Where Did the City's Money Go?

Crest Hill has once again used the excuse of lack of funds to answer a resident's question and refused further explanation. A gentleman asked the City Council when his street (Root Street) would be reconstructed. He explained that the rest of the streets in the area had been improved in recent years and that last June the City Council approved finds to reconstruct Root Street. The Mayor told him that the money was not there now to improve Root Street. The gentleman asked "where did the money go, since it was there less than a year ago and the project has been approved and funded almost a year ago?" This seemed to be a very reasonable question. However, the Mayor and City Administrator refused to answer it and instead suggested that the gentleman attend upcoming budget meetings.

I thought it was interesting that they would tell him this, but not even mention when these meetings were. Therefore, I stood up and asked for dates and times for these meetings. They answered that they had not set dates or times, but would post them and announce them at a future City Council meeting. If you are going to refer people to attend a meeting instead of answering their questions, it would be good to be able to give them information about that meeting.

I find it very interesting that suddenly the City has financial problem just a few months after the Mayor decided to eliminate the Finance Committee. And that previously approved and scheduled road projects are failing to be done soon after the Mayor decided to eliminate the Streets Committee. Now that these issues are in the hands of the Mayor, City Administrator, and City Treasurer alone, there seems to have been a decrease in City's abilities to deal with these issues. And not only do citizens no longer have a say on these matter via committees, but they also no longer can even get answers related to these issues. Maybe it is time to put some better skilled people in charge, namely our City Council members and fellow citizen volunteers.

Two Items of Note:
1) I was able to get some information about the recent decline in the City's financial health that the Mayor keeps referencing without giving any details. Apparently, the City is facing a $1,500,000 budget deficit. No details of how this occurred have yet come to light however.

2) Some people may question my background in criticizing those who oversee our City's finances or question what makes me think I know better than these professionals how to manage a City's finances. While, I certainly cannot claim to have more experience than any of those professionals except for the City Administrator (I have two years of experience as opposed to his few months), I instead rest upon my past accomplishments as a City Treasurer and a City Administrator for a different city. While, it was smaller than Crest Hill, its financial difficulties at the time I was hired exceeded those faced by Crest Hill. They were in debt to their debt limit, had issued short term revenue bonds in order to keep operating, and were in the process of deciding which city services to cut. Two years later, I left a city that was on firm financial footing, had completed and was in the process of completing a number of large infrastructure improvement projects. I did not shrink the budget and I raised taxes at a slower rate than inflation. What I did do was reduce costs for outside services such as legal fees, audit costs, and engineering fees. I also increased revenue by bidding out the City's back accounts to the various banks in the area in order to receive the best package of interest rates and eliminate all fees. In addition, I pursued state funds aggressively and reached agreements that ensured the the state prison in town would cover every cost associated with it from costs of utility extensions to road paving. City services were maintained and in many cases improved as employee morale increased along with the City's financial stability. Also, our water, sewer, and electric systems were in better shape than ever before and ready for growth. So, I think I have some experience behind me when I criticize others. Sure, it is only two years of experience, but compared to where a Treasurer with 20 years of experience has gotten us, I think I stand up pretty well.

Proposed Sewer Solution

I previously criticized the Mayor and City council of Crest Hill for not better assisting residents with sewer back flow problems and for giving them unhelpful suggestions. Now, I will be fair and propose how I think it can be done better.

First, I need to explain the current overhead sewer program. The City of Crest Hill has a 50/50 cost sharing program for overhead sewer installation. The homeowner hires a contractor to perform the work and pays them for the full cost of the work. The homeowner then submits a copy of the bill to the city. The city reviews the work to ensure it was completed correctly and if so will reimburse the homeowner for 50% of the cost up to a total reimbursement of $4,000.

My proposals will assume a continued 50/50 since I do not expect city officials to be willing to commit to anything more. In addition, there is some sensibility to the idea that homeowners should shoulder some of the cost since this improves the value of their home and is an improvement that has benefits regardless of the condition of the city's sewer system. I would also continue to have it to be a voluntary program.

My suggestion is to have the city coordinate an annual overhead sewer replacement program. The city would contact homeowners to determine who is interested in having an overhead sewer installed. The city would then go out for bids to get all of the work done. This would allow for a lower cost to be obtained. The city would pay half the cost and charge the other half the cost to the homeowners. Each homeowner could either pay the cost at that time or have a special assessment placed against their property allowing the cost to be paid off over a period of up to ten years at a reasonable interest rate. I think this would be more appealing to homeowners, less expensive, and allows for an alternative payment method.

An Horrifying Meeting

I attended a portion of the Monday, May 7th Crest Hill City Council meeting and was simply amazed at how badly citizens are treated by the Mayor and some members of the City Council. I have never seen local leaders be so dismissive of citizens.

The Mayor especially took it to a whole new level. He suggested that residents who have had their homes flooded by human waste because of deficiencies in the city's sewer system should take out home equity loans to pay to install overhead sewers in their homes. As an alternative he also suggested finding a plumber who would arrange a payment plan. The obvious solution is for the city to take responsibility for their deficient sewer system and for the damage caused by its failures. He also suggested to a resident that they park in their neighbor's driveway because the city will not allow them a driveway.

The city seems to have an excuse for everything. They do not have enough money because they do not have riverboats. That was definitely a good one. I hope you do not wish to look at the city's finances to see if that is true because they do their best to hide those facts. After having seen them, I could understand why. Revenues have exceeded the budget and expenses have been below budget. Most governments would publicize such a good financial position, however Crest Hill is afraid that if people knew they would come to expect better city services. Their other excuse is that portions of the city were built before the city was incorporated. Never mind that these existing neighborhoods formed the basis for the creation of Crest Hill or that the city has had over four decades to make improvements. These excuses are outdated, it is time for our city leaders to realize that it is 2007 and not 1967.

The real proof of just how poorly Crest Hill citizens are treated can be seen in the parking lot after any council meeting. There are large groups of people milling about talking about their many problems with the city. Crest Hill would be a nice progressive city with happy residents if not for the council and some of the staff they have hired. It is too bad. Hopefully, the two new faces on council will improve the situation. And maybe the mayor will be reigned in someday.