Third Ward Alderpuppet Don Bach went on record in this week’s Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (“Was planning session worth the cost of hiring facilitator?” Nov. 20) as believing that spending $19,500 for last weekend’s “strategic planning” sessions was “a good expense of $20,000.” 

We trust our faithful readers and other observant Park Ridge citizens will remember Bach as the same diligent steward of the public purse who, back in January, ripped Bill Napleton for disrespecting the City Council and insulting the people of Park Ridge by demanding $2.4 million of our tax dollars to keep his dealerships in Park Ridge.  Bach told Napleton that he wouldn’t buy another Cadillac from him – before voting to give Napleton all the money he asked for!

So when Bach says that “[u]nless you sit a group down like this with a facilitator who has a goal in mind and a time table in mind, this 12-point plan we came up with could have taken a year,” we take it with a whole fistful of salt.  And when we consider the work product they came up with, we wonder whether Ald. Bach and his cohorts might be interested in taking some prime Florida swamp land off our hands.

C’mon, Don, did the City really have to spend $20,000 of our tax dollars for you folks to come up with “build a police station,” “keep streets and sidewalks in good repair,” and “develop and implement a plan for improving rush hour traffic flow”?  And do you actually want to publicly admit that you and the rest of City government needed a $20,000 “facilitator” to help you figure out that you need to “prioritize capital projects based on available revenue”?

If so, then maybe we’ve got a bad case of the inmates running the asylum.  Or the blind leading the blinder.

We also don’t see $20,000 of value in: “Aim for building one or two relief sewers each year, if funding permits, to further reduce chances of flooding.” [Emphasis added]  At that rate, we won’t start getting flooding under control until…let’s see now…maybe around the time that the $16.5 million in new cop shop bonds gets paid off in…hmmm…2029? 

With the City already staring at a $1.7 million budget hole from last year and maybe even a bigger one this year, however, all you folks up in Mayfield Estates and in those other areas of town that regularly flood might want to consider outfitting your basements with pool and patio furniture – or invest in some scuba gear.

But at least you’ll have a big new police station to look at.