordinances, passed by the city council shall be deposited with the city clerk. Except as provided in Articles 4 and 5 of this Code, if the mayor approves an ordinance or resolution, the mayor shall sign it. Those ordinances, resolutions, and motions which the mayor disapproves shall be returned to the city council, with the mayor's written objections, at the next regular meeting of the city council occurring not less than 5 days after their passage. The mayor may disapprove of any one or more sums appropriated in any ordinance, resolution, or motion making an appropriation, and, if so, the remainder shall be effective. However, the mayor may disapprove entirely of an ordinance, resolution, or motion making an appropriation. If the mayor fails to return any ordinance or any specified resolution or motion with his written objections within the designated time, it shall become effective despite the absence of the mayor's signature."

Succinctly -- in terms of Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's role on the issue of the City budget, the Mayor followed the minimum of what the Illinois statute demands -- opting to veto the budget in total.

Another Illinois Compiled Statute, 50 ILCS which is titled "Illinois Municipal Budget Law," also addresses elected officials as --

"(2) "Governing body" means the corporate authorities, body, or other officer of the municipality authorized by law to raise revenue, appropriate funds, or levy taxes for the operation and maintenance thereof."

Again the governing body is defined in the Illinois Statute as being the corporate authorities, and the rest of the statute discusses the form and timing of passage of municipal budgets.

In the Park Ridge Municipal Code, Article 2, Chapter 9 is titled "Budget Policy." The municipal code also sets out the roles of city staff and elected officials -- sections 2-9-2 and 2-9-3 establish the powers and duties of the city manager regarding the budget. Section 2-9-4 is titled "Passage of Annual Budget, Effect" and says --

"Passage of the annual budget by the corporate authorities shall be in lieu of passage of an appropriation ordinance. The annual budget need not be published except in a manner provided in Section 2-8-8 herein. The annual budget shall be adopted by the corporate authorities before the beginning of the fiscal year to which it applies. Subsequent to the passage of the budget, an ordinance shall establish the property tax assessment provided for in the approved budget."

The Park Ridge City Council Policy Manual -- which does not appear to have been included on the City's new $19,500 website*** -- discusses the Mayor's veto authority and reiterates the Illinois statutes.

What all of the above seems to assume is cooperation and effort on the part of the corporate authorities. Nothing in any of the codes prevents the Mayor from participating in discussion and debate. Nor is the Mayor precluded from enumerating his preference for disapproving of "any one or more sums appropriated in any ordinance."

The PRU Crew still believes Mayor Schmidtzkrieg would have served himself and the community better if he'd chosen to exercise his right to line item vetoes. The Mayor will now have to veto individual spending ordinances as they come before the Council, and those spending ordinances aren't likely to be enough to get the budget to the balanced condition the Mayor insisted he preferred. And we expect the Council will be even less inclined to cooperate with the Mayor, moooving forward.

*** now available on the City website.

A Wednesday Re-wind!

Remember this? We thought our faithful PRU readers and others may want to review -- New Meat! Posted by ParkRidgeUnderground November 19, 2008




The PRU Crew is very happy to post the following announcement!

Today I am announcing my candidacy for the office of Mayor of Park Ridge.

When I was elected First Ward Alderman less than two years ago, my only desire was to serve the residents of the First Ward to the best of my ability – in the most open, accountable, and fiscally-conservative way possible. And that is what I have tried to do for these past 18 months.

But during my time in office, it has become increasingly clear that the entire city is suffering from a lack of vision, a lack of credibility, and a lack of leadership in City Hall. Most troubling, however, is the widespread lack of confidence and trust in the person currently holding the office of mayor.

Consequently, I am running for mayor, first and foremost, to restore the public’s trust in city government and in the office of mayor.

As "The Great Communicator," President Ronald Reagan, advised: "trust, but verify." As mayor of Park Ridge I pledge that city government will earn our residents’ trust by making everything it does – EVERYTHING – completely transparent and readily "verifiable."

I will work to ensure that all important information about city government is posted on the city’s website in a timely fashion, and that it is posted in an easily accessible and understandable form. The city’s website should be the ultimate public information resource, available 24/7 and fifty-two weeks per year.

Not only do I pledge to make Park Ridge city government as transparent as possible, but I promise to end the secret, behind-the-scenes deal-making that has characterized city government under the current administration. There will be no special sweetheart deals at the taxpayers’ expense for anybody – not my friends, not my business associates, not my campaign contributors.

