Is it wrong to prefer a Council meeting without Wogen and Simpson? I’ve decided there’s no immediate need to get rid of Wogen unless he starts showing up again, or if the 3rd Ward wants the mayor to appoint somebody to the spot. And Simpson can take as much time off as he likes unless…
Category: Payment Due?
4th Street TIF? Not on Your Life
Chronicle: “Fourth Street plans continue at monthly meetings”: [Brian] Scholle, an insurance agent whose office is on South Fourth Street, is spearheading the initiative to redevelop South Fourth Street, which he stressed will require a lot of patience. “South Fourth Street has to be the next area that’s on the city’s radar,” Scholle said. Creating…
City-Connected People & Our Money
Last week I asked the City Clerk to help me get information about who, besides Victor Wogen, are or have been council members or city employees who’ve benefited as vendors to the city, beyond their primary roles. The Finance Office was able to provide 11 names for the period of my request, which was 2002-present.…
The Flood-Prone Property Selection Maps
In response to the interest generated by news of FEMA funds released for additional buyouts of flood-prone homes, here are maps of the properties considered by the Stormwater Task Force. Properties labeled 1.0 or higher are considered to have favorable benefit-cost ratios. The first four properties bought and demolished were 814 W. Taylor and 829,…
MICA
Tuesday night at the joint City Council–Financial Advisory Committee meeting, staff announced they had researched several providers of liability insurance and had made a decision on a favorite, an outfit called the Municipal Insurance Cooperative Agency (MICA). There were three red flags when the MICA plan was laid out. One was that we were not…
High School Construction Contracts
Here is the list of contracts awarded for the construction of the new DeKalb High School. School Board President Mike Verbic sent it to me and a few others in late July, but I didn’t put it up then because I expected it to show up on the revamped District 428 website. Well, either they…
“Lagaan” = Land Tax
In (dis)honor of the looming property tax deadline, I am watching the Bollywood movie “Lagaan” again this weekend.
Your Tourism Dollars at Work
On July 13, 2009, City Council once more approved a $50,000 allocation to the Chamber of Commerce‘s tourism branch. Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, City Barbs has obtained some financial information. This is how they spent the money last year: DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Tourism Fund a.k.a. DeKalb Area Convention & Visitors…
Your Tourism Dollars at Work, Part 2
Part 1 is here. This was going to be about why the City Council should hold DeKalb Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) accountable for its $50,000 annual allocation. It’s still about that, but also counters a story being floated in some circles today about how Re:New DeKalb nobly requested their $45,000 allocation come from…
CPI & Waste Management
The City of DeKalb is getting ready to approve a new 4-year agreement with Waste Management (pp. 122-128) for residential pickup of trash. One proposal is to tie increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), allow for a minimum annual increase of 2% and cap it at 6% no matter what fuel prices are doing.…