City Council

The Council returns Tuesday, Jan. 9

9 Comments

The first thing on Tuesday night’s agenda is (after the proclamations) is:

INITIAL SNOW DEBRIEFING by SIX SIGMA BLACK BELT LORI DAVID from CATERPILLAR, INC. to Provide an OVERVIEW, INITIAL OPPORTUNITIES, OBSERVATIONS for IMPROVEMENTS, and the APPROACH for COMPLETING THE ASSIGNMENT.

Oh, goody. Like we need a Six Sigma black belt to figure this one out. Please tell me Ms. David is doing this service pro bono and we’re not wasting any more money on this snow fiasco. If she is being paid, perhaps they can fire Mr. Haste and take her fee out of the money they would no longer be wasting on him.

Other notable items, in no particular order:

  • Website redesign. They may hire IceCentric, LLC to redesign the city’s website for up to $45,000.

    The website seriously needs to be updated, so this is good news.

  • Sign ordinance changes. Adams Outdoor Advertising wants the City to change its sign ordinance to allow electronic off-premise billboards that can change messages every six seconds.

    Because traditional billboards just aren’t garish enough.

  • Riverfront programming. The proposed intergovernmental agreement between the City and Park District to provide programming along the Riverfront has been reduced from five years to one. Furthermore, during that one year, “additional revenue sources and cost reduction opportunities [will] be identified to move the Riverfront toward being self-sustaining.”

    Who proposed this course of action? Councilmembers Van Auken and Manning, of course. I’m still disappointed that they caved on Fire Station 11 and the garbage fee, but at least they’re taking steps to reduce expenses. It’s “little” cuts like this that eventually add up to enough money to take care of the big issues.

  • TIF Bloat. The Warehouse and Eagle View proposed TIF districts seem to be expanding all over the place. The Peoria Housing Authority wants to be in the Eagle View proposed TIF because it means they “get a better rating from the Federal government for redevelopment funds.” Some unnamed council member asked that the Warehouse District proposed TIF be extended north along MacArthur Blvd. because it “might have significant future financial impact as developers are induced to develop the area and more taxes and fees are generated.”

    Heck, let’s just make the whole city a TIF! Just think of how much development and, presumably, wealth we would have then! The council should stick with the original intent of the proposed TIF districts and only expand boundaries that fit within that intent. I hedge my statement this way because there are some boundary changes that are perfectly defensible and should be adopted (for instance, there are some parcels that were obviously omitted unintentionally). But to include PHA and additional housing is unwarranted.

If nothing gets deferred, be prepared to settle in for a long meeting.

9 thoughts on “The Council returns Tuesday, Jan. 9”

  1. Next thing you know the city will join Cat, OSF and ICC in wasting valuable employee time (or overtime) with it’s own Six Sigma effort.

  3. Instead of a consultant they should have retained an independent counsel to recover some of that overtime money. The arrogance of these people is breathtaking, but, then, they are used to the people of Peoria just taking it.
    I’d love to be wrong, but I bet Karrie didn’t grow up in Peoria?

  4. Here a TIF there a TIf everywhere a TIF, TIF. Has a study been done to see if they do work? Midtown plaza was a falure. Only spin off was Popeyes. No outside re-investments. Help for the neighborhood, Ha!
    Six Sigma, what a joke. Will not work with a political system. to many “scared cows” With Six Sigma almost every thing the city does would be cut out or privatized. Unions would balk big time.The counicl would defend there “turf” district pet projects.

  5. Mouse: Bullseye. Nevertheless, I do come from Midwestern Stock — my parents are from Chicago… I find it amazing that citizens are so apathetic, afraid, cowered …. to stand up to business as usual …. it is very said that citizens have allowed themselves to be marginalized….

  7. TIF and PHA two bad words in my book, and the reason this city is where it’s at today finacially, and neighborhood wise.

  8. I notice that the $45,000 includes not only the web redesign but two Bradley interns to assist in the development of the website. What about having the ten IT staff and the Communications Director (assuming this is the new title of the former Public Information Officer), use their skills and design a website that way they can maintain it without having to spend money annually and on-going to an outside firm to do it.

  9. As to the web re-design, how in the heck was someone at the city so stupid so as to let some John Doe pick up peoria.com and make a blog out of it? How stupid does that make the city look? This is yet another person who should be fired for incompetence along with VanWinkle and Haste.

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