How much more will water cost us every month?

It has been many years of research and planning that has gone into the water plant renovations being contemplated to begin soon. Reasoning for renovation are increased capacity and new technologies that provide safer water. Micro filtration, I am told, is the state of the art system that allows us to keep a smaller footprint with higher output. The cost of this project is expected to come in at over 25 million dollars. These new costs will be shared among users in Highland Park as well as our customers in Deerfield, Bannockburn, and Lincolnshire.

Highland Park should be a leader in Water Conservation and demonstrate good stewardship of our natural waters. But just last week I commented with great concern on several statements our City Manager Limardi made talking about selling water to far western suburbs that currently don't have Lake Michigan water. How much water can we take out of the Lake until it starts to shrink? We are the only Great Lake State that can even legally take water out of this watershed whose Highland Park boundary is approximately Greenbay Road. We can't take this body of water for granted!

So, if we don't sell more water and further decrease our use by let say 25%, do we need this renovation and if so, can we afford it? To this last point, I have been asking for the last few years to create a spread sheet showing the anticipated rate increases while inserting the variables of both water consumption decreases, projected operating costs, and the debt service.

Waiting for an answer........ and until I am convinced this won't overburden our citizens I will not support rate increases based on the 2006 projections that don't include all the variables I described.

October 2010 Roundup

We are looking at the boundaries and possible revisions of our POSO District (created to stop banks and non-retail businesses from fracturing our core pedestrian areas) in our downtown. A subcommittee was formed to recommend changes back to the City Council in about 60 days.

Budget is in full gear with a large proposed cut in personnel for fiscal year 2011. Meetings are posted on our website at www.cityhpil.com and the budget information as well. We need to reinvent our government and work with other governments to consolidate and create MORE efficiencies. Some want to brag about how great we are and not change..... but I feel we need to work harder and re-engineer a smaller economic impact on our citizens!

Public Access broadcast facility at the Police station will be shared with Deerfield and Winnetka... Good job staff getting others to pitch in!

We talked about the cost of Downtown sidewalk snow removal contracts and asked for ways to reduce costs.

Your "Main Man" Councilman Steve Mandel was appointed Mayor Pro Tem to the City Council by the Mayor and supported by my fellow Councilman.... While this should have happened immediately after the 2009 election, I am honored by the appointment and will serve in the position, in the Mayors absence, with respect of my fellow Council, facilitating discussion that will give us strong and solid consensus for staff to carry out. Thank you!

Eliminate Position of Treasurer

In early 2007 I expressed my opinion to eliminate of the Treasurers position. My feelings have not changed over the last 4 years since I tried to get a City Council consensus on changing the status of Treasurers position from a paid employee to a volunteer commissioner position. I am hoping my fellow Councilman will now embrace my idea to remove this political position of Treasurer from the payroll.

Currently the Treasurer gets paid 5000 dollars a year and gets free health insurance. Many other Volunteer Commissioners throughout the city that are professional lawyers, doctors, CPA's, and Mba's give their expertise without any compensation. While our Treasurer Ron Zweig is a asset to our non-elected recommending personnel, his position is no different from several other commission members. We have a wonderful professional Finance Director Elizabeth Holleb that fills the job of Treasurer.

For years this position has been a "Political Bone" for the Mayor to hand off to whom ever they wish. Mayor Mike Belsky handed this bone to his neighbor and good friend Ron Zwieg. Now, I again must say Ron Zwieg has been a great asset to the community and our finance committee, BUT no more than many of our City Commissioners that get NO Compensation.

It is time to eliminate the position of treasurer upon the next seating of the newly elected Mayor this year.

Free City Council Health Insurance must end in 2011

When I ran for City Council in 2009 I pledged to vote on removing free health insurance offered to the City Council. November 2nd, 2009 I brought this matter up during our budget discussion on a way to reduce the cost of government. (originally wrote in blog Nov. 2009)

State law does not allow benefits to be changed (lowered or raised) during the full term of a elected official. We can however change the code so all elected officials stop receiving FREE health insurance elected in 2011 and beyond.

The best practice for Council/Managerial 32,000 population towns like ourselves is clearly and obviously no health insurance benefits to City Councils.

Since this policy was enacted some 30+ years ago, health costs have skyrocketed. With the challenges of the current economic climate we need be clear and conservative on any spending. As we streamline government, Health Insurance for the Council should be first to go in our budget process for 2011 and will save us MILLIONS. The City Council must change the code now to inform candidates of the 2011 race what their benefits will be during their term as Mayor or Councilman. We must control government costs and the City Council can't be immune as we reduce expenditures and do what is right for our community.