Not only will I disclose any personal, social or business relationship with anyone seeking anything from the city, but I will not cast a tie-breaking vote on any such matter, because the residents of Park Ridge who pay this city’s bills also keep this city’s heart; and they should never have to wonder for even an instant whose side their mayor is on.

I believe in balanced budgets and sound fiscal policy because we cannot govern ourselves and provide for the future of our community by a policy of irresponsible spending and debt. I oppose mortaging our city's and our children's future for short term benefits or mere convenience. And I support utilizing our limited resources to do what is most important to the residents: upgrade and maintain our city’s infrastructure and delivery of basic services instead of going further into debt to build a new police facility.

As a fiscal conservative and believer in the free market system, I consider myself a friend of business. The residents want and need a vibrant business community. As mayor, I will work for a city government that encourages, accommodates and facilitates the ownership and operation of local businesses, but that does not spend our hard-earned tax dollars on handouts and subsidies.

I am running for mayor because this community stands at a crossroads. It has survived and thrived as a bedroom community made up of primarily single-family residences, conveniently located to both the Loop and O'Hare Airport. But the current mayor and his allies, while claiming to love this community, at the same time have worked relentlessly to drastically and permanently change this community's appearance and fundamental character. I do not believe the residents support such a change.

In addition to its uniquely exceptional location, the quality of life here in Park Ridge is what draws people to move here and remain here. That is why I support the preservation of a diverse assortment of structures and appropriate green space, and why I believe that growth and development must be held to the highest standards of performance and compatibility with this city’s character and feel. I pledge to look carefully at every development application to ensure that it does not adversely affect the existing character and uses of the area in which the development will occur.

Finally, I have chosen to run for mayor because I have found the vast majority of the people of Park Ridge are confident, courageous, generous and persevering. Those are the people whom I would be honored and privileged to represent and serve as mayor of this city, and those are the people whose support I seek in this endeavor.

I welcome the input of the residents from whom I will draw my strength and support. Anyone wishing to contact me or learn more about me, where I stand and what my vision is for Park Ridge should visit my campaign website at electdaveschmidt.com.

Watch your back, Alderman Dave. The purveyors of the status quo -- peddlers of business as usual -- are massing to give you one hell of a fight.

City Council Meeting 5-17-2010 -- Video!

For our faithful PRU readers interested in the discussion and vote to override Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's budget veto -- the fun begins @ the 48:00 mark.

Enjoy the show!

Blame Game Grab Bag!

There are two meetings scheduled for this evening at Park Ridge City Hall.

The first is a Special City Council meeting for our very special elected officials, set to begin at 6:30 p.m. The agenda (.pdf) offers a rather cryptically worded promise of --

POWER POINT PRESENTATION BY STEVE TAUBER,
CHEVALIER, ALLEN AND LICHMAN LLP
> LEGAL ISSUES FACED BY PARK RIDGE AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

For those of you who may be wondering, Chevalier, Allen and Lichman LLP is the storied California law firm some people believe may possess the legal magic potion which will cure Park Ridge from the affliction of O'Hare expansion . We're guessing the power point presentation will probably look a lot like the Aviation and Airport Development law blog published by this law firm.


The second meeting scheduled tonight for our very special elected officials is the regular City Council meeting -- set to begin at 7:30 p.m. The agend (.pdf) for this meeting teasingly promises "Statutory reconsideration of veto of budget ordinance (this may or may not include a motion to override the veto)," under the Finance and Budget Committee agenda line item. The PRU Crew has heard quite a bit of speculation about what the Aldermopes may choose to do, but from the sound of that agenda line item we get the idea the Aldermopes may not be in any hurry to do anything!

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

Armed Forces Day -- May 15, 2010

Wave that flag, wave it wide and high!

And have a great weekend!

From Point A to Point B!

By -- DragonArtz Designs

In a May 10, 2010 online article by the Herald-Advocate,Scores vs. salaries: Survey shows pay outpacing performance, we read --

A study published last month in the Sun-Times showed that some Illinois school districts pay their teachers well but receive mediocre test scores in return. Districts that serve Niles and Park Ridge rank high in both salaries and test scores, with the expenditures sometimes outranking performance.

