What timing I have! I posted city expenditures for Egyptian Theatre projects on Tuesday and now there’s a memo dated November 6 in the agenda packet for next Monday’s meeting about this (see page marked E-3, which is p. 13 of the PDF file, my emphasis added): In March of 2013, the City Council agreed…
Spending TIF Money on the Egyptian Theatre
Last month I was going through recent City of DeKalb check registers for something or other and came across a payment out of DeKalb’s Central Area Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund for $189 with the description “EGYPTN THTR UNCLG BSMNT DRN.” I also found descriptions for “EGYPTN THTR STG DOORS LCKS” and “LGHT FXTR WMNS…
TIF Funds Paid for Airport Signage
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DeKalb’s Financial Hole
As with yesterday’s clip, today’s video comes from a recording of the April 2013 workshop meeting involving DeKalb officials and the financial consultants Executive Partners, Inc. In this one, EPI’s Larry Kujovich explains why the city needs to shift to a more strategic, longer-term approach in allocating its resources. The clip comes from the first…
What the Financial Consultant Said about DeKalb’s Business Friendliness
The setup: The April 2013 workshop meeting between city officials and their contracted financial consultants, Executive Partners, Inc., was coming to a close. EPI’s Larry Kujovich (on the left) and Rob Oberwise have been talking about the importance of image building to economic development. Alderman Ron Naylor remarks that economic development has been a priority…
Did You Get Invited? Me Neither.
Last week I decided to email our almost-daily newspapers to let them know I’ve been searching them each day for news of the DeKalb city manager interviews. You’ll remember that last summer the date for the interviews was set for November 1, but a lot could have happened since then. Then an article appeared in…
The Search for John Rey
A reader sent me this yesterday. If you’re new to DeKalb, I should explain that John Rey was elected mayor of DeKalb last spring. To be fair, the city’s website search seems to have made a recovery today. It may even function better than it did before, though I say this cautiously, not having accessed…
Raise Taxes to Gussy Up the Muni Building? Really?
I can’t believe hikes in taxes are even up for discussion. Consultants estimated one option for renovating City Hall – including upgrades to the heating and cooling system, plumbing and fire protection system, among other things – would cost $3.7 million. City Council members also are exploring spending $7.5 million on renovations, with $5.5 million…
An Example of DeKalb’s Default Secrecy
A link to this city council special meeting agenda for Wednesday dropped into my inbox October 9. I am 99.9% sure the closed meeting is about creating a short list of candidates for city manager, which is important to us and by no means a secret. But unless you recognize the significance of the timing,…
Trial Set for Free Speech Lawsuit — and It’s Soon
The plaintiff in a federal free-speech case with implications for local government meetings finally has a court date: October 21. From the Rock River Times: The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Rockford resident and former Winnebago County Board chairman candidate Michael Castronovo, alleges multiple violations of his free-speech rights at Winnebago County Board meetings and at…