Crest Hill Budget Hearings Update

The budget hearings these past two nights have been pretty routine, with the tough discussions being put on hold until Tuesday, June 8th.  So far most of the presentations have focused on numbers that are being held pretty close to last year's budget with only a few notable exceptions.  The real excitement was at the end of Wednesday night's meeting as the Mayor brought up issues related to the city website.

The only two areas of the budget to see large increases have been Health and Life Insurance Costs and Legal Fees.  The insurance costs are understandable in this environment, however there has been virtually no discussion related to these significant cost increases or ways to address and manage them.  The increase in legal fees in related to the upcoming contract negotiations with the various city unions.  The city is expecting these negotiations to be potentially costly.

The lack of any increases in salaries and wages in most departments is also of note.  It is not yet clear if they city is actually expecting to freeze all salaries and wages for the coming year or if this is just a starting point.  Whenever these matters come up during the hearings, the Council has been asked to save the discussion until Tuesday, June 8th.  It would seem that this is going to be a major issue since the budget is almost a half million dollars in a deficit with these items frozen, so any increases would only worsen the problem.  It appears that the only department with an increase in wages or salaries budgeted is Economic Development.

The first two hearings were very informative, however I was the only person in the audience both nights.  I would strongly encourage others to show up, especially as the hearings move into the Council having to make hard choices and further discuss how to resolve our financial situation.  The City Administrator has been very gracious to provide me with a copy of the budget to follow along with the presentations, so this year's hearings have been much easier to understand than in previous years.  Also, the Mayor has a history of asking for opinions and thoughts from the audience.  So if you would like the chance to possibly be heard or to at least better understand the City's finances, come at 7 PM on Tuesday, June 8th to City Hall.

While the budget itself may not always be the most interesting topic, the Council has been having updates and discussion on other matters as well at the end of each meeting.  These discussions have been quite heated and show the divide between the Mayor, Council members, and other elected officials.  While the topics may not be of the greatest importance, it is a valuable opportunity to see how the Council works together and how they act when not on camera.

City Treasurer Delays Protecting City Money

At Monday night's work session  of the Crest Hill City Council, the city's bond counsel and another financial advisor presented an analysis of the city's finances and recommendations of actions to be taken or considered.  Most of the presentation was focused on issuing bonds to pay for upgrades to the sanitary sewer system, but some general issues were also addressed.  One recommendation was that the city needs an investment policy that requires all deposits in excess of FDIC insurance to be fully collateralized with either US Treasury or US Agency securities, that those securities be held by a third party, and that the value of those securities be marked to market monthly to determine actual value.  This is to ensure that the city's money is backed by good securities, that those securities have not been pledged to other depositors as has been done by some banks, and to ensure that the value of those securities has not dropped below the amount being collateralized.

City Treasurer, Joe Bobikiewicz, responded that the auditors made the same recommendation back in September of 2009 and he has been working on it with the City Attorney.  When pressed as to when a policy would be ready, he responded that it would be a few months, but that he would poke the Attorney at the next council meeting and let him know to get working on it again.  He stated that he plans to have it in place before the next audit so that the City does not get dinged again. 

This is a shocking and dangerous attitude that he is taking.  He refuses to make protecting the city's money a priority.  Instead of waiting for the next meeting, he should pick up a phone and call the City Attorney.  In fact, he should have taken care of this at least 7 months ago when the issue was raised by the city's auditors.  He was even aware of this issue before then since I had brought questions regarding the collateralization of city deposits to his attention in March of 2009.  

This is not a policy to be put on the back burner, this is not something that can wait, this is something that needs to be done now and implemented now.  This is not about the Treasurer not getting dinged on an audit.  This is about one day finding out that the city has millions of dollars of deposits that were improperly collateralized with toxic assets, bonds pledged to multiple cities, or long term securities that have to be sold at below face value in order to access our money.  These are real threats and we need to demand that the City and the City Treasurer better protect our money.

