Category Archives: City Council

City Council, City of Peoria, East Bluff

Council looks to state for help, but won’t help themselves

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The city council can be so schizophrenic sometimes.

At Tuesday’s meeting, they first decided to keep taxing residents of the East Bluff Special Service District 18 cents per $100 equalized assessed value for another ten years to continue funding the East Bluff Neighborhood Housing Service, a controversial organization residents feel is ineffective and secretive. The vote was 9-1.

Then, just a couple of agenda items later, fourth district councilman Bill Spears made a motion “to begin discussions [with state legislators] on innovative ways to bring back the core of the inner city by giving incentives, such as tax breaks to homeowners and owned businesses.” After some discussion, that passed 9-1 also.

So they’re for talking about tax breaks with state reps, but not actually giving tax breaks to a distressed part of town when given the opportunity. Tell me that isn’t dysfunctional.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Police

Red-light cameras on Peoria Police wish list

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I was reading over the agenda for the City Council meeting tonight, and this caught my eye: “2010 Legislative Agenda Items.” It’s described as “a list of items [that] are submitted to our local legislators with the expectation that the items will be reviewed with possible action taken in Springfield.”

One of the items on that list is a request that Peoria be able to use red-light cameras:

9. Automated Traffic Law Enforcement Technology/Red Light Running Expansion.

Current law allows for a governmental agency in a municipality or county located in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Madison, St. Clair, and Will Counties to establish an automated traffic law enforcement system, in cooperation with a law enforcement agency that produces a recorded image of a motor vehicle’s response to a traffic control signal. The technology is designed to create a clear recorded image of the vehicle and the vehicle’s license plate. It further provides that the owner of the vehicle used in the violation is liable for the violation if the violation was recorded by the system, with exceptions. This legislation would give Peoria the authority to operate automated traffic enforcement technology for red light running.

On the one hand, I can understand the reason for the request. Since the City Council has cut dozens of police officers, the police department is having to look to alternative methods of law enforcement, including automation. These red-light cameras would allow intersections to be monitored without any officer present at all. If a vehicle runs a red light, the camera snaps a picture and the driver automatically get a traffic ticket in the mail.

On the other hand, however, photo enforcement is a bad idea. Consider this Chicago Tribune report that came out just over the weekend:

If improved safety is the goal of red-light cameras, then it is a mission largely unaccomplished for the first crop of area suburbs that raced to install the devices after they became legal in 2006, according to state data.

Accidents rose — in some cases, significantly — at half the 14 suburban intersections outfitted with traffic cameras by the end of 2007, the data show. The number of crashes fell at just five of those intersections after cameras went in, while two showed little change.

These findings aren’t unique to Chicago. In fact, numerous independent studies have shown an increase in traffic collisions due to red-light photo enforcement. Peoria (Arizona) saw the number of accidents double this past year at intersections where red-light cameras were installed.

Of course, these statistics are routinely ignored by municipalities because of another, more compelling statistic: increased revenues. Photo enforcement can be a cash cow for municipalities. A physical police officer at an intersection can only catch so many people in a day running red lights, whereas cameras catch every person, every time. That means a tremendous increase in the number of traffic citations, and hence, a windfall of revenue. A report by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, for example, found fine collections in Kingsport (TN) quadrupled after cameras were installed.

It’s because of this conflict of interest (revenues vs. safety) that many people are opposed to photo-enforcement.

The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and some municipalities with red-light cameras have allowed themselves to be corrupted by the love of money. The National Motorists Association reported in 2008 that six cities were caught shortening the length of yellow lights at photo-enforced intersections in order to increase revenue. In some cases, the yellow lights were so short that they were actually unsafe — i.e., drivers got caught in a situation where they were too close to the intersection to stop safely, but too far away to make it through before the light turned red. Thus, these municipalities were blatantly trading safety for revenue. In other cases, the municipalities simply tried to trick motorists by making the yellow light durations shorter at photo-enforced intersections and longer at non-enforced intersections.

