Daily Archives: December 7, 2006

City of Peoria, Elections

Who’s running for Peoria City Council?

10 Comments

Well, we know Gary Sandberg is, as is George Jacob and Eric Turner. And we know Chuck Grayeb and John Morris are not running. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

But I can tell you this: Here are the names of the people who picked up petitions for the upcoming election as of noon today. Presumably these people are considering running and are trying to get the necessary signatures. Other than the ones I already mentioned, no one else has announced their candidacy to my knowledge:

  • Patti Polk
  • Dan Gillette
  • W. Eric Turner
  • Ryan Spain
  • Gary Forssander
  • Dan Irving
  • Paul Sherwood
  • Gary V. Sandberg
  • Charles Schierer
  • Donald Cummings
  • Kelley C. McGownn Mammen
  • William B. Bates
  • Gloria Cassel Fitzgerald
  • Brad Carter
  • George Jacob
  • Ron Theobald
  • Jim Montelongo

I got these from the Election Commission and they’re all handwritten, so if I misspelled anything, it’s because I couldn’t read the handwriting.

City Council, City of Peoria

Essential Services First

17 Comments

The City Council passed a budget that didn’t raise property taxes.

There’s been another murder in Peoria, bringing the total for 2006 to 18… so far:

This is the city’s 18th homicide of 2006, besting a 13-year-old record 17 in 1993. Of this year’s slayings, 11 remain unsolved.

But the City Council passed a budget that didn’t raise property taxes.

We still have an understaffed fire department. Although they’ve moved personnel and equipment from Fire Station 13 over the Fire Station 11 temporarily, there’s no overall increase in personnel or equipment, and some have argued that the city is actually less protected as a result.

But the City Council passed a budget that didn’t raise property taxes.

We can’t seem to get our snow plowed adequately or in a timely manner. As a result, we’ve had to deal with washboard streets and the schools had to close for three days even though there was an intervening weekend.

But the City Council passed a budget that didn’t raise property taxes.

We still have a regressive tax known as the $6 garbage “fee.” This so-called garbage fee actually goes to fund police and is collected on our water bills. We pay handsomely for Illinois American to collect this fee for the city. And it’s one of the two main reasons there was a big turnover on the council last election. And now we’ve also raised the building fees which may cause some to wonder if we’re trying to discourage economic growth in Peoria.

But the City Council passed a budget that didn’t raise property taxes.

Gary Sandberg said it best last night: “Our [the Council’s] job is not to balance the budget without a tax increase.” The Council’s job is to provide essential services like public safety and street/infrastructure maintenance. That’s what we thought we were getting with the “new” council. Instead, we got a council that, it could be argued, considers “holding the line on property taxes” to be the highest public good.

I’m not arguing for higher taxes, per se. What I’m arguing for is the city to fully fund basic public services before they fund anything else — like the Gateway building, for instance. The Gateway building is not an essential service. It’s nice. I like the Gateway building. If the city has a plethora of funds and the citizens want that service, I have no problem with it. But to have this service (and others) funded while at the same time we can’t fully staff our fire stations is about as ridiculous — and irresponsible — as it gets.

I’m sorry to be so harsh, but this budget was a cop out. The tough decisions were dodged. The apple cart was not upset. It’s more of the same. I thought the voters last election made it clear we wanted something different.

There’s another election coming up when we’ll have the opportunity to elect five at-large members of the council. Remember this budget. And remember these three words: essential services first.