Currently an ordinance to continue the practice of FREE COUNCIL HEATH INSURANCE for FOUR more years will be discussed at our September 13th meeting and I would like the public to weigh in on this issue and help me convince the Council to end this practice.

Labor Day and the American Dream

Reflection of the Labor Day holiday and the great strides our workers have made over the many decades of the 20th century has given us the strong America we all enjoy today. Most of us that are retired or getting close to retirement have been able to raise a family in our own home, have a car, get a decent pension, and live the American dream.

For younger folks this might not be as attainable if we all don't work together to upright the American business, government, and labor model in the near future. There is not the availability of money that is needed to fuel the old or current ways. Bankruptcy, foreclosure, and job loss is becoming way to normal.

All of us in business, government, and the labor movement must work together to reduce the cost of everything within our control. We must all sacrifice some of the good life to do accomplish what we need to do.

Instead of raising prices, taxes, salaries, and benefits, we must reduce all these numbers to make ends meet. Reflecting on labor day and continuing the dream means that workers too in our governments that are making up to $225,000 per year (not including benefits) must take some of this responsibility. We can still live the American Dream with less and be able to preserve it for our children.

September 2010 Round Up

Mayor Geraci's OP-Ed Article on Inflated salaries, bonuses & Pensions in public sector at taxpayer's expense. - Mayor Geraci hits the nail on the head here!

Since the beginning of 2010, the Prescription Pill Drug Disposal (P2D2) program has successfully provided medication disposal services at two Highland Park locations (police station and North Shore Health Center). Recently, 386 pounds of discarded medication were destroyed. To date this year, the City has collected and properly disposed of 586 pounds of prescription medication as a result of this program. Lake Forest and Lake Bluff have recently instituted similar programs within their communities and the Police Department has been contacted by several other agencies that have expressed interest in the program as well.

Our current biweekly payroll system that is based on a 364 salaried year has cost our city an extra 700 thousand dollars over our posted payroll passed in our annual budgets. We have asked staff to look at a semi-monthly payroll system to recover this money going forward. Staff will be getting back to us on the cost of software and legal challenges to get this done. I brought this up last January and am hoping implementation soon.

Passed a set of City Council protocols that lays out how we are suppose to deal with staff and the public. I have always opposed this resolution since it is elementary (I already took the boy scout oath) and also attempts to hogties Councilman from using all options available to represent our citizens, whom are the only ones we are accountable too.

Approval of new trail along County Line Road from the Botanic Garden East through Braeside.

Passed our Sustainability Master Plan and will now turn to looking to hire a sustainability advocate to create efficiencies and sustainable government..... SAVE MONEY

Ravinia underpass at West gate was approved and will be ready for the 2011 season.

SWALCO Household Chemical Mobile Event in Lake Forest Sept 25th

I want to let you know that on Saturday, September 25, 2010, SWALCO (Solid Waste Agency of Lake County) will be holding a Household Chemical Waste Mobile Collection event at the Lake Forest Municipal Services Center, 800 N. Field Drive from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. No appointment is necessary. The collection events is for Illinois residents ONLY and is FREE. You do not need to be a resident of the community in order to participate.

Materials ACCEPTED at HCW Collections:

• Aerosol Products
• Antifreeze
• Asbestos
• Batteries: Rechargeable (NI-CAD), Lithium and Metal Hydride Batteries (NO ALKALINE or LEAD-ACID)
• Drain Cleaners
• Driveway Sealers
• Fertilizers, Herbicides
• Fluorescent Lights and CFL's (compact fluorescent bulbs)
• Fungicides
• Furniture Strippers and Varnishes
• Garden and Lawn Chemicals
• Gasoline
• Hobby Chemicals
• Household Cleaners
• Insecticides and Pesticides
• Mercury (including thermometers and thermostats)
• Metal Polishes
• Motor Oil
• Oil-based Paints
• Paint Removers
• Pool Chemicals
• Prescription Drugs (for People and Pets), Over-the Counter Medicines and Supplements (NO DEA CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES - see below)
• Personal Care Products (including cosmetics, skin-care products, shampoos, nail polish and remover, etc.)
• Solvents

The following materials are NOT ACCEPTED at HCW Collections:

