LaSalle Insider

I am struck by the response of  those who assume that grant money is “free” money.  May I take a moment to point out that all money coming from government is “our money” .  We have either paid it in the form of taxes or agreed to pay off loans from government borrowing or lastly saw our dollar decrease in value due to more government printing of currency.

This brings me to the front page  story in the News Tribune from Wednesday October 20th titled”Canal group gets $535,000 grant via federal ag”

Does anyone think these funds will ever get paid back to the taxpayer?  Lets look at the numbers supplied to the paper concerning the revenue and expenses created thus far in the history of the boat. In its 28 month existence it has created  in the neighborhood of $640,000 in revenue and in payroll alone it has paid out $569,000 over the same period. That leaves about $71,000 to cover all vendor bills, utilities,animal rental,lease payments to the owner of the building (Anna Koval),upkeep,insurance, etc.

Can you see what picture this paints with regards to paying anything back on a half million dollar loan?  Don’t forget the only asset is a canal boat which cost 1 million to build and is an asset which is depreciating in value.

When the canal boat was first launched in 2008 the “experts” predicted that the area would see 5 million in economic activity in the following three years.

The latest number after almost 2 1/2 years is 1 million thus far.  Ridership was to reach 60,000 a year but sadly if we do the math it appears in the first two plus years the best number is about 29,000 annually….and the trend is that its decreasing.

A little more math for you given the numbers posted in the paper..annually its creating $272,000 in revenue and payroll alone is eating up $243,000.

This leaves $29,000 in revenue left to cover all other expenses.  I did an amortization schedule of 20 years at 4% on a loan of that amount and the annual loan payments would be 38, 904.  Oops , we have a cash flow problem!

I know the economy is in the dumps and hopefully the numbers get better but we have to go on what is and not what we hope for…remember the last person who promised us “Hope and Change!”  How ‘s that workin for ya?

So we tax payers are on the hook for the million in the boat and the half million dollar loan…..but Garry its grant money and government backed loans!…..(see beginning of article for explanation)

I am sooo glad we in City government did not accept the original idea of the city owning and funding the operation of this boat.  If we had our city finances would be in a much worse position than we currently face.

Reality check…unless and until the canal can connect the cities of LaSalle and Utica via the boat or some other form of transportation along the towpath we will not see the tourist dollars we hoped for from Starved Rock State Park visitors.  The last number I read was over a million visitors annually.

What if we had put  the million and a half in the canal restoration instead of the boat and loan and opened up the canal all the way to Utica?

I welcome your thoughts….

I was among those of you who were shocked when you read the Wednesday story in the local paper regarding LaSalle pumping treated water into the canal.  THIS WAS THE MAYOR ACTING ON HIS OWN ONCE AGAIN!  The Council never approved any formal action to use city treated water to fill the canal.  My first thought was what part of stupid doesn’t the Mayor understand?

I called the City attorney and was informed he knew nothing about this. I called several aldermen who also were in the dark regarding this action. Our Superintendent of Public Works disclosed to me that no one on the water department was in favor of this action. Mr McNeilly also said he advised against the action as well.  Not good enough for our Mayor…damn the torpedoes..full speed ahead!!!

The costs of this action are in the conservative range of $5,000.00 for the water itself.   Add to that the labor costs of setting up and overseeing this action and the bottom line increases.  The only good news is that we did not pump  a half million gallons into the canal as first reported by the local paper.  This action was stopped by the end of Tuesday after 100,000 gallons were disbursed.

Now lets look at the fact that pumping treated water into a natural water basin  does nothing to help the health of the fish who reside there.  I am not sure that the EPA won’t investigate and possibly fine the City for polluting a waterway.

But lets get back to the real issue…the Mayor deciding on his own to give free water to  a private enterprise and letting you the taxpayer pay for it! I’m sure your first question is….where’s mine?  And I don’t blame you!  It’s just another example of this Mayor shooting from the hip and acting as if the city funds are his personal checking account.  Let’s not forget his personal deal to house equipment in a heated building last winter and not inform the Council. He  agreed to pay $500 a month to a former alderman for the use of a building in north LaSalle when I know we could have moved some equipment around and used buildings we already own!

