If you’d like to read the Six Sigma report on how to improve Peoria’s snow removal process, here it is in PDF format (1.43M). To me, one of the more significant observations is this one:
The community has grown over 26 center lane miles in the past seven years and will be growing another ten center lane miles later this year due to new neighborhoods being developed. No consideration has been given for equipment or manpower needed to clear the streets.
This report is focused on snow removal, obviously, but I think the findings point to a more systemic problem in the city. That is that the city, when annexing land and expanding, has not adequately planned for or provided the additional resources needed for increased demand on public works, police, and fire service. Hence, all these basic services get stretched to the point where we read today about problems with fire personnel having enough manpower and equipment.
Peoria was about 39 square miles in 1970. By 2006, it had grown to over 48 square miles (a 23% increase) and will soon hit 50 as new land is annexed. During that time, police staffing grew by 24 people (9%, 263 to 287), fire staffing grew by 31 people (18%, 175 to 206), and public works staff actually has 13 fewer people (-9.7%, 134 to 121). I’m talking about total staff, not just officers, firefighters, and crew members; i.e., these numbers also include desk jobs and other positions.
Consider also that newer parts of town put a proportionately larger strain on city resources. From the snow report again:
Cul-de-sacs can take up to eight times longer to clear than a through street. At the current time, the city has over 900 cul-de-sacs and dead end streets, and new subdivisions are developing these in to their neighborhood planning processes.
Most of the older part of the city is on a grid system of streets — that is, through streets. By far the most cul-de-sacs are on the north end and in the expansion areas. Cul-de-sacs are not only a problem for public works, but fire and police as well, since access to those properties is limited and provide only one direction of approach.
Obviously, the city’s services need to be expanded to meet the needs of the growth areas. And given that annexation and development are supposed to be bringing in so much new income to the city, that should be no problem. Only the city is still strapped for funds — so much so that not only can we not add resources, we can barely maintain the status quo.
The city simply cannot sustain a pattern of growth that sees property values deteriorate and vacancies increase in the core of the city while simultaneously acquiring more and more land to the north. We have to increase the tax base in the southern part of the city.
And look at all the growth up north. Do you know how many new residential lots i.e. mile of road are slated to come into the city in the next year or so?
Todays headline article about the Fire Dept was pretty revealing as well:
http://www.pjstar.com/stories/061407/TRI_BDGE5597.013.php
It sure reads like we don’t have enough fire staff or equipment.
CJ: This is what has been reported for years, no one was ‘crying wolf’.
Perhaps now that the report has the CAT and Six Sigma stamp on it the Emperor can finally buy some new clothes.
Problem is, with the Gateway Building, the ball stadium, the civic center expansion and other non-essential expenditures — our tax money has been spent on baubles.
Guess I had a point about my ‘unrelated’ police story in the fire department discussion — not to be negative, just the houses of cards are starting to fall — unfortunately for all of us.
You are not going to solve the problem by increasing the tax base in the southern part of the City. The property tax as a source of revenue has got to go. It’s been antiquated and regressive for decades. The “baubles” have to go too. Sell the Gateway Building. Lease the Civic Center. Get the City out of the non-government arena. It will be devasting to the egos of some City officials, but the public has to demand it. Sorry, but City governments were not created to provide public entertainment, or hotels, any of the other (very nice) but not-local-govt-functions they have taken on in recent years. Now, here’s an even more radical idea – how about some neighborhood auxillary fire and police volunteers to augment the regular departments? Lots of other cities and towns do that. Oh, I know, the public employee unions will scream bloody murder. Well, guess what? The City government is not there to provide jobs, either. The City is there to provide police, fire, streets and sanitation services. If I had my way they would take over the Park District, too, but that’s about it.
Mouse: I’m not going to debate whether property taxes should exist or not. That’s beside the point. The city only gets about 10 cents of every property tax dollar anyway; most of the city’s income is from sales taxes. But what sales taxes are being generated in the south end? Where are the grocery stores, retail outlets, office buildings, etc., etc.? They’ve all moved or are moving out to the north end. Take Lippmann’s for example. They moved out of their building on Sheridan in the
EastWest Bluff (not judging that decision; just using it for illustration) and went out north. Now there’s a vacant building in the older part of town not producing any sales tax revenue for the city. We need someone to reinvest in that place and places like it all over the older parts of the city. Businesses are always going to move around, but look at how many are vacant in the older part of town and have been vacant for a long time. That’s what I’m talking about.Cj must be working for the journal star now. No part of Sheridan is in the East bluff…haha..
Shhh! We want people to think all the bad stuff happens on the East Bluff! 😉
Maybe I am stating the obvious, but Peoria isn’t achieving real growth if people from the city are just moving out of the urban center.