Quality and Cost of Police Improvements

At the October 19 City Council meeting there was quite a bit of discussion of the quality and cost of our police department during the public comments portion of the meeting.  It began with a citizen questioning the need for two Deputy Chiefs in Crest Hill when Joliet manages a much larger police force with only one.  While the resident definitely presented himself poorly through his combative attitude, his point was a valid one that deserved a better response.  The following citizens who addressed Council spoke well of the quality of the police force.  Alderman Oberlin and Mayor Soliman used these examples to show that the police department is headed in the right direction.  However this is not the right way to determine if the right moves are being made to improve the police force.  Quality and cost must be looked at together.

Too often we look at public services and desire only the best and do not care what it costs because we each only pay a small share of the cost.  There is also the other side that looks only at costs regardless of quality because they do not want to spend another cent on taxes.  In our personal lives we do not act these ways, we find a balance between cost and quality.  We seek the best value.  Sure the BMW would be a better quality car and a used Datsun would mean spending a lot less, but most of us find something in between that will not bankrupt us but will get us where we are going reliably.  Why can our elected officials and citizens not have this view more often?

A good example of this is the promotion of two Deputy Chiefs.  City officials pointed out that these were not new employees, but two Lieutenants who were promoted and that their old positions were vacated.  Of course, they were given pay raises because they were promoted.  What was not addressed was why they needed to be promoted.  What do they do that they could not do as Lieutenants?  What special abilities and skills did they gain the day that they were promoted that they did not have the day before?  Are they actually worth a cent more than they were previously?  These two officers are better off with new titles and larger paychecks, but how are the citizens of Crest Hill any better off than if we had given them new duties without new titles and raises?

The Mayor and City Council owe the citizens an explanation of the costs and results they are aiming for as they improve the police department.  How much are we planning to spend each of the next 5 years with raises, promotions, and new hires?  This extra cost will translate into how many additional hours of patrol time?  How many additional school visits?  What our our goals for response times?  What are our goals as far as crime rate reductions and successful investigations?  What are the results if the Chief and his officers do not meet these standards if and when our Council takes the responsibility to set them?  Do we just keep giving raises and continuing to employ them regardless of quality or do we make their employment and raises contingent on results?

If you want to see a higher quality police department without breaking the bank, you need to control costs.  The best way to control costs is to make sure that each dollar gets the best value.  It is not about spending as few dollars as possible, but spending each dollar as wisely as possible.  A City Council that spends wisely will get far better results than one that either spends lavishly for quality or cuts to the bone to limit taxes.

Efforts to Save Stateville

The City Council is paving the way for the closing of Stateville. Their resolution last night might as well have been a white flag of surrender. They said how the closing will hurt Crest Hill, they talked about broken agreements, and asked for everyone to support keeping the prison. They did not however make a case for how the State benefits from keeping Stateville open and they did not make any move to enforce their past agreements.

I spent a year going toe-to-toe with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections over a prison several years ago and have spoken with other cities that have fought for prisons in various states, so I have some knowledge of what works and what does not. In the end the State does not care if the jobs are in Crest Hill or some town somewhere else, they do not care if a few hundred local people write them letters, or if inmates are a bit more overcrowded. They do care about how much it costs them to run a prison. The city needs to dive into the numbers to make their case. They need to prove that it makes financial sense to keep Stateville open and if that case cannot be made then they need to show what can be changed to make it possible.
A financial strategy focused on the State's pocketbook has been a part of every similar long term victory when a city fights a State Department of Corrections.

The other keys are to make the case visible State-wide and to enforce contracts. If they agreed to buy a certain amount of water and have a certain amount of sewerage, then hold them to that regardless of actual use. Let them pay for an empty prison if that is what they want. And if we cannot convince residents of all areas of Illinois why Stateville needs to remain open, we stand no chance of convincing the Governor and State Legislature.

The best the city can hope for with their current strategy is to keep Stateville off the chopping block until the next budget and then fight this battle again, eventually losing. If we are serious about wanting to keep Stateville open then it is time to make a serious effort.