You as a taxpayer and citizen of this city need to let your Mayor know that enough is enough…I have tried and will continue to point out that its the taxpayer’s money not his.  Please let me know what you think and better yet let the Mayor know.  Its time to take a scene from the movie “Network” and say publicly  “We’re mad as Hell….and we’re not going to take it anymore!”

So we initially hire an economic director from Peru and give him a trial basis to see if he is a good match for our needs.  He’s from Peru and has a business in Peru but its a trial so no need to move right….Fast forward and the City of laSalle decides take him off of the trial period and hire him for three years.

Isn’t it time to move?  How can you promote a city to live in and work in and bring your business to if its not good enough for the man promoting it?

Last I checked Don and his wife lived at 3006  St James Drive, PERU!

His business is in Peru and before he says its his wife’s business check out his website.  There you will find him prominently displayed as a director of the business.  His websites are mytupperware.com as well as true vision enterprise and businesscoaching4U.com.  Don’s a very busy guy and I understand his wife Donna has a position at St Bede Academy.

Just seems that if I am trying to sell a Chevy I shouldn’t be driving a Ford!

I ‘d like to hear your thoughts…..

At the last council meeting from Monday August 9th I mentioned on the floor that our Mayor has continued unabated in spending tax dollars on useless ads in the local paper.  The Trib did not include this in their coverage of the meeting….bet you can guess why.  All they have to do lately is call Jeff in his office and tell him they need him to buy another ad to fill a page dedicated to who know s what!  Lets look at what you the taxpayer have supported with your money recently…

a safety reminder that school is starting/a salute to summer youth ball teams/a go lp cavaliers advertisment/a salute to the graduates of High School back in May/Fishing Rodeo/…

That’s just a few of the latest ads where we are the only city spending money on large ads (usually the largest ad of any of those shown) and yet we make no contributions to any charities during this economic downturn.

Its time the finance committee reeled in this addicted ad buyer and closed the checkbook!  Please take a moment and look at the street in front of your house or the increase in your water bill and ask yourself “is this the best use of my tax dollar?” If you agree with me call the Mayor’s office and tell him to just say “no!”  Better yet tell him to lose the News tribune”s phone number.

They have become the pusher for his addiction and our Mayor needs an intervention from the Finance Committee….and soon!

I’m sure by now most if not all of you know we voted not to renew with IVAC this year.  That no vote (which I supported) saves us $13,225.00 this fiscal year. I believe it was the right thing to do but let me tell you my reasons.

First let me say that not renewing is no reflection on the ambassadors and volunteer help  of  IVAC. These individuals do a great deal of good and donate much time to the cause.  Many are business owners themselves and are appreciated for what they bring to their respective communities.

The no vote from my perspective is due to the fact that our Mayor insisted on an economic directors position for his administration.  As you know I was not supportive of this decision by the Council but was outvoted.

The initial passage of this position came with the understanding that we would review it in one year.  This was done recently and no criteria was used to determine whether the position was worthwhile to continue or not.  Instead we were told that Don was doing a good job and we should extend the position for three more years.  Again I opposed the vote due to the fact that no information was forthcoming as to whether the position had accomplished anything worthwhile.

Fast forward to last Monday night where we were asked whether we should renew with IVAC or not.  Last year at this time I thought we should not have due to the fact we had an economic director on staff and we were in (and still are) a tight financial situation given the current economy.

My feelings haven’t changed this year.  We now have Director for the next three years and IVAC is going through a transition with a change in their Director.  It will be sometime before things are settled with IVAC’s operations and I still feel we are in an economy where expansion by major businesses is not going to be taking place.  The prudent step is to wait for a year and revisit the idea.  It also gives us a great opportunity to rate the job Don is doing for the city.  Hence my no vote to renewal at this time.