• Agricultural Chemicals
• Alkaline Batteries
• Business or Institutional Wastes
• DEA Controlled Substances (click for list at DEA site)
• Explosives and Ammunition
• Fire Extinguishers
• Fireworks
• Household Electronics
• Latex Paint
• Lead-acid Batteries
• Propane Tanks
• Medical Wastes
• Sharps/Needles
• Smoke Detectors
• Tires

If you have questions regarding items that are accepted, please contact SWALCO at 847-336-9340

Please also check our recycling guidelines for home curbside pickup and plastic bag (film) dropoffs at grocery stores

Park District Pension Blow Out

Park District Board MEETING--August 19, 2010, Workshop/Board Meeting will be held at the Highland Park Community House, 1991 Sheridan Road, Highland Park. The Workshop Meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. as scheduled. The Board Meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.An Open Letter to the Highland Park Community-Read Here

I was stunned and outraged to read the original Tribune article or Aug 2 followup article that described the wasteful spending of our money by our Park District Commissioners. Lorry Werhane should very much regret the increased liability of about $56,000/year (based on $166,000 Vs. $110,000 pension if done properly) of increased benefits that the citizens of Highland Park and the State of Illinois must pay per year.

Salaries for Executive Director of $435,203 his last year and the current salary of $218,372 for Ken Swan is way over the bar. Wow.... full transparency and discussion forums of this travesty needs to be implemented now. Not only should the government look for ways to recover these wrongly sanctioned payments, but we should examine all our employment contracts and benefits to be sure things are now done properly.

We will be passing a Pension Reform Resolution at our next City Council meeting to insist our legislatures reform pension law to create a sustainable pension program and STOP abuses like the Park District imposed on our backs. Karen May who is on the pension subcommittee, is our best hope to champion these efforts and create change. Drastic changes from the current benefit defined plans to contribution defined plans must be implemented for real change to occur. We must not lay any additional current employee liability on future wage earners.

The Park District issue is the tip of the iceberg and we must change government NOW....... Please speak out!

Seniors, Disabilities, Economic ability, and the GARBAGE

I have been trashed by a few of my Senior Citizens in town for not demanding in negotiations a special subsidized provision in the new garbage contract for Seniors. First of all, just being a senior does not invoke immediate subsidy on a economic level from government. People in need, no matter what there age, are the ones we must try to help. There are two reasons of hardship where we must reach out to help folks, low income and disability. While these issues might be realities for some seniors, it is not the majority. Many seniors have sufficient cash flow and pretty good physical and mental abilities. I look at my 84 year old mom and thank G_D she can still drive and live a good life on her Social Security. You don't have to be a rich senior to be able to pay the $7.50 - 25.00 costs of garbage pick up. To be able to pay under 15/mo. for garbage pick up is a real bargain. Just ask your friends in other towns. If you are disabled, can't take your garbage to the street, and cant afford the $22.35-$25.00 costs/mo. for back door service we need to come up with an alternative to help.

As someone who initiated the low income rebates for utilities for our residents, I am very sensitive to the costs of living in Highland Park. I have also been leading the way for years on reducing the costs of government for all and any escalations in non-discretionary taxation and fees (property taxes, and basic services).

While I think we have the best residential waste hauling contract we could have negotiated, we must still workout issues with those that have problems bringing their garbage to the street and can't afford the increase for backdoor service.

August 2010 Round Up

Cell phone usage while driving will be put on agenda at an upcoming City Council meeting to either limit use to hands free like Chicago and Evanston or totally ban cell phone usage while driving. I have made a pledge to not use a cell phone in my car while driving. We must lead by example and increase safety on our streets for ourselves and our community.

We Okayed waivers on street use promoting the Lincoln School Annual Fall Frolic on Aug. 26th and the Ravinia Nursery School's Annual Family Fall Festival on Oct 3rd.

Council voted 5-2 to okay City Managers Limardi's recommendation to replace Fred Allen's management of the Highland Park Theater with Kemper Sports, the management team that runs the Highland Park Country Club. Nancy Rotering and I voted against this contract ratification.

Awarded a $50,000 contract to seal the cracks on our streets this year. I again brought up the point that we should be doing a better job reaching out to neighboring communities to do more Joint bidding to reduce costs to our residents.

Keep Politics out of our Council/Commission Governance

Commission members for the City of Highland Park should not be asked if they will endorse a Candidate for Mayor or the City Council. Commissioners should be appointed on their merits and abilities to contribute to policy rather on than being politically committed to the Mayor or Councilman.

As the City Council has talked about protocols designed for the City Council and our Commissions to be ethically clear of interests that might be interpreted as influential decision making, I would ask us politicians not ask Commissioners to politically endorse any member that runs for political office in the City of Highland Park.