In each of three districts in the area, test scores trailed to varying degrees behind salaries. Maine High School District 207's salaries ranked eighth out of 483, with an average of $89,356, and its Prairie State Achievement Exam test scores ranked 102nd, with an average of 68.6. Park Ridge-Niles School District 64's salaries ranked 35th out of 769 with an average of $66,323.04, and its Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores ranked 55th with an average of 93.1.

The reporting seems straight-forward and simple enough. So what's the explanation for the discrepancy and apparent lack of teachers' salaries being tied to and based upon performance measures?

District 207 Superintendent Ken Wallace said the simplicity of an approach like the one the Sun-Times took can make its conclusions misleading.

"Part of the problem with some studies is that they make broad generalizations without doing sophisticated statistical inferences to make sense of what all that data means," he said. "We've got rigorous studies showing that among the top high school districts in Illinois we are getting better performance out of our students than many.

"One study shows that we are second among all districts when you factor in whether students are low-income and how many of their parents went to college."

Oh. Now we get it -- the straight-foward approach lacks "sophisticated statistical inferences." The PRU Crew is wondering if that's the school district equivalent of "the fulcrum of the genesis" where the school district is a "synergistic center" of learning?

The PRU Crew sure would like to get a look at those "rigorous studies."

Superintendant Wallace goes on to say --

Wallace pointed out that while some schools in the northern suburbs of Chicago are relatively homogeneous, Maine East High School educates students who speak about 60 different languages in their homes.

Oh. Now we get it -- some kids no speaka da Engrish. Dang furinears!

The PRU Crew did wonder if those "60 different languages" spoken in the homes of those students is to be construed as meaning those students aren't speaking Engrish at school and what percentage of the district's student body isn't speaking Engrish at school. But we're probably lacking "sophisticated...inferences" somewhere in our thinking.

And if anyone ever doubted the old mantra of location, location, location --

District 207 administrators said their high rank in salaries is partly due to location, and partly to timing. Wallace said the district's salaries are competitive with those of other school districts in the northern suburban region.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary Kalou said the high salaries were agreed upon at a collective-bargaining agreement in 2007, before the current recession began.

Oh. Now we get it -- being competitive with other school districts in the northern suburban region is fine and dandy, as long as the issue is teacher salaries. But whatever you do, don't even think about comparing salary levels in conjunction with other school districts academic performance. And anyone who suggests consideration of any direct connection between the two is just not very sophisticated!

The article concludes --

"This contract is similar to bargains we have settled in the past. The biggest difference is the downturn in the economy that occurred. Salaries negotiated after the downturn look very different," she said. "When ours expires in 2012, we will look at salaries, and, given the economic situation, where we should go."

Got it. Market forces within and without of the educational arena will be looked at, but there won't be any consideration given to any comparison of district test scores as a measure of teacher performance, which may merit the salaries the union can be expected to demand.

COW 5-10-2010 - Video

Enjoy the show!

COW Pow Wow!

Should our faithful PRU readers have nothing better to do this evening, you may want to attend tonight's Council COW!

Tonight's COW agenda (.pdf) covers Public Safety and Public Works. The two most interesting items on tonight's agenda appear to be the discussions under Public Works -- Land Grades on single family residential properties (.pdf) and Commuter parking in residential and commercial areas (.pdf).

In the second memo about parking, the PRU Crew found the following quote very interesting --

"The basis for this recommendation is to avoid setting a precedent that cannot be fulfilled for other businesses."

Things that make us go hhhmmm...

Thursday PRU Briefs!

1. -- Out with the old!

For those who may have missed the announcement by City Manager Hock, the Director of Community Preservation and Development, Ms. Carrie Davis, enjoyed her last day of gainful employment with the City of Park Ridge last Friday.

It is our understanding the assistant to the City Manager, Ms. Cathy Doczekalski -- bet you can't say that fast, five times! -- will be overseeing the department, at least for the time being.

Good luck to Ms. Davis in her future endeavors.

May the good Lord have mercy on Ms. Doczekalski.


2. -- In with the new!

The new City website is up and running and if you are an obsessive mouse clicker, then has the City got a website for you!

Our PRU.TECH adds -- and not a lick of drupal in the source code to be found. Then again, why bother with free open source code when you've got a local company eager to copy and license their own CMS? It's not like the City of Park Ridge could afford either one or another of the web designers at Blue State Digital.

We hope the geeks in the crowd -- we mean that in the nicest way -- have a good time figuring that out.


3. -- Rudyard Kipling and FOIA -- Part deux!