I want to add that I commended the Mayors of LaSalle and Peru on Monday for their investigation into the IVEZ (Illinois Valley Enterprise Zone).  The board that oversees this  is called the ZMO or Zone Management Organization.  This group is made up of the current mayors of LaSalle, Peru, Oglesby,Village President of North Utica and the LaSalle County Board  Chairman.  Recently Mayor Grove and Mayor Harl raised questions as to what the expenses were to administer this program currently done by IVAC.  They have not received any real answers from IVAC. They have also suggested that other entities should be allowed to compete for the chance to administer this program perhaps at a fee lower than what IVAC is currently receiving.  I applaud their efforts to investigate and look forward to finally getting answers back from IVAC concerning this matter.

Finally, with all this talk about IVAC and new business development I want to suggest to Don that he not lose focus on those businesses already here.  We should thank these companies for coming here and STAYING here.  We need to attend to their needs  and not forget that they are vital to our survival as a city.  From one city official to all of you businesses out there….THANK YOU!

At our last council meeting I discovered in the bills a purchase from Connecting Point computer Centers for almost $3,000.00.   The bill was for three laptop computers and cases as well as some other computer ware. When asked about the purchase the Mayor responded that Don (our economic director) got a great deal and he decided to buy them without any council discussion.  The Mayor along with our Superintendent of Public works and our Economic Director were treated to new laptops.

Please understand that the Mayor as well as our Public works director already had computers.  These were upgrades for them.  Don had been using his own laptop since he was hired so it was felt that we had to get him a city  owned laptop.  I still have some unanswered questions….

1 Why laptops when desk tops are cheaper and serve the same purpose…and before you tell me that they are mobile let me tell you that the mayor leaves his in his office at city hall.  Besides we have survived with desktops just fine.

2. Why wasn’t this discussed on the floor before the Mayor decided to buy…what was the rush?  We just discussed a $1,000. add on to a construction project the meeting before with the full council.

3. Why three?  couldn’t we survive with one or two and give Don one of the remaining computers we already had?

4.Why wasn’t this shopped around for the Council to get some competitive pricing? The mayor said they used Connecting Point because we dealt with them before…so what?

Its amazing to me that the mayor can make some strides in reducing unnecessary spending one week and then go on a shopping spree with your money the next.  He hasn’t learned yet that the checkbook belongs to the taxpayer not the Mayor.Before he buys again he should ask himself one question that we are faced with personally everyday in this economy…is this a want or a need?  If its a want…forget about it.

Here we are on the eve of the Fourth  of July and it would do all of us well to pause and reflect just how far we have come as a Nation.   We truly stand as the last great super power and I for one think the world is a better place because of that fact.   I know the current regime in Washington D.C. does not agree with me but than their is very little if anything I agree with them on.  The world needs a country which stands for freedom and the pursuit of each individuals happiness without fear of government controlling every action one takes.  Those who disagree are the same that believe that the Constitution is a “living document” and subject to various interpretations….THEY ARE WRONG!   The founders put in the ability to change aspects of the document by use of the amendment process.  That is the only way any changes can and should be made to our most perfect document.  Thank God we exist as a country that is a beacon to those who want a chance at freedom and to be the best they can be!  This current crop of negative thinking leaders in Washington will begin their exit from office starting in this Fall’s elections.  I have faith that by 2012 we will right our Ship of State and once again be the model for all countries to follow.  God bless our men and women in the military and thank them for doing their job so well in spite of the lack of leadership in D.C.   Please have a safe and happy Holiday!

Well here we are just hours away from the opening of “Celebrate LaSalle” and I continue to see many of our city staff working to get everything ready for this evening. You probably have seen the ad in the paper on wednesday outlining the events and times for the weekend so I won’t reprint that info here.  After all we taxpayers have already spent $3,ooo to get the word out in print and radio.. I did notice that the city of Spring Valley is also having a weekend celebration from the 4th till the 6th in the downtown area.  I know this because I saw the ad in the paper… but it appears their business association paid for it.  No giant picture of the mayor Banks welcoming you in.