Wouldn’t the obvious be for the city to refuse to annex any subdivisions that contain cul-de-sacs? How tough could that be? Force each new subdivision to be able to connect to the next one and so forth from within the subdivisions, not just one entrance/exit for each one.
Whoa. I posted this question to Karrie on a dying thread, but since CJ, Mahnko and Karrie (again) mentioned it, it bears repeating. The story about the Fire Department is really two stories. The first is about the reserve equipment not being fully loaded. That seems less an issue of funding and more an issue of mismanagement. Think what you will about Peoria’s funding of basic services, but I cannot ever recall the Fire Department not getting the budget it requested (other than Station #11).
The other part of the story is the way the FD operates when there is a BIG fire. Looks like all companies were called to the scene. That is like 18 companies. Reserves were called in to man the reserve vehicles. That seems like SOP. Had there been a fully staffed #11, would all of the other units still responded? If so, we would have had 19 companies there and everything else would have stayed the same.
CJ, you are right about the vacant buildings and such, but isn’t that because the customers are moving north? And aren’t the customers moving north largely because of crime (and Dist. 150)?? It comes back to addressing the crime problem and, yes, making older areas more attractive to invest in by doing something about the property tax. Not just the hit-and-miss “TIF” stuff. True reform. “Fix up your property, get hit with a tax increase” Ever hear that? Its true. Just one of the many govt. policies that discourage people from investing in their property.
I agree with the “Mouse” with regard to the Gatway building…GET RID OF IT. I mean has anything even happened there since ’03?!? But who wants it?
Ah, I could see our civic center now: “The Altell, Verizon, Edwards/Jones, Nyquil: The Nighttime, Sniffling, Sneezing, Coughing, Aching, Fever, So You Can Rest Better Municipal Convention Center and Sports Arena Complex of Peoria”
The sign will be great!
JB
Hey! That’s a hell of an idea. Sell the naming rights to our buildings. The Roto Rooter Sewer Gateway Building. Imagine what the embossed napkins would look like at functions.
I have named the traffic lights between Forrest Hill and War Memorial Dr. the “Gary Sandburg Memorial Traffic Net” after his work on getting all those lights installed when he was 2nd District councilman.
@mdd The subdivision ordinance would need to be DRASTICALLY changed. I’ll let you ponder on the politico’s opinion of removing cul-de-saqs
Of course the subdivision ordinance would need to be tweaked. No more excuses should be tolerated from the city employees. Just do it if it makes sense.
Peoria AntiPundit, I don’t know whether to thank you or not, but the “Only traffic light” I was involved with between Forrest Hill and War Memorial was the entrance to University Plaza at Florence. At the time I was Second District and Ron Ulmer was FOurth DIstrict and the Second District northern boundary was Forrest Hill. Ron Ulmer, and City Staff bend over backwards to get the new “WalMart built” and the “private street” that connected University to Dries Lane. At that time, the City paid for the “new light at the private street” taking out the “previous light” that serviced University Plaza. If you remember Ron worked for Becker, Becker built the WalMart Project and was in a “pissing battle” with owners of University Plaza. During that timne period University Plaza hired me as Architect to get their Addition and Remodelling completed. As Second District Council person, I did NOT do work in the Second District, but this area was still in the Fourth so I did get hired by the Owners of University Plaza. After a great deal of negociations and threats of suit for removing the traffic signal that the former owners of the “University Plaza” area had put in, University Plaza PAID FOR AT THEIR SOLE EXPENSE the traffic signal at Florence. The ADDITIONAL LIGHT was the one that served and serves WalMart and I had ABSOULTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
At the next Census, the Second District boundaries were changed from Forrest Hill to War Memorial. I know everyone likes to beat up on this “SandbUrg” fellow, but this “SandbErg” will only accept responsibility for those things that this “SandbErg” is responsible for. It is generallyh with the same veracity of the spelling that is the basis for the disparate remarks.
Well, Mr Sandberg, I know you worked for University plaza and I knew you were a second district councilman at the time. I also remember seeing you at University Plaza measuring and taking notes and working. I know you as a hard working councilman that takes the job seriously. I also realize that mess has nothing to do with you. I mean stopping 4 lanes of a busy street so the Arby drive thru can empty out is..well.. nuts but the light also serves the private lane from Wally World (which I hear is closing). I was concerned when the light was at Merle Lane and one also at Florence because I wanted Station 11 easy access out and because at that time I think, the USPS wanted a light at their N University Station and the city said no. Too close to Northmoor. So, knowing how hard you work at issues Mr SandbErg, when sitting at those lights wondering why it takes 15 minutes to go through that block, I have a smile come to my face when I think of the name I gave it, hence: The Gary SandbErg memorial Traffic Net. It’s all in fun. 🙂