With Palmer Court slated to be torn up for the pass-through (p. 107) and whatever else, City Council last night adopted a resolution to move the Farmers’ Market to Parking Lot 3 for the time being. Lot 3 lies south of Lincoln along Grove, between 3rd and 4th. Speaking as a person who set up a canopy to sell her wares a couple times a week for three summers [wink], it’s not ideal so let’s hope those with skating rink ambitions don’t push for permanence. Besides pulling it away from businesses that have benefited from the market’s Palmer location, the site is too close to the tracks and too open to the southwest winds.
The Financial Advisory Committee was established last night. Congrats to the new members. Mayor Van Buer impressed me by stating that this group should have been formed “a couple years ago” and that it’s being overlooked was a result of getting caught up in the routine. It hit exactly the right note, IMO.
Alderman Povlsen invited people to unhand their keyboards (actually it might have been “come out from behind the blogs”) and have their say at the budget workshops next week. I assume he mostly means the very sharp critics at The Daily Chronicle rather than the less-richly pseudonymous folks at other local blog-haunts who do attend meetings on occasion. Nevertheless, it is an almost-personal invite so must be seriously considered.
As usual, the asparagus is ready for cutting before the Farmers’ Market begins and the price of gas is not yet keeping Milt Westlake away, so, beginning Thursday, he’ll be parking his truck at G & L Auto Repair from 11 a.m. to about 1:30 (or until it’s gone–the asparagus, not the truck).
G & L is on S. 4th across from Sullivan’s. Mr. Westlake will be there every Thursday in May. Last year asparagus was $2.25/lb. as it had been for several years but the price of fuel has probably driven that up a bit–and it’ll still be worth it [Update: It’s now $2.50]. Sometimes he has onions, new potatoes and other goodies, too.
So last month I e-mailed the members of the District 428 school board a link to the great precast discussion (vs. bricks-and-mortar construction on the new high school and Cortland elementary school) we were having here at CityBarbs, in view of the debate we were so sure would occur soon at a Facilities Planning Committee (FPC) meeting. Two responses arrived. The first one was dismissive of precast because the architect didn’t like it. I posted a few words about my dismay in the face of what seemed like a “done deal” but a bit later pulled it (putting this in its place) in case the person in question wasn’t speaking for the group. Then I was glad I did, because a second school board member assured me that the precast discussion was on the agenda for the meeting on the 30th (the one on the 23rd being canceled).
Just a couple of impressions. During the Committee of the Whole, I think the city council hit most of the right notes in questioning the skating rink idea, namely the safety issues, how it would eat up parking, and whether downtown business owners were contacted (although the answer given didn’t really clear that up for me). It does not seem like a done deal for the FY2009 budget.
As for Water Resources, I believe they made a pretty good case for raising the rates as their difficulty in keeping up with costs is clear. (The city-by-city comparison was not the centerpiece of the argument.) Also, they are not talking about new infrastructure but about replacing the ancient water mains and if there is a way to ensure that a portion of the money goes into that project and not all toward operations I could get behind some sort of increase.
The person who spoke for the division–didn’t catch the name–left a good impression, too. There was neither a sense of entitlement nor that faintly defensive air one sees sometimes. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for a department that has put off purchasing new vehicles as a way to economize.
Goodness, now here’s an interesting comment on the proposed water rate hike and infrastructure.
boomer44
wrote on Apr 27, 2008 9:06 AM:
” This is BS! Sure rates should go up sometime but the fact that they are saying that they need to build additional infrastructure is crazy. Our community is currently at 41,000 in population with a storage and pumping capacity for 65,000. How fast do you think we expect to see 24,000 more people here? We are pumping the same amount of water today as 20 years ago the city manager said at the last council meeting. We are generally more efficient today than 20 years ago and will get more efficient. This is a cash cow for the city. “
I heard Mr. Biernacki’s comment. I think he said 35 years, actually, and he’s in part justifying the increase because some costs are rising but we’re not using any more water, so we all need to pay more for the same amount. Or something. Moo.
I was going to say something critical about raising city water rates based on comparisons to other Illinois cities, but on second thought that must be a mistaken impression. Here’s hoping tomorrow evening we see much more data on costs, projected usage and revenues, and a plan to ensure some of what’s brought in actually goes into infrastructure, as promised.
Meanwhile, enjoy if you’re so inclined this pro-Obama pictorial commentary set to Collective Soul’s “Run.” A delightful pairing, IMO.
On the one hand, the city’s shelling out $75,000 for a skating rink (p. 9) seems frivolous and inappropriate in view of the recent two tax increases, an impending big rise in water rates Monday, and a few more tax hikes coming down the pike shortly. (Not even a kiss first!) So, maybe I should oppose it.
On the other hand, say what you will about the money coming out of TIF (vs. the General Fund); people aren’t going to stand for such a purchase right now and it will drive more taxpayers into the welcoming arms of the Revoke Home Rule movement. So, maybe I should support it.
Marianne Anderson (local accountant and financial planner)
Cohen Barnes (Businessman – TBC Net, recommended by the Chamber)
Mike Larson (Retired – Elmer Larson Inc. Note from yinn: ReNew DeKalb involvement)
Mac McIntyre (Businessman – DeKalb County On-Line)
Mike Peddle (NIU – Center for Governmental Studies, Public Finance)
Gary Peele (Resource Bank, recommended by the Chamber)
Tom Teresinski (Former School Board member and Chair of their Finance and Facilities Committee)
So we’ve got at least three downtown revitalization cheerleaders and one person added as a tactic to dilute the Revoke Home Rule effort. And where’s Average Joe?
BTW, if you check the agenda link you’ll see that ReNew Dekalb is asking for a skating rink–yes, right now–that would cost the city $75,000 in TIF money. Do we actually have TIF money to spend at this point or are we borrowing against our uncertain future?
Except as limited by this Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs including, but not limited to, the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare; to license; to tax; and to incur debt.
About 37 states (different sources cite different numbers, seemingly depending on how it’s defined) allow for municipal home rule in some form. Illinois, however, is unique in that its constitution lacks a mechanism for local control, namely a municipal charter or constitution that could limit home rule powers at the local level.
John Gile, citizen journalist, author and NIU alum, runs a website called FixHomeRule.com. A Rockford resident who served as a spokesperson for the successful 1983 repeal of home rule in that city, Gile describes the problem thusly:
Without the controls of a local charter or constitution and with citizens stripped of their right to vote on city issues, so-called home rule empowers politicians to:
1. Raise taxes without citizen permission.
2. Impose new taxes in the form of fees, licenses, and regulations.
3. Expedite seizures of private property.
4. Give city property to private interests without competitive bidding.
5. Take greater control over citizens’ lives, livelihoods, property, and liberty.
6. And on and on . . . “…Powers and functions of home rule units shall be construed liberally.” (Illinois Constitution)
…
In states other than Illinois, the same constitutional process is followed to pass power from the state to local government. Because Illinois left that crucial provision out, home rule government in Illinois is like a car with no brakes and a steering wheel that works only once every four years.