By enacting this protocol, Commissioners would not feel obligated to endorse incumbents because of a concern they might not be re-appointed to the commission or not be considered for Chairman. These appointments should be solely based on merit and not politics.

There is plenty of politics going on in Highland Park as candidates will be spending between $20,000 to $100,000 in the 2011 races to get their positions out to the citizens. There is every reason to keep politics away from our Commission system and let our appointed citizens make their recommendations on the facts of petitions and not allow politics to cast a influential shadow on their work.

Who needs Government?

With all the stress and skyrocketing costs of government, one might think we should just leave everybody alone and stay out of your life.

In Tisch Mills they must think so!

NEW Volume Based Garbage Deal

Last night the City Council okayed a new 5 year contract with Veolia for our Residential Volume Based "Pay as you throw" program. Residents need to understand changes in Options and Pricing so watch for the mailed survey and information in the upcoming Highlander.

Our first Volume based contract was negotiated over 8 years ago and because of its great success in getting residents to use stickers and producing the highest recycling rate in Lake County, Veolia stated that they had been loosing large sums of money monthly on the existing contract. To continue a low cost sticker Volume Based system we needed to charge a minimum $60/year ($5/Mo.)base service fee to all households in this new contract to cover some costs of operations. In exchange for that reliable fee we were able to get the sticker price lowered to $2.35 from the current price of $2.84.

Also, along with most other communities in the nation, we are moving our garbage curbside to allow automated truck systems to operate in a more sustainable fashion. We will be getting all new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and free carts for refuse and recycling. Promotion of these CNG trucks reduces our reliance on oil and imported fuels. As a matter of fact our entire Volume Based Program will promote reduction of waste, increasing of recyclable products, and a much reduced carbon footprint of our entire refuse system.

Current rear door/top of drive will still be offered during this 5 year contract at a cost of $15/month add on but I suggest you wheel it down to the curb for the best rates.

Change is never easy and there is always reasons not to move forward, but I am proud of Highland Park being a leader in sustainability and doing what is right for us and our world.

July 2010 Round Up

1. Authorized reconstruction for Orchard Lane to a tune of $658,033.00. Along with reconstruction of the street we will be putting in a bike lane and a new water main.

2. On Pleasant Avenue we will be upgrading the storm sewers at a cost of $445,099.

3. We accepted the water distribution Master Plan that has called out millions of dollars of needed upgrades over the next decade. We need to really address this infrastructure so we don't have increasing failures in our water system.

4. Discussed the continuation of the Special Service Area that funds the Downtown Business Alliance which includes the Association of Property Owners, Chamber of Commerce, and members of the City of Highland Park. It is important we keep a close eye on our downtown and the revenues it can produce for the community.

5. Presentation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal year Ended Dec. 31, 2009. See this report, our budget, and all you ever wanted to know about our finances.

Independence Day Spirit

Riding down Central in the parade and viewing the many Highland Park families that attended demonstrates the great national and community acknowledgement to the values that created our country.

What strikes deep in my heart during these times of economic stress is the need for government to lighten up on the citizens. We need to constantly bring back that revolutionary spirit that slaps complacency and pushes back big government. Burdening our citizens with unsustainable public pensions and robust programs that can be trimmed can't continue. We must not lose steam in creating sustainable government.

We must demand immediate reinvention and priority on the REAL needs of our community. Consolidated government, reduced costs, and networking across our municipal boundaries for efficiencies will produce great results.

Municipalities, School Districts, and Townships need to evaluate solutions together to reduce administrations and create efficient programs that serve the people at reduced costs.

The spirit of 1776 lives within us still and can liberate us from the burdens that we face today if we are willing to change.

Unite on June 28th and Promote Lake Michigan Access

UPDATE*****Last night the Mayor released a statement that told residents there would be no license given, the fence would come down, and the staff would develop a plan for the public enjoyment of this street end. I want to thank all of you for your emails and calls to support public access to Lake Michigan and the street end program. This result has come forward because of your expressions.
Thank you!

The request to continue the privatization of the Prospect Ave. street-end really drives home the need to promote public awareness and interaction with the lakefront. Currently the Prospect Ave. street end is barricaded and used by the adjacent owner as their private back yard. While the lakes majestic beauty is in full bloom, the vista down Prospect is the obstruction of our lake with an old iron fence and dense privately maintained foliage that enforce private property use of these public lands. Please come to the meeting and petition the Mayor and City Council to tear down these fences and obstructions to allow public view and access to our lake.

