Do you ever wonder exactly what kind of thought processes cause our U.S. Senators and Congressmembers to throw themselves into spending trillions of dollars and burying us in trillions more of debt? If so, we encourage you to watch the latest City of Park Ridge Flood Control Task Force meeting for a smaller-scale version of the same process.
At the Task Force’s July 15, 2009, meeting, Chairman Joe Saccomanno fell all over himself, verbally, recommending Ald. Frank Wsol’s (7th Ward) $420,000 flood control incentive/rebate program – repeating again and again (in classic “big lie” style) how it has to be done, and it has to be done right away.
That program, at least as presently constituted, would reimburse residents up to $2,500 each for a variety of flood control-related devices installed in their homes since January 1, 2008. If each claimant got the full $2,500, the program would serve a total of 168 households.
Readers of this blog know what a bad idea we think it is, so we won’t waste additional space here recounting all the reasons. But after watching the video and listening to the Saccomanno’s “reasoning” for endorsing that program to the City Council, we were amazed at just how easy it seems to be for ordinary (or so they seem) citizens, once they are given any governmental authority whatsoever, to toss around big chunks of taxpayer money, almost on a whim.
But don’t take our word for it: check it out yourself at http://www.motionbox.com/videos/7a9dd0b51413ebc2f5. All you need to do is watch the first 8 minutes, which is when all the fun takes place – starting with Public Works Director Wayne Zingsheim’s reading of the Wsol proposal.
Saccomanno’s “reasoning” is a series of comments that don’t appear to reflect a whole lot of – actually, make that any – careful analysis. After claiming that “there’s an emergency sense, a sense to act quickly” – in other words, to do something, no matter what it is – he makes clear that there’s no need to actually think through the matter when they can get away with simply reacting:
“I don’t want to take numbers and worry about 2 years back or 3 years back” (referring to the period of time for which rebates will be available);
“I don’t want to say we’re going to wait 2 weeks and look at data and analyze it” (because, of course, there’s no need to let any of that pesky data interfere with what they want);
“I don’t think this body is one to talk about details” (because that might actually take some effort to analyze that pesky data?); and
“I think we should just go with it” (because, what the hey, it’s only $420,000).
With that kind of disregard for the public purse, Saccomanno could be an alderman!
One of his accomplices in this welfare-for-the-well-off frenzy was Task Force member Bob Mack, who trotted out that time-dishonored cliche: “There are a lot of other communities around here who are doing this…[so] we don’t have to re-invent the wheel.”
Didn’t his mother ever tell him that just because the kid next door picks his nose doesn’t mean that he has to do the same?
One member of that Task Force, however, at least tried to act responsibly. Gale Fabisch, a consulting engineer with 36 years of experience, including employment with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, pointed out how this program might not actually contribute any additional flood control because all of the $420,000 could end up being spent on systems that already have been installed! As Fabisch put it: “There would be no money for anyone to do something tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, Chairman Saccomanno and the rest of the Task Force members didn’t want to hear that kind of thinking, which may explain why – when Fabisch had the temerity to question whether it might be worthwhile for any flood control reimbursement “to target areas that are most severely impacted” by flooding – he was actually laughed at by Task Force member (and former alderman) John Humm, among others.
Maybe that explains why Fabisch ended up going along with the pro-reimbursement proposal moved by Saccomanno at the urging of Humm – even though no such motion or vote was even on the Task Force’s published agenda, but appears to have been the product of Saccomanno and Humm just winging it.
With such an inauspicious beginning, we can’t wait to find out what other arrows the Flood Control Task Force has in its quiver.
20 comments so far
Watching Sacco getting led around by the nose by Humm is sad.
And watching this group go off and vote on Wsol’s giveaway program without the benefit of any real or reliable data is even sadder.
Wsol, Bach, the FCTF… keep saying: “we have to do something now”. But why this giveawy?
Just exactly what will handing $2500 to a bunch of resident who have already installed “flood control systems” do to solve the current and existing problem?!?
Stupid is as stupid does.
I don’t understand this. I thought the Task Force’s job was to research the flooding problems and recommend engineering solutions, not to recommend spending plans.
I really think the Task Force shouldn’t be considering the costs and recommending spending. As I understood it, they are supposed to figure out the problems and the solutions. Pure engineering considerations.
Isn’t it the job of the elected officials to then figure out the path to take for funding the recommended solutions?
The chairman is just being true to form with his typical shoot first ask questions later and tell them anything you think they want to hear. The backtracking and double talk(at warp speed)come later, as we saw and heard so many times during his tenure at public works. This video just confirms my opinion he is a poor choice to lead this task force.
Is this video part of the Mayor Schmidt camera program? If so, or even if not, it’s a great feature to be able to actually see and hear what these people are saying, because as I read the quotes in the post I had my doubts they were accurate until I heard them myself.
Humm laughing at Fabisch is priceless. Makes me wonder what kind of alderman he was if he can laugh at one of the few points that actually made some sense. Thank’s, Mr. Fabisch, and hang in there becasue we need you.
This is not the first example of leaping before looking. I read a quote from Saccomanno that really bothered me and your post today motivated me to look it up.
