We’re taking a break from the PADS/zoning code text amendment controversy today because something even more troubling hit our radar yesterday – courtesy of the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (“City manager warns: Expenses outpacing revenues,” October 2).
According to that article, former city manager Tim Schuenke put together some revenue projections “that never materialized in actual dollars,” so the City is now looking at a year-end 2007-08 (last year’s) budget deficit of $1.7 million. And it looks like this year’s budget is heading down that same track. That’s got new City Manager Jim Hock warning that the City will need some “dramatic cost cutting measures” to make ends meet.
Revenues related to housing – building permit fees and transfer taxes – account for the lion’s share of the revenue shortfall: $1.2 million, with sales tax and water revenues making up most of the balance. And the Uptown TIF fund was $531,466 in the red last year, which means that it continues to borrow money from the City’s general fund to pay for Uptown improvements being done. The TIF isn’t expected to start breaking even on its annual revenues versus expenses until 2009-2010, although it will likely be in an overall debt position for years to come.
This does not bode well for the infrastructure maintenance, repairs and improvements that haven’t been getting done, much less any hope for a plan to increase the number of storm/relief sewers or take other measures to reduce the flooding that continues to plague our community.
What sounds just plain wacky, however, is how the City Council came up with a balanced budget for this current year, according to the Herald-Advocate: “Earlier this year, the City Council balanced the 2008-09 budget in large part by approving increases in projected revenues recommended by Schuenke.” That sounds a lot like the fun-with-numbers Congress has been playing for the past several years, which has caused the national debt to increase by almost $4 trillion?
Of course, now that Schuenke’s gone (and we say “good riddance”), Mayor Howard “Let’s Make A Deal” Frimark and his Alderpuppets can lay most of the blame for this mess on him. But it was the folks still sitting around the big table at City Hall who bought into Schuenke’s charade and accepted the made-up numbers, so it’s time for them to step up to the plate and be accountable to the taxpayers for the problem we’re now facing.
But the real test of City leadership – or lack of it – will be how it reacts to this bad economic news and the prospect that the national and world economies will not be recovering anytime soon.
So far, Frimark is still trying to get the taxpayers to bail out his buddy and campaign contributor, Bill Napleton, by spending $2-3 million on Napleton’s empty car lot at Greenwood and Busse so that the City can spend upwards of $20 million (in bond principal and interest) on a big new police station.
With that kind of thinking, and with the pinch many of us are feeling from the heftier property tax bills starting to show up in our mailboxes, maybe a homeless shelter – but for real Park Ridge residents, not those homeless imports from neighboring communities who are part of the PADS traveling road show – isn’t a bad idea after all.
12 comments so far
So I was at the flood review meeting the other night. One of the agenda items they got to prior to the public discussions on the flood (which by the way were a hoot!) was the purchase of 4 new trucks for the city. In light of the article yesterday and todays blog headline, I wish I had asked some questions.
The publics works board approved the purchase of 4 new trucks (equiped with salt spreaders etc.) for $435,000. Let me be clear that I am in no way questioning the price of the trucks. These are not pickup trucks but enormous pieces ofheavy equipment. I am also not questioning that the city needs reliable equipment that can stand up to a pounding. These trucks play a major role in plowing our streets etc.
It was explained that the trucks were paid for by putting money into the fund over the life of the current pieces of equipment. Based on that they have the money to buy the new trucks. What I would like is more information on this fund. Is that money locked into that fund for this specific use or can the money be used for other things?
The general comments from the gentlemen presenting to the committee was that even though these trucks were 19 yrs old, the were good performing trucks. He reviewed recent maintenance records which, again, I wish I had paid more attention to but as I recall they were out of the norm.
In light of the above information, $435,000 is a hell of a lot of money.
Good call on bringing this more attention. The deals we are being told are good for us don’t ever seem to turn out to be all that good for us.
Any truth to the rumor that after screwing up our budget in the way you describe, Schuenke was able to walk away with big money from a City of Park Ridge early retirement deal and is now earning another nice check as the city manager up in Wisconsin?