Make no mistake this event is all Mayor Grove’s.  The Council, if it wanted to, cannot take any ownership in it whether its a huge success or massive failure.  We were told after the fact  when  it would happen and what it would cost.  For the sake of the taxpayer I wish it well so we can recoup as much money as possible to put back in the general fund.

One question I have is the suggestion that its geared this year around the “family” and “family fun”.  Now I enjoy a cold beer as much as the next guy but the first item everyday in the ad is the hours for the “beer garden”.

Is the idea that the kids can enjoy face painting and watermelon contests while mom and or dad spend their time at the beer tent?  When its time to go will mom or dad be okay to drive?   After all on saturday the schedule calls for the beer to start flowing at noon and end at 11 that night. Meanwhile family fun is going on all afternoon right next to it…

This leads me to a new source of revenue for our city…..why not have beer sales during little league and minor league games during the season?  After all mom and dad would enjoy a couple of cold ones during the hot evenings while junior is flailing away at another pitch outside the strike zone.

Let’s not forget the girl’s games either…we can setup shop at St Mary’s field as well.  Instead of softball players in the adult league having a beer or two by their cars after their games why not make it mandatory they have to drink at our  city Pub in the Park?

Hey, family fun is family fun…if the city makes a little revenue to help reduce taxes whats the harm?

What do you think?

As many of you know ASCAP  requested we send them a license fee of $305.00 for public use of recorded music.  Although I tried to convince our city of what a scam this was 7 out of 8 aldermen voted to pay them.  The check was sent.  Since then I did some research around other cities in Illinois and I cannot find one that has paid this fee when requested.  I contacted Peru, Oglesby,Spring Valley and none have remitted any money to ASCAP.  I even called DeKalb, a much larger city , and was informed by their City Clerk that their stance is that it’s unenforceable.

In tough economic times organizations have to continue to find new ways for revenue creation.  It seems this is ASCAP’s  latest scam.  Send off requests for fees based on their idea of what should be paid by cities of different populations.  Set the fee low enough that many cities will pay instead of  spending legal costs to research it.  It seems common sense and public officials don’t go hand in hand….but when has it?   After all it’s not their money…..but I don’t want to paint with a broad brush…I can’t find another city but us who fell for this….beam me up Scotty!

Every Mayor wants to have something to point to  from his administration that signifies what he accomplished during his term(s). In recent history I think Mayor Brady can say he took a city that was literally “in the red” and turned it around in his term.  Mayor Murphy extended our eastern boundary to Rt 178 and ran water out to a new business started under his terms called JC Whitney.  Mayor Washkowiak picked up the ball and added additional territory east and north, refurbished the library, and did a lot to make the Rotary Park a soon to be reality as well as laid the groundwork for the east end treatment plant….which brings us to Mayor Grove.

I realize its been only a year and he has time to change direction but thus far one would have to refer to him as the “event mayor”.  We have had the “miracle on First”, the revival of the “St Pats parade” and the upcoming  “Celebrate LaSalle”.  While events which draw attention to your City in a positive light aren”t bad as a rule….one has to look at the cost versus reward formula.

The latest event upcoming will cost the city(read taxpayer) over $7500 before we add the cost of overtime for both city workers for setup and take down as well as police for added coverage on the weekend.  No other city locally comes close to the number of city sponsered events we have done or will do this year.  All this while we continue to deny any requests for charitable donations to local nonprofits.  Is this the best and highest use for your tax dollar?   I don’t think so ..how about you?

I am not alone on the council…many of the finance committee members think this spending is getting out of control,unfortunately they are not voicing their opinion when it counts….on the floor during a formal meeting.

The neighbors surrounding the park where “Celebrate LaSalle” will be held have not been consulted as to how they feel about this event again being held in their backyard.  Some say its like turning our neighborhood into “Wrigleyville” without the property value increase.  Some, not all, will use local yards as a place to relieve themselves as well as deposit beer cups/cans/bottles when they are done with them.