As promised, the Butterly on Education blog has posted another installment of FOIA Fun! The latest piece offers "A few points to keep in mind on your way to becoming a FOIA maven." As well as providing step-by-step strategy instructions --

Butterly's five steps for FOIA requests.

1. Pick your target.
2. Determine who to send the FOIA to.
3. Perfect your question.
4. Send via e-mail.
5. Await your answer.

4. -- Happy Mother's Day!



Or if you prefer --



And there's always --



Enjoy the weekend!

Freshman Year Is Over!

One year ago, Mayor Dave Schmidtkrieg took the oath of office and was seated as the freshman Mayor of Park Ridge, IL. And now Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's freshman year is over -- time for final grades!

Math Skills -- C

We had hoped your final budget veto exam would have produced a better final grade. But your math is a bit fuzzy, you failed to show your work, and you failed to complete some equations. We understand why you chose to estimate next year's budget projections based upon last year's budget projections, but we feel you could have done a much better job of formulating your answers.

We also found your class participation, over the ten session budget course you signed up for, rather disappointing. We note the rules of participation for the Mayor's engagement in discussion and debate were changed during your tenure as an Alderman -- while the Council has failed to follow the rules it voted to institute, consistent practice has allowed the Mayor to engage in discussion and debate to the heart's content, and you have not taken advantage of the opportunity.

One of your best attempts at problem solving occurred when you undertook to formulate a workable solution to the water fund deficit -- however, your budget veto address seemed to call into question, if not contradict, your own calculations about the projections of the water fund balance.

Your other best attempt at problem solving was your overall, general attempt to work with positive numbers. Calling for a balanced budget -- a correction to your two previous year's work as an Alderman engaged in the manipulation of negative numbers -- was an excellent effort which has some potential to produce the only balanced city budget in the black since the Spring of 2006-2007, right before you were seated as an Alderman.

Language Arts -- D

You began the year with a strong showing -- the PRU Crew appreciated many of your well-worded press releases and emails to supporters. However, over the last half of the year, you seemed to become distracted and your dissertations on issues seemed rushed, shallow, and plaintive. You failed to properly correct misinformation in the public domain and you failed to properly elucidate the fine points of issues and your positions. Additionally, while we don't have access to your fraternity's files, we believe the work you've submitted for review is not necessarily your own.

Your lack of communication and attention to the commissions and task forces you created left a vacuum of balancing opinion and thought and now you are faced with both policy and political problems which will undermine your good government agenda and goals. The PROAC and Flood Control Task Force, both of which you created and populated with your appointees, are prime examples of bodies with which you have failed to adequately communicate through attendance and participation at their open forums.

We're not fans of social media such as Face Book, but we understand there are plenty of people who are -- and you are one of them. We understand your desire to reach out in an informal way to supporters and friends. However, if you are using your Face Book account for the creation and maintenance of personal friendships we strongly suggest you remove your personal Face Book account from your official campaign/Mayoral website. Or if you are using your Face Book account for political promotion, and we believe you are since it was originally created and placed on your electdaveschmidt.com website, then we strongly urge you not to limit access to readers. We note, as far as we know and have found through a cursory search, you are the only politician with a Face Book account who does not provide unfettered access to constituent readers.

We strongly encourage you to refrain from any and all discussion of city business on any social media account you may hold -- and when anyone, especially one of your task force appointees, on your friends list (Dick Barton? Chris Provenzano? Seriously?) attempts to open up such a discussion you immediately nip it in the bud and removing the comment would be advisable.

Science -- D

Leadership is not only an art, it's also a science. A leader must understand the way in which instruments can be used and the correct scientific method for their use. We find your employment of the instruments at your disposal, and the methods you use, to be rather lacking.

The biggest test you faced as a leader was when you tried to use the ethics ordinance instrument at your disposal. Your method of employing this instrument and the way in which you treated this instrument earned you a failing grade on one of the biggest tests any leader can face -- choosing enforcement of the law and prosecution of a wrong above any other consideration. The wasted time, energy, and resources was nothing less than gross mismanagement and manipulation of the instruments at your disposal.

What has kept you from earning a total failing grade in this subject area is the leadership effort you've made in the subject area of math -- taking responsibility to course-correct past errors in the overall, general approach you've taken on seeking a balanced budget.

Social Studies - F

Where to begin?

During your freshman year as Mayor, you demonstrated far too much fraternity and far too little egalite.