Given the current state of the city budget, I can’t understand why anyone, especially someone who would like to get re-elected, would support any new capital projects at this time. Is it stupidity or is it corruption? (Don’t answer, it’s a rhetorical question.)
I don’t see the trucks as corruption. Based on some limited experience, the prices seem in line and all of that data would be easily accessable. My only question was could the money be used for something else. Again, if anyone knows about this fund they were contributing to please chime in. I do not know if they even have access to the money to use it for other things. If they could access it and still chose to spend it in light of the budget issues then I would call that a bad decision.
You are correct, Hoover. As reported in the June 26, 2008, edition of the Lake Country Reporter http://www.livinglakecountry.com/story/index.aspx?id=766110 , Schuenke was hired as the city administrator of Delafield, Wisconsin, at a salary advertised as “$90,000+/- DOQE.” http://www.pargroupltd.com/Delafield.html . Ironically, the hiring of Schuenke – who loved doing City business in closed sessions – may have violated Wisconsin’s “open records law” because his name and the names of six other finalists for the position were not publicly disclosed prior to the position being filled.
We love how a couple of the Delafield common council members were referring to Schuenke as a “superstar” even before they hired him – apparently based in part on a glowing endorsement they received from Dwight Esau, the cheerleading “journalist” who covered Park Ridge government for The Journal until being replaced several months ago by Craig Adams. Esau reportedly called Schuenke “one of the best things that every happened to Park Ridge” – which by itself and on its face is so knuckleheaded as to justify Park Ridge Underground’s calling Esau “Dwight Hee Haw.”
We have heard, but don’t have corroboration, that the Early Retirement Incentive (“ERI”) provides Schuenke with close to $100,000/year, so Tiny Tim is making more in “retirement” than he made working in Park Ridge. The ERI was the brainchild of former Ald. Don Crampton, and passed with the support of current Alderpuppets Jim Allegretti and Rich DiPietro, along with former aldercreatures Mark Anderson, Joe Baldi, Andrea Bateman, Kim Jones, Kirke Machon and Jim Radermacher. Voting “no” on that give-away were current Ald. Frank Wsol and former aldercreatures Jeannie Markech, Rex Parker and Mary Wynn Ryan. Former Ald. Jeff Cox was absent from the meeting and did not vote.
We wonder if Delafield will let Schuenke make up revenue numbers to balance its budget? We also wonder whether Dwight Hee Haw will be offered a job as Delafield’s public information officer?
My tax bill and The Spokesman both showed up in today’s mail. I got to see a bunch of pictures of Photo-Op Frimark cutting ribbons, and then I got to see how much more it’s going to cost me to stay in my Park Ridge home for another year.
Thanks to Watchdog and the Advocate for pointing out how our city government can’t seem to manage our money wisely, making up revenue numbers just so things will balance. Floods and power outages mean nothing to those people, so long as they can get a homeless shelter and a new police station on land brought from a friend of Frimark. This has got to stop.
Just for clarification. Unless something changed,it is my understanding that Napelton has never owned the Busse/Greenwood property. It was a master-lease through GM. If I’m wrong, please tell me.
7:43 — The Assessor of Cook County lists 500 Busse as owned by Park Ridge Olds T Noe.
my total tax bill went up from last year by 14.60% overall, and 19.40% for d-64. talk about inflation!
but not nearly as bad as the number of gratuitous pictures of mayor frimark in the current issue of the spokesman, which are up 66.66% over last october’s spokesman (5 v. 3, not counting his head shot on his regular page two letter). talk about ego inflation!
The current Spokesman had front page photos of some perfect places for PADS guests to hang-out, especially that archway tunnel. Sorry for digressing.
What I thought that was irritating about Wenesday’s meeting was besides showing phtos of Flooded PR, they show Des Plaines, Niles and others, including some North Shore pics.
For what purpose?
Did they think we thought we were alone?
It’s not like we don’t read the Chicago papers or watch the news.
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