But with all of the above being a problem, one of the most appalling things is that the Mayor does not discuss the possibilty of holding these events  in the future, he merely tells the Council after the fact that this is what he is spending on the event after he has  committed to contracts which we are obligated to pay for.

He has become like an unruly child leaving his parents to pay for his uncontrolled urges……this must stop…and soon.

I find some of the comments I hear by the uninformed so amusing.  I voted against the request by ASCAP  to send them $305.00 so we can play music from a radio in city hall.  That’s right…if you put the local music station on your PA system in your business you should send ASCAP a license fee.  Never mind that the radio station already pays a license fee you must do so as well.

Alderman Ptak says that in his store several years ago in the mall ASCAP reps forced them to pay a fee because it was piped in his store.  Do you think that’s acceptable?  If we turn the local music station on at the LaSalle Pool and play it over the Pool speakers we are supposed to pay a fee…

That in my world is stealing.. and I refuse to pay ransom to some organization just because they ask for it.  These artists are double,triple,etc dipping if they think that just because you play a radio station over a PA system you now should pay a fee.  How long have musicians begged for airtime to get their music heard and now we have come full circle and they want to be paid basically by everyone within earshot even though they are paid by the stations airing it!

The Municipal League of which we as a city are a member has not taken a stand on this recent issue…that means they have not told their member cities to pay this or not pay this but have taken a wait and see attitude.

We apparently can’t wait to pay..which is laughable.  Let me ask you these two questions….if  you agree we should pay would you take the same stance if the fee were higher…say$2,000 to 4,000.00?  How about if it included every time you personally turned on your radio in your car or at home?

What if you were automatically charged a fee (or Tax) everytime you listened to a song on your Ipod as you exercised?  Would you support this  fee then?

The truth is that’s what ASCAP is hoping for and they already charge some cities much higher fees based on population and are trying to get people who share music they have paid for with others a fee as well…

Funny though if you listen to talk radio ASCAP doesn’t charge you…

They can’t….yet….

First let me say that it  has been a few weeks since I have posted any new story and much has happened since that time.  Let me use this opportunity as an update .

At the last council meeting of  May 3rd one issue presented was the donation of funds to the Better Fishing Association.  I was the only alderman to vote no to the recommendation of the finance committee to donate $250.00.

It’s not that I am against the activities that they oversee its that donating any funds  to outside agencies has been denied for well over a year due to the tough economy and shortage of revenue to the city. It would be hypocritical to deny everyone else but this organization. They are all worthy operations.

One added note on the above….we taxpayers already donate funds in the way of added police coverage during the fishing event in LaSalle not to mention that food was supplied as well.

A 3% increase was given to the city workers as well as the police officers in the last contract negotiations.  Those not in a union received a 3% increase as well.  The unemployment rate in the private sector remains at or above 10%.  The unemployment rate in government positions hovers around 3%.

Draw your own conclusions as to why that is…..

“Celebrate LaSalle”   is coming the first weekend in June. (4-6).  This was previously called LaSalleFest and done away with a few years back under the previous Mayor.  It deserves it’s own story so please read more in the upcoming article….

We are limiting the number of Tattoo and Body Piercing businesses in downtown LaSalle.  Those already established are safe but no  new businesses  will be allowed to open.  Let me hear your comments on that change……

Finally  I’m sure you all saw the article on the “volunteer” canal boat recently in the News Trib.  Seems they are adding an extension on the trip to make it more appealing……until it can navigate to Utica I don’t think ridership will pickup..and by the way Anna Koval was quoted as saying that they never looked to the City for any funding of the boat.  Anna I think your memory isn’t what it used to be….I recall on more than one occasion the CCA asking the city to back and be responsible for some if not all the cost of the boat in exchange for ownership of the vessel.  Fortunately the Council realized that it was not a cost we could bear and funding came from the State and Federal sources along with a reduced cost for the building of the boat.

I do wish the boat well but I don’t think the CCA will see the proposed ridership of 60,000 annually anytime soon.

And one more note…if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I want to thank and wish the LBA (LaSalle Business Assoc) well in their new website.