“Saccomanno also encouraged the council to revisit a proposal made by former 1st Ward Alderman Don Crampton in March 2007 to issue $10 million in bonds for several infrastructure projects. Of that amount, Crampton proposed $900,000 for flood relief. Only three of the council’s 14 alderman, including Crampton, supported the bond issue, and it never went to the council for a formal vote”. (June 30th – PRHA)
Well, we have only had one meeting and we have no published goals. We have no suggested course of action and no idea what it will cost…..so let’s discuss issuing bonds!!!
Why did Schmidt nominate Saccomanno to chair the FCTF?
Were all those senior citizens in the back of the room looking for their own reimbursement handout from the City, or were they there to find out how the Task Force was going to try to solve the whole problem.
Remember when all the seniors showed up about 15-20 years ago when the federal gov’t gave away all that surplus cheese? Looks like the same principle at work.
We installed a French drain 8 years ago, then we also did some foundation work to prevent seepage.
How come I don’t qualify for Wsol’s rebate? That’s not fair!
We don’t give no rebate for no stickin’ FRENCH drain – only American drains!!!!!
Under Saccomanno’s watch as Public Works director Western Avenue north of Touhy was repaved 3 times between 2004 through 2008. Saccomanno’s only explanation at the time was that the money was targeted for the street and if we don’t use it we will need to be given back. Since flooding was more of a concern he was asked by the neighbors on the block why can’t it be redirected towards the flooding problem. He then said that wasn’t a priority. Guess what? The sewer grates on this recently paved street are falling into the sewer. The city’s answer is lighted construction horses. The area around Western and Cedar looks like it has the potential of becoming a sink hole.
anon 11:51,
Thanks a lot for explaining that.
Now I’ll remember to order a side of Freedom Fries with my burger topped with melted Idiot Cheese.
This Joe is the same guy for 15 years or so did nothing but collect the hundred thousand dollars a year. He should donate back four years of his salary. That would pay for the flood control for the time when he did nothing. You let the fox in the hen house.
Mr. Saccomanno is a nice man who went beyond his depth here.
His commission should be dealing with the flooding problem, not endorsing subsidies for private home improvements, even before they have bothered to gather all the information the commission was formed to look at.
Mr. Saccomanno’s big mistake here was to look past the merits or detriments to the system of things like overhead sewers and drain plugs and act as if he were a policy maker who is supposed to vote to spend the money for programs.
Mr. Saccomanno is a capable engineer and I think that is why Schmidt made him commission chairman. Mr. Saccomanno is not capable of being a good policy maker and that is probably why Schmidt didn’t appoint him as alderman.
I hope Mr. Saccomanno straightens up, and as the Watchdog and others said, I would also like to thank Mr. Fabisch for trying to be a reasonable thinker.
Saccomanno is not a capable engineer. If he were we would have had a continuing long term program in place to alleviate the basic problems Park Ridge has regarding flooding.
He took his salary and failed to earn it.
Now I believe he is a consultant and I bet he knows into whose pockets he wants that bond money to go.
He should never have been appointed to the committee at all….nothing but trouble!!!!
Humm lives over in the flood plain near Maine Park. I bet his neighbors are lined up with their receipts in hand
I dealth with Mr. Saccomanno on several occasions when he headed Public Works and he seems like a nice guy, fairly sharp, but way too eager to please – in the wrong sense, as can be seen on the video, where he seems to be thinking that if he says how important it is to do the rebate program now enough times, it actually will be true.
Since last September’s flooding I purchased a generator, which means I will be entitled to a rebate assuming there’s enough money to go around. But the rebate is a stupid idea, contrived by an alderman who looks and sounds like he’s always posturing, endorsed by a lifetime go-along-to-get-along guy, for the benefit of people (like myself) who don’t deserve tax dollars that could better be used for a city-wide flooding program.
I
annonymous on 07.22.09 9:49 pm:
Although we vigorously disagree with how Mr. Saccomanno chaired, and acted, at the July 15th Task Force meeting, your opinion/contention that the City’s failure to have a “long term program in place to alleviate…flooding” somehow implicates his capabilities as an engineer appears unfair, and is not supported by any evidence of which we are aware.
The City Council and the mayors who presided over that Council while Mr. Saccomanno ran Public Works are the ones who held the purse strings and dictated policy. Consequently, it would appear that they are the ones who need to be accountable for the lack of flood control, regular and effective sewer maintenance, and the spending decisions that may have short-changed infrastructure maintenance, repair, renovation and improvement during those years.
As for your statement about his knowing “into whose pockets he wants that bond money to go,” that makes no sense to us because the Wsol rebate program – which Saccomanno foolishly (in our opinion) endorsed last week, is not supposed to be financed with bond proceeds.
i hope mr. fabisch will not let himself be intimidated by members of his own task force (like mr. humm) who not only can’t seem to think for themselves but also try to discourage someone who does. i only watched about 15 minutes of the meeting, but i didn’t hear anyone else on the task force ask even one intelligent question during that 15 minute stretch.
Don’t you just love a mid-summer thunderstorm?? Why you and walk down any street in PR and see the panicked residents looking out their windows at water pouring down the gutter!!
I was out on my street when the storm started. I didn’t see a single panicked resident anywhere.
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