Yellow light duration turned out to be an interesting topic when looking up information on red-light cameras. Several sources cite studies that show longer yellow light durations are more effective than photo-enforcement at increasing safety and reducing red-light running. So if safety is really the motivating factor here, perhaps instead of asking legislators to approve photo-enforcement in Peoria, the police department should ask the Traffic Engineering division to increase yellow phase duration at intersections.

City Council, City of Peoria

Even the Journal Star gets it

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From today’s Journal Star editorial:

You don’t need hindsight to appreciate that the locals are starting to get fed up with the city’s economic development practices, which include doling out substantial subsidies at the same time cops are being fired. In fact budgets say volumes about a community’s priorities. In fact the city’s debt service on its TIF districts has increased at double the rate of inflation during this decade, with potentially more to come through a hotel development Downtown. In fact City Hall’s history is rather checkered in picking subsidized winners and losers. In fact the council had ample forewarning that the MidTown Plaza TIF – which included the now-closed Cub Foods and a $450,000 bill for next year – was a dud; their own consultant told them so.

That’s just a taste — you really should read the whole editorial. Companion article: Main Street merchants struggle while waiting for action on revitalization plans.

It’s all about priorities. The city council didn’t bat an eye at raising taxes downtown to give a $39.5 million grant to a local developer to build a downtown hotel. But there are big cuts to police, road improvements, code enforcement, and snow removal, just to name a few things. In other words, risky economic development schemes that benefit a few people are a higher priority than basic services that benefit all. That’s not right, and it needs to change.

It seems everyone gets that except the Peoria City Council.

City Council, City of Peoria

More taxes tacked onto water bills

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I couldn’t attend the council meeting last night, but I see in today’s paper that they’ve tacked on some more taxes to our water bills: “The council also voted to assess a 5 percent water utility tax . . . expected to generate $1.5 million annually.”

Technically, the city is taxing the water company, but Illinois American Water is fully expected to pass that cost on directly to consumers. And the selling point of this tax as opposed to a property tax increase is that it can also be collected from non-profit organizations. “City officials have estimated the typical residential customer of 6,000 gallons of water a month will pay $1.70 more a month,” according to the paper. Add that to the $6 per month we’re already paying through our water bills (the so-called “garbage fee”), and now we’re up to $7.70 — a 28% increase in water taxes/fees for the “typical residential customer.” Pretty soon, we’ll be paying more in taxes/fees than for the water portion of the water bill.

A few other interesting things about this tax:

  • “[T]he council voted on a host of issues that leaves the city with a $1.4 million surplus heading into next year,” the paper explains, and this five percent tax will generate $1.5 million annually. A quick calculation tells me that only $100,000 was needed to actually balance the budget when all was said and done last night. But the council established a tax that will generate $1.5 million. A bit of overkill, wouldn’t you say? If they had established a 1% tax, it would presumably generate $300,000 — more than enough to cover the deficit left after other actions were taken last night.
  • Despite coming up with a new revenue source that puts them in the black by $1.4 million, the council still decided to lay off 16 police officers. Public safety is evidently not real high on the council’s priority list. That’s okay. It’s not like we have a lot of crime in Peoria or anything. I’m sure the officers that are left can learn to work smarter, not harder, or something like that.
  • Speaking about the new water utility tax: “This isn’t money we’ll wildly run out and spend,” Van Auken said. “We’re still facing a deficit next year.” Ha ha ha! No, the council wouldn’t wildly run out and spend it. Of course not. They’re the model of fiscal conservatism and strategic planning. You can trust them not to fritter away taxpayer money on non-essential, risky ventures.

Bah.

