I’m still digesting the DeKalb city council’s goal-setting session from earlier this week. The alderman from the Fifth Ward, Kate Noreiko, was pushing to build a new DeKalb Municipal Building instead of renovating the one we have. She says she thinks it’s unsafe, though she provided no foundation for this belief. Part of Noreiko’s argument…
DeKalb can become “business friendly” when this city manager is gone
DeKalb city council had another goal-setting session Tuesday evening. It was a good session, as was last month’s, but at one point I had to laugh, and it was during the perennial make-DeKalb-more-business-friendly discussion. I dearly wish more council members truly understood that friendliness is impossible under city manager Anne Marie Gaura. Unless you are…
Here’s the difference in agenda rules between regular and special public meetings
During a recent Annie Glidden North task force subcommittee meeting, I alleged Open Meetings Act (OMA) violations. I want to explain why. What I objected to was the subcommittee’s addition of discussion items to the agenda of a special meeting. During regular meetings, a public body can talk about anything it wants, but that same…
Warmth is important for bridging the morality gap
Recently I brought up at a city council meeting, again, the issue of an overnight warming center. People used to be able to stop in at our city hall to sit and thaw out a bit at night, back when it was PD headquarters and open 24 hours. The new police station is likewise open…
Mayor’s statement about DeKalb Public Library’s tax promises
Mayor Smith came out this week in support of calls for DeKalb Public Library to keep its 2015 promises to repay taxpayers, and says he is confident the DKPL board “will do the right thing.” Related: DeKalb County Online: DeKalb Public Library and its property tax promises City Barbs: Going deeper on DeKalb Public Library’s…
Going deeper on DeKalb Public Library’s expansion and promises
The main thing you need to know is that DeKalb Public Library made promises to DeKalb property taxpayers in 2015, and now is considering breaking its promises. But I couldn’t resist putting together some FAQs for anyone who might like more details. How much did the expansion cost? Total cost was $25.3 million. At center…
City’s water bill issue a symptom of a larger problem
***Updates 2/8: City says no double-billing was involved, so I’ve deleted statements below to the contrary. I do intend to look at 2017 billing cycle dates to confirm the bases for bills from previous months. That the error mostly affects customers on the south side has been confirmed. City remains silent on the plight of…
DeKalb’s finance advisory committee may be treated with more respect this year
Have you ever heard of the sheep-and-collie routine? It’s when one or more collies nip at the heels of a flock of sheep, to force them toward a destination the sheep really don’t want to go. Sheep-and-collie applies to both human and animal activity, and in both cases it’s a fact that the “collie” does…
DeKalb city council’s planning meeting was actually pretty great, because morality
As yesterday’s post made clear, I’ve not been impressed with DeKalb city council strategic planning sessions for several years. Here’s a portion of my description of this dispiriting, dreadful process: They place the tables in an enclosed rectangle so the audience is facing people’s backs, and between this unfortunate positioning and their failure to use…
City of DeKalb does not want you to come to this meeting
Tonight is a special meeting of the DeKalb city council. Unlike all other council meetings, this meeting will not be recorded on video. That’s because the city does not know how to video-record meetings outside of council chambers, and council is not meeting in chambers tonight, even though this is the only city meeting scheduled.…