Soliman Looks to Appoint Wilkerson as Chief

In tonight's City Council work session, Mayor Soliman announced his intention to appoint Dwayne Wilkerson as Police Chief.  Mayor Soliman listed among his reasons, the excellent job Acting Chief Wilkerson has done over the past year, his desire to promote from within when possible, and the years of service that Acting Chief Wilkerson has already given to the city.  The City Attorney is reviewing a proposed employment contract, the City Council will be given a chance to speak further with Acting Chief Wilkerson, and the appointment will be on the June 15th agenda.  

This appointment will allow the city's police department to continue to function under a proven leader.  It will also finally end the long vacancy that has existed in the office of Chief of Police.  Mayor Soliman also expressed his belief that by appointing someone already in the department the message is being sent that any officer can work hard and be promoted within this city.  This is a valuable message and will help to build morale and hopefully also attract officers who are looking for stability and a career in Crest Hill.  Mayor Soliman also spoke of the difficulties that have been faced by communities bringing in outsiders who often have trouble dealing with the culture of a department with which they are not familiar.

New Beginnings

Crest Hill bills itself as the "City of New Beginnings" and tonight the City Council did its best to live up to that slogan.  The work session held tonight was long and contained a great deal discussion, as well as friendly ribbing.  The Council used it as a chance to discuss both immediate changes that are part of the new administration as well as longer range ideas.  It was a meeting that really looked at what the city is facing and tried to address those issues as well as continue to set a tone for how things will operate from now on.

The change in the feel of the meeting was what most stood out to me.  All Council members voiced their thoughts without attacking each other or taking sides.  In fact at times it was hard to figure out exactly where people stood on issues.  That is healthy though because it was a result of their asking questions and putting forth ideas of future consideration.  I am happy to see Council members not making up their minds at work sessions.  Where Mayor Soliman turned to myself and the other citizen in the audience and asked our opinions, I must admit I was absolutely shocked.  Few mayors would take such a step, but it definitely showed Mayor Soliman's commitment to inclusiveness.  I do not know if he will be able to do this every time, but hopefully it is a practice that will continue at least of issues of particular importance.  

The issues discussed were of great importance tonight and deserve to be addressed in depth individually.  Some of the items of discussion were a possible sales tax increase, appointment of a Police Chief, other mayoral appointments, city signs, City Hall modifications, and the long range plans for Public Works and City Hall. 

A New Day in Crest Hill

The voters of Crest Hill have spoken today and have made it clear that the era of unethical and scandalous government is over.  Mayor Churnovic was defeated in his bid for re-election and the City Council candidates he supported and funded were defeated as well.  This is a good day for Crest Hill.  Four years ago many people were happy to see change, but few realized that change was not always for the better.  Today though we have seen real change and that change is for the better.

Our city will be led by a Ray Soliman, a man who has spent years pushing for open government and calling on the city to follow the proper procedures.  I feel strongly that Mayor Soliman will lead the city with a strong sense of ethics and care for citizens.  I am sure I will disagree with some of his decisions and positions, but I look forward to having a Mayor who will treat all citizens with fairness.

Aldermen Dyke, Lelis, and Convery were re-elected.  Lelis and Convery have been very outspoken on pushing for city government to be more responsive and for the Council and Mayor to work together to improve Crest Hill.  They have also both been very strong advocates for the interests of their wards.  Alderman Dyke is a very level-headed and practical member of the Council.  He did not take on the corruption of the past four years head on, but he has always conducted himself independently of the disputes among other members of the Council.  These three aldermen will serve the city well for the next four years.

The third ward, where I live, elected a new alderman, Neal Sternisha.  I have had the chance to get to know Neal and talk with him on many occasions and look forward to having him as my alderman and also look forward to what he will bring to the Council as a whole.  In particular his professional background in the water and wastewater fields is of particular value to a city facing massive capital outlays to improve our own systems in those areas.  In addition, he is someone who has spoken out for the need for more ethical government in Crest Hill and stood up to a brutal campaign financed by Nick Churnovic.

This is truly a bright new day in Crest Hill.  I hope that all of those who won election tonight remember that it was the desire of the people of Crest Hill for a more ethical and open government that got them elected.  I will be looking forward to seeing a better government, but also will be looking to see Crest Hill move forward and continue to develop to its full potential.