City Council, City of Peoria

Liveblogging the City Council 11/24/2009

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I had some time this evening to take in one more council meeting. Frankly, it wasn’t worth it. Most items were deferred, although there were a couple of interesting nuggets. This will be my last council meeting between now and Christmas. My Tuesdays (and most other days, too) are booked solid after tonight. I couldn’t live-blog the meeting tonight because internet service at City Hall (provided by Comcast) was inoperable. Comcastic, right? Nevertheless, using Windows Notepad, I “liveblogged” the council meeting offline. Here’s what happened:

Continue reading Liveblogging the City Council 11/24/2009 →

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Police

No council meeting Tuesday

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From Alma Brown, City of Peoria Communications Manager:

Pursuant to Rule 32 of the Council Rules, the Peoria City Council Meeting scheduled for November 17, 2009 is hereby canceled.

The cancellation is due to the City Council’s inability to make budget decisions necessary to close the deficit and bring forward a balanced budget in the absence of specific concession information from our Police Benevolent and AFSCME bargaining units.

The City Council has directed staff to continue meeting with these units in order to reach agreement on the requested concessions.

My sources say that some sort of concessions might be forthcoming from the Police union, thus accounting for the delay in making final budget decisions. Despite the wording in the e-mail, there doesn’t appear to be the same optimism regarding AFSCME. But we’ll see what happens between now and next Tuesday.

City Council, City of Peoria

Liveblogging the City Council 11/10/2009

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Welcome to room 400 of Peoria City Hall. Once again, I’ll be providing live news and comment on tonight’s City Council meeting. The agenda is below. I’ll be updating this post with my comments throughout the evening, so refresh often.

The mayor and all council members are present.

Here’s the agenda:

Continue reading Liveblogging the City Council 11/10/2009 →

City Council, City of Peoria

City Council preview

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There’s a city council meeting tonight. Here are some items of interest:

  • There’s a request to use Tazewell County Asphalt Company to seal a parking lot behind the city’s municipal services building. I wonder why the council would even consider patronizing businesses in East Peoria — a city they believe tolerates discrimination, as they made perfectly clear a few weeks ago. Will they reject this bid and any others until these communities adopt the same Fair Employment and Housing Commission statutes as Peoria?
  • Despite all the cost cutting, the city will still have to raise property taxes. A truth in taxation hearing will be held tonight.
  • Comcast’s cable franchise agreement with the city, which expired way back in 2006, is up for yet another temporary extension. Will a permanent agreement ever be reached?
  • Continued discussion on the 2010 budget, including a discussion on the cost of police uniforms.
  • Taxes are also going up in the “Town of Peoria.” You gotta love the “Town of Peoria.” It has the same borders as the City of Peoria, and the City Council members are the Town Trustees. Yet, they get over $2 million in separate tax levies. Illinois: king of superfluous municipal organizations.
City Council, City of Peoria

Moore’s list of critical city positions

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It was mentioned during the city council meeting that City Manager Scott Moore asked the council to restore 22 critical positions with the city. The list was projected on the wall briefly, but wasn’t included in the packet on the city’s website (at least, I couldn’t find it). I was able to get a copy after the meeting — here are the positions:

Manager Recommendations for Operations
Positions Restored
In Priority Order

6 Police officers (PPBA)
2 ECC Communicators (AFSCME)
Network Specialist (AFSCME)
Computer Operator (AFSCME)
Legal Administration Coordinator (AFSCME)
1 Animal Control Officer (AFSCME)
Police Records Manager (Exempt)
1 Animal Control Officer (AFSCME)
2 Part-Time Kennel Technicians (AFSCME)
1 ECC Supervisor (Exempt)
Public Safety Coordinator (Exempt)
1 Accountant (Exempt)
1 Code Enforcement Inspector (AFSCME)
2 Police Info Tech for 3rd Shift (AFSCME)

Subtotal (22 Positions)

Note: “ECC” stands for Emergency Communications Center. According to the city’s website, “The ECC provides dispatching services to Peoria Police, Peoria Fire, Peoria County Sheriff, Emergency Medical Services, Peoria County Fire & EMS agencies and other City departments as part of the Peoria City/County Enhanced 9-1-1 system.”

City Council, City of Peoria

Liveblogging the City Council 11/3/2009

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I’m here, but a little late, so I’m afraid I missed the beginning of the meeting. It’s 6:48 now.