Please look at our city website at http://www.cityhpil.com/ and download the agenda for the June 28th for information on the time of this discussion in front of the City Council. Let the Mayor and City Council understand our connection to our public lands, lake, and values concerning community rights and expectations. Words from my colleges on the Council have been weak and very confusing as they have been on the fence and non-committal on protecting the public right for access to our lake. Request that they step up and take affirmative action at this meeting to really open up this street end to the public. FREE PROSPECT AVE. STREET END!

June 2010 Table Roundup

Our Social Hosting Ordinance to help prevent teen drug and alcohol abuse will be getting a tweaking using best practices used in neighboring communities. Bottom line here is that parents can't take a hands off approach and need to be proactive on guiding the actions of children in their homes. Party houses that tolerate teen drug and alcohol abuse is not okay.

Discussion of government consolidation continues with the merger of the Lakefront and Environmental Commissions. I think that together they can unify their passion and expertise for a greater impact on our environment.

A filibuster emerged to delay the continuation of our Downtown Alliance Strategy's funding (Special Service Area) mission to promote the success of our core business district. While the jury is still out on the payback for this mission, the signs are positive and the consensus from a majority of our property owners and business leaders seems to be supportive. After a 60 day window for appeals the SSA will come back to the Council for a final vote.

UPDATE- This item was pulled from the agenda and use of Tasars seems to have been put on hold.Police were scheduled to carry Conducted Energy Devices "Tasers" in the coming months as another instrument of force to preserve the peace in Highland Park. I voiced my minority objection if the Tasers use would be to control upset suspects instead of an alternative to deadly force. Officers should be instructed to continue to put their hands on disorderly suspects and not resort to Tasers in my opinion. Tasers have caused death and large lawsuit settlements paid to the suspects. Hope neither of these results happen in Highland Park.

Highland Park Historical Society will hold its annual Antique and Classic Auto Show on July 31st between 11am and 3pm.

2010 vehicle sticker design will be honoring the 100th year anniversary of our Chamber of Commerce of Highland Park. I would ask you to shop local and support our merchants which in turn provides needed revenues to support the community services that we all enjoy.

Staffs Budget Ideology pushes increases in Taxes and Fees

While I have been asking that we immediately talk about reducing costs of city government to meet existing revenues, we again turn back the clock and listened to the old ideological discussion about bringing up revenues to meet existing cost of government PLUS++++. Now this all seems like open and clear government in action.. at it is!.... Staff again wants to increase revenues by raising fees and taxes to support an unsustainable government. If more infrastructure work needs to be done (and it REALLY does), staff suggests we get more fees and taxes from the residents. I have suggested we cut costs in our City Mangers office and other departments to increase spending on our infrastructure. Up until now the opposite has occurred and we have continued to allow our infrastructure spending to fall behind.

Staff is pairing under achieving revenues with over demanding infrastructure costs in an attempt to justifying raising fees and taxes. This is just a government strategy to raise taxes by mental gymnastics accounting instead of simply adjusting revenues to be shared by priority amongst all the expenditure accounts. While we should have a basic plan on understanding the revenue structure in relation to our city expenses, the major emphasis on setting the budget must be the fiscal impact on our residents.

Where is the Knife?? Lets start cutting fellas and ladies.

Was the Right Decision made about Arizona travel?

First of all lets get the facts straight! The administration that made the decision to not let the girls go to Arizona is hired by a board of elected officials and is a representative government of citizens that live in Deerfield, Highwood, Riverwoods, and Highland Park (attendance map). For the citizens or the City of Highland Park to unilaterally take any heat for 113's decision is unwarranted. This was not a Highland Park decision!

The Community of Highland Park is a place I am proud to have spent my entire life raising my children and serving the citizens as a City Councilman. We have a wonderful community that offers a great friendly cultural, historical, and business climate for all area residents to enjoy.

Political diversity and the tolerance of views is what we should teach our children and not lead them by the nose in any direction. Let them be part of the process with their parents. Tolerance and objective reasoning was not demonstrated by this school administration decision process. District 113 had no business putting our community or children in the center of this controversy by representing that their decision to not send the girls represented core values of this community.

I personally do not think any child is unsafe in Arizona and to okay foreign sanctioned visits anywhere over our children's ability to visit places within this country is ridiculous.

We need to deal with our immigration situation on a federal level immediately. Existing illegal residents and future immigrants need to live under a practice and law that supports the need of our country to have immigrant labor. This is mostly just supply and demand but it needs to legally work.