It’s called the LBA Insider….lets see we take LaSalle and Insider and insert Business Association in the middle….excellent!

My favorite movie of all time is “Its a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. There’s a line in the movie when George Bailey confronts Uncle Billie about the missing deposit for the savings and loan and says ” Well one of us is going to jail…and its not going to be me!”

We haven’t reached that point yet here in LaSalle  but I am getting very nervous about our financial situation…let me  explain…

During our last council meeting on April 19th we made some line item adjustments  to the appropriation ordinance prior to the end of our fiscal year which ends 4/30.  Its a common occurrence to do a bit of financial housekeeping to balance these individual accounts.  The problem this year is the LARGE adjustment made regarding Tif 1.  We underestimated the payment to a developer which had to be made this year to the tune of over $229,000!  We thought it was going to be around $45,000.

I’m not blaming the Mayor , past or present, or the comptroller or the developer, or our TIF attorney Tom Jacobs because frankly I don’t know who missed the boat on this estimate and since the check has been written and paid, that “boat” has sailed!

My point and concern is that we need to find $229,000 that we thought we would have, much like Uncle Billie when he went to make his deposit and accidentally “lost ” it to Mr Potter.  The clock is ticking for us because we owe the State of Illinois for our portion of the interchange work being done at Rt 80 and Rt 178.  Our bill, I’m told, will be $227,000.  It hasn’t been presented yet but its only a matter of time till it is.

We don’t have many options when it does get presented. Either we cut back on current spending and/or borrow more money to pay it.   We cannot continue to spend the way we do on unnecessary advertising, public events paid by tax dollars and extending positions that don’t make fiscal sense in these financial times! Let’s not forget we have employee contracts that are getting negotiated and will most certainly bring added expenses to the city as well.

At the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life” the locals and friends of George financially bale him out….in our case if it gets bad enough the citizens may be forced to bale us out in the form of higher taxes…and nobody wants that!

Well Monday marks almost two weeks since I brought up the mess on  Grant Street and about six weeks since I first mentioned it on the council floor.  I was assured at our last meeting on April 6th that the city would  get on that issue the following day.  Our Police Chief pointed out how they had caught some individuals who bear responsibility for some of the damaged windows and entering the building illegally.  I only wish the Mayor would work as fast.

Well I should cut him some slack after all he is busy planning the new” LaSalle fest”…..stay tune to hear what our end of this event will cost.

I have heard a large number mentioned as  the city’s investment in this event.  Those of us who live near Hegeler Park are not amused by the resurrection of this beer party…what do you think?

As most of you know the council in our last meeting agreed to extend our economic director position for three more years.  Only Alderman Green and myself voted against the extension.  My reasons were lack of money and no real results after one year in the position.  When I asked for some criteria that we could use to measure the success or failure of the position I was met with…”he’s a nice guy”  and “he has answered all my questions when asked”

I guess for some that’s enough…I mean after all its a government position and we all have come to expect little in return for our tax dollars.  Is it any wonder why the government jobs unemployment rate is 3% while the private sector is in double digits!  As our ex governor would say..” this job is golden!”

Spring Valley has seen growth recently thanks to their part-time Director and Oglesby has used an hourly person (not to exceed 20 hours a week) while Peru just hired a volunteer to be their economic director.  Somehow our Mayor and the majority of the council still feel we know better and have a full time director in this economy. If you add up all the moneys spent on this position we are looking at an annual payout of almost $80,000.00

No other city our size is doing that!  We have never received a report stating number of new businesses or vacant buildings now occupied versus businesses lost or new empty sites from our director. Gee I wonder why?

Maybe its not going as well as we thought…

Well we are all paying for it, so next time you wonder why we can’t fill your pothole or why your street will just have to wait, remember we are spending 80K on economic growth….so I guess you will just have to call our Mayor and ask him if the trade off is worth it…you tell me.

Oh, by the way, Don still lives in Peru, he has a business in Peru and his wife works in Peru….and his job is to sell LaSalle….anybody else find this a little funny?