The agenda packet for Monday’s special City Council meeting to discuss the Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) is missing a few things: 1) An analysis of how much this program could cost us. Surely the city must know how many of its employees are eligible, since only those with 20 or more full years of continuous…
Category: City Watch
AG Madigan on the City of DeKalb
I saw this in person and have not watched all of the video. For anyone who wants to hear exactly what AG Madigan said about the City of DeKalb withholding the names directly, it should be on here, maybe about twenty to twenty-five minutes into the video.
Letter: Council Puts Taxpayers on Hook
Freshly published in the Daily Chronicle: To the Editor: During the March 8 DeKalb City Council meeting, 4th Ward Alderman Brendon Gallagher made a plea to the community for support during the upcoming budget preparation period. According to the meeting minutes, Ald. Gallagher “asked that the citizens be empathetic with the current financial situation facing…
Property Tax Assessment Reductions: Guess Who?
From a public notice published March 24, 2010, “Notice of Changes in Assessments for 2009 Made by the DeKalb County Board of Review in DeKalb Township“: Michael “EAV won’t fall” Verbic. Verbic is president of the District 428 school board, as most of you already know, and as such made not one suggestion for downsizing…
Biernacki: “Widespread Community Support” for Skating Rink
Northern Star‘s article on the impending demise of DeKalb’s synthetic skating rink: Because The Skate School was not at fault for the decline in patronage, Biernacki said he is sure the council will relieve the contract. “We pursued [the ice rink] with widespread community support,” Biernacki said. “That support did not translate into patrons.” Biernacki…
What is Pam Verbic Hiding?
Work commitments being what they are nowadays, I am still digesting the packet accompanying the agenda (PDF) from last night’s Council meeting. It included the resumé of one Sara M. Cliffe (p. 127). Ms. Cliffe expressed interest in the 3rd Ward aldermanic seat, and I can see why; she has impressive credentials. However, the resumé…
Transparency Checklist
It is hardly a piece of cake to be a member of the Sunlight Foundation‘s organization for state and local bloggers known as the Citizens for Open Government (COG) group. I kid you not. The number of e-mail messages can get crazy some days. Most of the group are “transparency professionals,” such as newspaper reporters…
FOIA Victory in DeKalb
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) ruled yesterday that the City of DeKalb must release the names of the persons who applied for appointment to finish out the term of its Third Ward alderman, who resigned last December. DeKalb’s attorney had argued a privacy exemption under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Under…
Two Mayors in the Paper Today
The mayors of DeKalb and Cortland each stood his ground on matters of conscience today in the Northern Star. –In a letter to the editor, Mayor Povlsen defends his decision to keep applicants to the 3rd and 7th ward alderman positions secret, equating and applying a “code of ethics” he followed as a counselor at…
Another Wave of Foreclosures Coming
Here’s the thing about waves. If the first wave brings you to your knees, the second one doesn’t have to be a tsunami to finish you off. My friends in real estate — not just in DeKalb, btw — have been working exclusively on short sales for at least a year with no end in…