We should learn from this unfortunate situation with our schools and leave these kind of national debates to our citizens that vote and simply promote education, tolerance, and objective reasoning to our children.

The Publics Prospect Street End up for discussion

On May 10th the City Council will decide the fate of the Public Street End that overlooks Lake Michigan at Prospect Avenue. Over the past 30 years a license has existed that has kept this publicly deeded property in the control of the adjoining private property owners hands. A fence was erected and access to the bluff edge was prohibited during the past 30 year life of the license.

Good news is that the license has now expired and the disposition of the street end is entirely within the will of the City Council. The City Manager has placed this discussion on the agenda for our next meeting.

Now back in 2007 we put together an amendment to our Greenways Plan that incorporated 12 publicly owned street ends that terminated at the waters edge of Lake Michigan. Prospect Ave. was one of the twelve that we designated for this program. Prospect Ave. was designated for public views of the lake, possible access to the beach, and overall connection of the citizens of Highland Park to experience Lake Michigan in the neighborhoods.

The license that gave private property rights to this public property have expired. It is understood that the adjacent owner wants to renew those rights. I would ask all those citizens of Highland Park that have wishes that these public street ends return and stay in the public hands come to the meeting on May 10th and voice their support for public access. Look on the Cityhpil.com website after May 6th for time and location of meeting as part of the City Council agenda packet.

Round-Up on Current Issues

I am going to try a new format for general issues that are being discussed to help immerse you in more topics "On The Table". I will still be using old format as well.

1. We are looking to have a new Residential Garbage pickup contract in place in Sept. of this year. Just putting out our RFP asking waste haulers to give us bids. This has been a hot topic in the past and big changes need to happen to keep our volume based system intact. We will be getting larger wheeled recycling toter's as our first priority but they will need to be brought to the street curb for pickup. We are asking for subscription options for those of you that want to keep the current small carts in front of your garage.

2. If you read the paper you mostly know about the HP theater and the fact that the committee was asked to look at renovation options. Recommendation is to not proceed with any major upgrade at this time and to clean up the existing movie theater in ways to increase net revenues. The operating budget is projected to run in the black for 2010.

3.Ravinia Farmers Market permit okay starting June 16th through Oct 27th from 5am-1pm.

4.The Arts Center (TAC) has been given a break on the rent through December of 2010 and modifications on moneys due the city to help them get back on their financial feet. Their default would not serve our community while their mission enriches our life's and community. Please help us promote their success.

5. We saved $70,000.00 by contracting out our street sweeping instead of doing it in house.

6. Received a bid for $254,400 for salt for the 2010-11 season.

7. Okayed contracts of $989,000 for Asphalt and Concrete Street repairs.

8. Our Automobile Boot Law will now cover anyone that receives 5 unpaid parking citations which are over 90 days old.... Pay them tickets or get booted!

9. I have also asked to get the cell phone ban on an agenda as well as talking about the extra payroll last year that cost the city over 500,000 dollars.

10. We talked about the budget and asked staff to present us a balanced budget that was defined by revenues being equal to expenditures. In the past several years money was taken out of reserves to define a balanced budget.

11. All on the City Council except for myself gave the go ahead for a Special Zoning Permit to go directly to staff for approval of variances for extended porches, pillars, and basketball hoops in the required front yards instead of the past practice of notice and public hearing in front of the Zoning Board of appeals . It also moves multiple garage doors to the staff for approval...... Very slippery slope on the vision of how our community front yards will look and will cause friction amongst adjacent neighbors that are asked to sign off. More development and lot coverage policy from staff again! This should be on agenda May 10th.

12. Central (Downtown) District Plan came in front of the City Council for a visioning sign off.... As I told the Mayor and staff, this should be directed and visioned by the City Council first before staff reaches out for citizen involvement. I am open to tweaking a great 2001 plan that is approved but do not want to see Evanston type goals brought to Highland Park. Yes, we can work on small changes that have discouraged redevelopment of needed areas but the goals and vision we set in 2001 is SOLID! While it was a great exercise for our round table participants and many good thoughts emerged, I think it is premature until the Council weighs in on direction.

13. Structures on public property laws will be redefined again on the May 10th agenda. Basically just regular mailboxes approved by the post office will be allowed. Also, 18 inch boulders will be allowed no less than 24 inches from the street edge. Past structures and boulders that are legally existing will be allowed unless they are unsafe.