Your refusal to consider your own campaign rhetoric in the area of social needs services, your failure to demand evidence of the accusations being made about certain community groups, and your equivocating position on special event cost reviews leave us scratching our heads.

We find your lack of demand for total accountability from each of the community groups and private organizations which have come under scrutiny to be a failing of one of your most foundational campaign positions -- transparency. We're also very well aware of your failure to provide total transparency in other areas of public policy consideration, but those assignments remain incomplete, so we have not factored them into your grade.

Your seeming abandonment of your campaign rhetoric about preserving Park Ridge as a bedroom community in light of your silence on the newest liquor license is strange. We understand Mr. Ed Berry was one of your campaign contributors, and that you consider him and Mr. Declan Stapleton to be your friends, and so you disclosed the economic relationship and recused yourself from the public discussions. However, we believe you should also understand that disclosure does not require recusal from discussion. We believe you chose recusal on the subject as a way of providing yourself with political cover. We are not opposed to changes in the environment of Park Ridge, especially if a seeming majority of residents favor some changes, but we aren't willing to accept a representative's silence on any subject under the guise of ethical conduct when we strongly suspect political expediency as the motivation.

Finally, in the subject area of social studies -- lay off the goddamn beer. And for added strength of character, you may want to review a recent court settlement from Des Plaines -- and we don't mean the billboard case.

Your final average grade for your freshman year as the Mayor of Park Ridge, IL. is a D. You have not met your potential. We hope for a better showing during your sophomore year -- try not to be sophomoric about it.

2010 Budget -- Mayor's Veto Message -- and Video

2010MAYORVETOMSG

And the video of last night's meeting is done processing --

A Really Big Shoo Tonight!

It's a really big shoo set to take place at 505 Butler Place! The agenda (.pdf) for tonight's City Council meeting includes the long anticipated Budget Veto Message from Mayor Schmidtzkrieg. And as we expected, Mayor Schmidtzkrieg intends to pass the hot potato budget buck back to the City Council -- our expectations were confirmed in an email Mayor Schmidtzkrieg sent out last week.

From: "Dave Schmidt" dave@parkridgemayor.com
To: supporters@electdaveschmidt.com

Good evening-

Most of you know that the City Council passed a budget resolution on April 17 which I termed as "hopelessly flawed." On the surface it appears to be balanced, but I have analyzed the projected revenue figures and believe they are overstated, perhaps by as much as $1.2million, possibly even more. Meanwhile, the budget which was adopted will result in the layoffs of six police department personnel and members of the fire and public works departments. Additionally, the City's non-union staff has been cut, and those who remain will have their salaries frozen for a second year in a row.

Against that backdrop, the Council voted to spend over $350,000 on contributions to community groups and to fund the fight against O'Hare expansion. I have received many phone calls and e-mails from residents who have implored me to leave those expenditures in the budget, and even more calls and messages insisting that they be removed. I have also received much advice on whether I should veto the entire budget or simply veto those parts of the budget that I feel are unnecessary or unwise expenditures. Some believe that the latter course of action is the only way I can exhibit "leadership" on the budget issue.

I have given the matter a lot of thought and consulted with the City Attorney on the extent of my powers. I have also played out different scenarios in my mind, and I have concluded that the best course of action is to veto the entire budget and try again. I plan to explain the basis for my projected revenue concerns and the reasons for the veto in greater detail on Monday evening, but for now I can summarize my thought process as follows:

First, I cannot line item veto inflated revenue projections, only expenditures. The City Council needs to take a much harder look at those projections and adopt a far more conservative approach than it has to date. Once those revenue projections have been revised, then the Council needs to decide how to increase revenues and further cut expenditures to achieve an actual balanced budget.

I will recommend that the aldermen start with the O'Hare and community group expenditures. The aldermen should also consider additional staff reductions and/or furlough days to reduce the City's overall personnel expense, something I also cannot do by way of a line item veto. The Council also needs to look once more at the library's budget. I do believe that the library is an essential part of the fabric of our town, but not every program offered by the library is, itself, essential.

I know the aldermen do not relish more budget discussions, but we were all elected to do a job, and it is essential to the financial survival of the City that we do the job right. It is my hope that the aldermen will recognize their obligation to the citizens and sustain my veto.

We're looking forward to hearing Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's analysis of City Manager Hock's projected revenues, and we cannot wait to hear Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's recommendations for cuts to community group expenditures and additional staff reductions.

It promises to be one helluva really big shoo tonight!