Communication from the City Manager and Finance Director/Comptroller Requesting the Council to PROVIDE DIRECTION to STAFF Regarding the PRELIMINARY FY2010 – FY2014 FIVE-YEAR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PLAN (CIP).

There apparently was a relatively large handout given to the council before the meeting which I don’t have, which makes it difficult to follow the discussion.

Regarding the Community Investment Plan (CIP):

  • There’s a bridge in Springdale Cemetery, and the repair of it is in the budget as a capital expenditure for next year. The motion was made not to fund it. That motion passed unanimously.
  • Councilman Spears (4th Dist.) is now talking about the Gateway Building Plaza. He doesn’t want to see it replaced with granite.
  • Councilman Spain (At-Large) says they only got their booklets about a half hour before the meeting tonight. He asks administration if there are any non-essential projects or any that are not essential for 2010 and could be put off. Mayor Ardis agrees. Mayor says he didn’t get booklet at all.
  • Councilman Sandberg (At-Large) asks about a bridge on Sheridan Road and why we were funding (until the vote) a bridge in Springdale Cemetery, but not this bridge. Rhetorical question.
  • Councilman Jacob (At-Large) asked about a state grant.
  • Councilman Sandberg says he doesn’t know what we’re getting for the $2.7 million allocated for the Glen Oak School Neighborhood Impact Zone. He’s committed to the project, but he wants to make sure we’re reinvesting in the new vision of this area and how it ties into the East Bluff, not just replacing concrete. “It’s not just ‘put it back the way it was.’ Integrate it into a new solution that will stabilize and bring people back into the East Bluff.” He made some disparaging remarks about the Columbia Terrace project, basically saying that all we did there was put it back the way it was, instead of implementing the principles of New Urbanism (traffic calming, pedestrian friendliness, form-based code, etc.). Council Member Van Auken (2nd Dist.) took umbrage and said they did more than just put it back the way it was. Councilman Riggenbach (3rd Dist.) thanked Sandberg for his remarks and then proceeded to thank a number of other people, including former third district councilman Bob Manning.

Motion to receive and file by Van Auken; seconded by Turner. Motion passes unanimously.

Communication from the City Manager Requesting the Council to PROVIDE FINAL DIRECTION to STAFF on CLOSING the REMAINING FY2010 BUDGET DEFICIT.

No wage concession agreement reached with Police Benevolent union or AFSCME. So, there’s still a budget gap of $642,597. The City Manager is recommending that 22 positions be restored at a cost of $1.1 million, creating a larger deficit. Floor is open for deliberation.

  • Councilman Spain moves to accept the budget as presented with concessions identified, seconded by Councilman Irving (5th Dist.). In other words, not restore the 22 positions as recommended. Sandberg is concerned that the motion includes refinancing debt, which will only cost us more in interest, which is exacerbating the problem; thus, he will be voting against the motion. Councilman Montelongo (At-Large) clarified that in the next couple of meetings, the council will be looking for ways to close the remaining budget gap. Motion passes 10-1 (Sandberg voting nay).

Floor is open for comments concerning the budget.

  • Charles Williams — Concerned about the Peoria Police Department. We have all this crime. Why do we need to provide a Tahoe for the Police and Fire chiefs? Why do we need a captain on duty all night? We have crime all around the city, but we’re cutting officers? We need 20-25 police officers. We need to raise taxes to pay for it. We need safety. What is the Police Chief doing? He needs to account for what he’s doing. He’s also upset that PAWS funding was cut.
  • Lavetta Ricca — [Missed what she said; sorry.]
  • Savino Sierra — Unions need to sacrifice.

Ardis announces that this is the last meeting for Economic Development Director Craig Hullinger. Recognizes Hullinger for what he’s done for Peoria, and praises him for living in Peoria, and he looks forward to working with him in the future. Ardis also recognizes Captain Baer (sp?) who retired. Recognizes newest captain, Captian Mitchell, and welcomes him to their administrative team.

No executive session. Van Auken/Irving move to adjourn. That’s it. Short and sweet.