14. We approved transfer of money to library but I asked for a strong commitment from their President Ken Henry to work with us on consolidation and efficiencies to save the taxpayers money. They committed to work with us across the board.

15. We recognized Dr. Mark Hill and the wonderful students from Elm Place School that participated in Project Citizen and the Sustainable Green School Compact. Our kids are our Future and they will make a difference!

16. We put in a place new multifunction machines that copy, print, and scan. This consolidation and updating has saved us $500 dollars per month on our current contract.

17. Repair of our pedestrian overpass at Central Ave in the amount of $110,170. This upgrading has been phased to lower yearly costs.

18. New laws were passed concerning Group Homes to better address compliance with our local zoning ordinances and best practices. I have been informed that providers for these facilities were part of the process.

19.Worked out a Traffic and Parking agreement with Ravinia Festival to better deal with enforcement to provide reduced neighborhood disruptions.

Spring Cleanup and HP Recycling Options

Remember Spring Clean up is available from the City so put your trash on the curb. City program is described in this link. Also, remember not to throw out recyclables that can be picked up on normal trash days in your recyclable container. One more thing!! Electronics should be taken to the public works drop off site on Tuesday and Friday from 7am until 1pm. Check out best disposal and recycling options at this link.

Council needs more time

As I have shared with my fellow colleagues on the City Council, we need to spend more time together to make timely decisions on many outstanding discussions. Many times we discuss a subject and review 10,20, or 30 pages of documents just to not have enough time to discuss the item fully or even at all. The next time we might see it is months down the road. This is not good!

I remember that past Councils always afforded more time to get through all the issues on the table. It seems lately that the issues are piling up and not discussed in a time connected manner. It is like mental gymnastics sometimes. Lets put in the time to get the peoples work done!

Lets get moving on the budget......

For this years budget that Councilman Rotering and I voted against, we cut our spending on our infrastructure about $750,000 and took about another $500,000 or more out of reserves to balance 2010's books.

At the time Nancy and I also asked that we immediately move forward on making additional core decisions to realign our government to have a better sustainable position in this new economic climate. While we were unsuccessful in getting a continuous process to proceed, we were promised that in March we would move on tackling these issues.

Well March has come and gone and we are next scheduled to talk about the budget April 26th, from 2:30 to 4:00 at City Hall. But instead of picking up where we left off with the City Manager proposing some $750,000 in expenditure reductions, we are back to first base talking about policy statements and looking at the optimistic tea leafs we have been fed for the last 3 years. I say plan for the worse and hope for the best.

We need to realign spending from large administrative purposes to boots and actions on the ground. This government over thinks and acts less than I think we should operate. We should be increasing infrastructure repairs instead of slashing them. Lots of work to be done and NOW is the time to start to finish the job.

Payroll change can save Money!!

Recently, the City Council was informed that an additional payroll was made in 2009 because of using a bi-weekly (26 payment) payroll system. This additional 27th bi-weekly payroll is an anomaly that occurs every 11 years because our bi-weekly payroll it is based on a 364 (52 week) year versus the reality of a 366 on leap year and 365 normal year. The extra 1 or 2 days(leap yr) add up to an extra payroll on the 11th year.

What this all means is that an annual salary's that we voted on in our budget (look at page 7-10 of this personnel summary) was altered by this extra week . My understanding is the proper salaries were paid in the first 26 payments. Problem is that we had 27 in 2009.

The remedy to this problem is to do what the State of Illinois and many other large corporations do. That is to change to a twice a month(semi-monthly) payroll system that is based on a full year and never has anomalies like this one. The switch not only saves us the salary in the extra payroll every 11 years, but also saves us the cost of having two extra payroll periods every year (24 vs 26).

It is amazing to me that this is the first we have heard of this extra cost since it is accumulated every year. We have been struggling with getting our revenues to match expenditures and this adjustment can fill a big hole since we are talking about hundreds of thousands. I don't know about you but anywhere we can cut costs without reducing services or laying off employees I Say Yes!!

Contributions Requested

I am asking you to donate to the Steve Mandel Committee (2157 St. Johns Ave. HP) by mail or online at stevemandel.com to pay for the online content that is hosted and emailed on the internet. I would like to raise about $1000... Thank YOU

GreenTown Shows Green Solutions not Green Wash

This was my 3rd Greentown event that I have attended. It is produced by Gary Cuneed from Seven Generations Ahead and John Harris from A5 inc. These guys do a great job of bringing us back to reality. Their presentations remind us we have an obligation to our children. We need to correct the environmental unbalances that we have brought upon our planet. Bob Dixon, Mayor of Greensburg Kansas, spoke about a community working together in sustainably rebuilding their town after a devastating F-5 tornado destroyed everything. Mayor Dixon talked about how we need to spead the word on green solutions to promote future life for humans on this planet. Bottom line is the reality of green wash (talking the talk but not walking the walk) has to be replaced by action by a majority, promoted by strong leadership in government and business. We need to start to walk soon for the preservation of our children's future. Who's In??

