Some notable items from Tuesday’s council meeting:
- First District Councilman Clyde Gulley voted with the majority of the council to give stimulus funds to a private not-for-profit organization in the third district instead of repairing sidewalks in the first district. Gulley is running unopposed on the April ballot to represent the first district for another term.
- The council learned that tax revenues are down, resulting in a projected $2.5 million budget deficit. It could get worse next year. Naturally, the staff is looking to cut police officers and road repairs to make up the difference. They’re not talking about laying off any police officers — just not filling vacant positions. So public safety and public works will suffer, while private developers of the downtown Marriott will rake in $40 million in public money. Priorities, you know. Another vacant position they’re talking about not filling: city manager. This is their way of keeping Holling on indefinitely, contrary to the agreement that he would only be temporary until they could get a permanent replacement. They’re going to treat him as permanent, but continue calling him “interim” until some undetermined point in the distant future, evidently.
- The sales tax just went up 1% within the boundaries of the Hospitality Improvement Zone downtown. These boundaries are very strange — I’m going to try to get a map from the city.
Generally speaking — very generally — the HIZ is bounded by Kumpf, Fulton, Adams, and Fayette, but the actual boundary zigzags into alleys (active and vacated) and avoids certain blocks completely.Here’s the map:
Nevertheless, if you go to a restaurant or bar within the HIZ boundaries, the sales tax on your meal/drinks will now be 11%. If the museum tax passes, it will be 11.25%. Meanwhile, over in Tazewell County right across the river, the sales tax is 8%.
It was going to pass without Gulley’s vote. It would have been a good look for Gulley if he had voted no. I guess when you are running unopposed you don’t have to worry about how stuff looks.
CJ – glad you caught that same reference to not filling the City Manager’s position. I found that strange. By many accounts, Mr. Hollings is receiving high praise for the job he’s doing. If they would like to keep him in that position, I’d rather see them say that straight up and make a formal job offerring to him (though they would have to go back on their prior statement that he would not be a candidate for the permanent job) rather than simply say they are not filling the City Manager’s position as a “cost savings” measure. I’m a little befuddled by the explanation that was given.
What I found most interesting is that they have a sizeable deficit in THIS years budget already and a much larger one for next year, yet they are continuing to operate in a business as usual mode with expenditures. You don’t solve a structural budget problem by using your rainy day reserves — you just postpone the day of reckoning.
Will be interesting to see how they approach this situation.
Interesting:
http://hospitalityimprovementzone.blogspot.com/
Interesting map. I’d like to know more about who is in it, who is not and why. Was it voluntary? Is the AmVets building in it to help with restoration issues?
EmergePeoria – yes it was going to pass without Gulley’s vote but how it looked was that Councilman Gulley wasn’t paying attention to what he was voting for – not a great trait to have in a councilman. Van Auken moved for option A, it was seconded and the vote was taken. Only then did Gulley wake up and stammered something about how he thought there would be a discussion – Ardis said “too late, it passed” and that was that.
“The purpose of the (1% sales and 1% hospitality) tax is to assist hospitality zone businesses to improve. The funds would be put back into the businesses in the district.”
Ah, come on. How stupid do you think we are? Table the tax increase for a month and then what? Vote on it without discussing it? Return the money to the businesses in the district… all of them or only SOME of them? Who will decide which ones?
If someone wants to build in Peoria let them build, if they don’t, fine. Land prices will come down and therefor building costs will come down as well.
Thanks, Peepers.
The AmVets building may be more desirable to a potential buyer if it is in the HIZ. From the look of his blog, Criag Hullinger looks like he has been fairly transparent in providing information to the public about the HIZ.
At least City Hall is exempt.
I just heard about this on WMBD. They said that the hotel owners requested the tax for capital improvement.