All Public Meetings should be Recorded

UPDATE>>>>Council unanimously supported resuming verbatim recordings for COTW City Council Meetings(afternoon session) and the Commission Meetings. YEA!!!
Recently I have found out that staff had Stopped Recording pre-session City Council meetings otherwise refereed to as Committee of the Whole. Staff has also stopped recording the commission meetings. This was done unknown to the City Council. At the last Council meeting I asked to discuss restoring those recordings at our next meeting.

It is important to have these recordings to have a specific record of events. Also, to provide a resource to those of us that might miss a meeting or are interested in a subject on an agenda and want to research how a specific vote was discussed in detail.

As we move forward in open and accessible government this was a big mistake to stop recordings. I am hopeful that the Mayor and fellow Councilman will agree with me and move to restore these recordings for all to hear if requested.

Library Board Upset with the Council for cutting Taxes

Last year the Library brought their budget to the City Council for review and passage. Just like several of the past 16 budgets that I have been part of, the City Council attempted to work out a smaller increase than was requested. In all those past years we have struck a deal with the Library board in the spirit of cooperation and in the best interests of the citizens. This year however seems like things have dramatically changed.

While I was not involved in many of the direct discussions that took place with the Library, we were told by them that the Library was its own government and we needed to pass the much larger increase in the levy.

What we had asked the Library to do in these down economic times is to follow what the rest of our city government has done and have ZERO increases in their budget outside of mandatory IMRF pension requirements..... They refused and demanded their increases be levied upon the citizens of Highland Park through higher property taxes.

We asked the Library Board to work with our staff on creating administrative efficiencies by combining staff duplication of services, bidding together on insurance, and taking advantage of other opportunities to save money.

I truly believe the Library boards in the past and the present have done an excellent job on providing a fine establishment for education, leisure, and entertainment. The Library is a sanctuary for many that do enjoy its immense resources and peaceful atmosphere. It is a prime cultural pillar of our community and all of us on the City Council recognize its importance and have always stood behind its preservation as a great benefiting institution in our community.

Now, as far as who makes the final decision in how much money is spent and who governs our Library? It is our citizens. The way that our citizens effectuate this policy is to elect 7 members to the City Council of Highland Park. The citizens entrust the seven of us to govern this City Government, including the Library, for four year terms. We, the City Council of Highland Park, are the ones that are empowered by the citizens to make the final decisions.

The Mayor recommends and the City Council approves citizens to serve on the Library board to over see operations and programming of the Library. The Library board is required to submit its levy (property tax request) to the City Council for approval. The Library Board serves at our pleasure and is accountable to us on the City Council.

While this conflict between the City Council and the Library board has never erupted in the past, it has always been clear to me where the authority lies. This Councilman will not give any department or recommending body a BLANK CHECK when it comes to property taxes that our citizens have no choice on paying.

I am hopeful that the current library board will retreat from this unsustainable aggressive posture and work with us as the boards have done in the past. The City Council will not let anything happen that will jeopardize the Library's mission to serve our community and will do all that it takes to preserve civility and cooperation between the city and our library.

Highland Park Theater discussion is tamed under current economic climate

While our hopes were high that we would have a new performing arts theater group rehab the Highland Park Theater after our purchase......that idea will have to be put on the shelf for the moment.

After sitting in on several Theater Reuse Advisory meetings over the past several months it seems that the consensus in the short term was to make the theater more presentable as a movie house and not currently move forward on a mass renovation. Suggestions were also made to make changes to the business model that could increase revenues for the movie venue.

I think on a parallel path we should make it clear to the Chicago Area Theatrical Community that Highland Park is willing to work with viable theatrical entities on renovating and promoting performing arts within this facility with the right partnership. We have a core downtown and population that is very theatrical friendly and would be a very supportive to an incoming theater company or operator.

Also, we need to see if there is interest in establishing a foundation for preservation of the Highland Park Theater in perpetuity since many of us old timers believe it is a cornerstone in our history and cultural fabric. WELL>>>> Time to hear from the City Council to see whats next!