[Update 6/18: Added photos after the jump.] Speaking of the pocket park, the photo below was taken there earlier this week. Also, grass and weeds are growing between the stones and a broken window adorns the west wall.
More Central TIF Expenditure Info
In “Our View: Re:New’s [sic] work is just beginning,” the Daily Chronicle appears to be under the impression that all the downtown work done since 2008 has cost $10.8 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) dollars. Is this so? No. We started with land acquisition, architectural improvements, railway wayside horns, a skating rink, a pocket…
Error Correction: FY2011 TIF Surplus
In “City & School District TIF Surplus Budget Surplus Budget Estimates”, I put up a chart showing a City of DeKalb TIF 1 surplus for FY2011 (to be budgeted for FY2012) of $221,000. While this part is correct, I somehow at the time failed to understand that this was only the amount of the surplus…
Ellwood Historic Neighborhood Meetings
The following is a summary of documents obtained from the City of DeKalb involving a group from the 5th Ward, the City of DeKalb, and the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) at NIU. The 5th Ward group was first called a “task force” although it has never been an official city committee. Now, the informal…
Third Ward Town Hall
[Addition 6/2: DeKalb Township trustee Jim Luebke will also attend. Sorry for the oversight.] The first DeKalb Third Ward town hall meeting is Thursday, June 2, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Fourth and Locust at 6 p.m. Illinois Representative Bob Pritchard, DeKalb County Board members Paul Stoddard and Julia Fauci, and District 428 School…
Even More Airport Trouble
DeKalb County Online has scooped everyone once again with the story of a lawsuit filed by Midwest Flight Academy, Inc., against DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport manager Tom Cleveland. The complaint is centered around Cleveland’s treatment of Midwest that allegedly differed from his treatment of Fly America, including the claim that under similar circumstances, Midwest was…
Alderman Baker’s Signs
On a tip, I sought and found these signs displayed May 11 at The Copy Service, Dollar Video, Lukulos, and Mason Properties. Information in the lower right corner identifies the business as The Copy Service, part of the local business empire of Alderman Dave Baker. We know from a previous post that temporary signs in…
More Trouble for DeKalb-Taylor Municipal Airport
DeKalb County Online has the scoop, in the form of an e-mail from the FAA: Partial closures, which I hear Corn Fest is, still requires approval by FAA. And if Corn Fest has previously been held at DKB and closed part of the airport for a weekend, I would say that it should have been…
Hotel/Motel Revenues & the Economic Development Fund
[table id=16 /] Hotel/motel tax revenues used to go into the General Fund, but as of FY2009 were earmarked for an Economic Development Fund (Fund 46). According to the FY2012 budget, [t]he Economic Development Fund accounts for our agreements with outside agencies that help provide various economic development functions on behalf of the City. These…
Legal Services Outsourcing Question Revisited
The May 23 Committee of the Whole meeting contains this discussion item: 1) CONSIDERATION OF A DISCUSSION REGARDING LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF DEKALB. The City Manager has received a request from a minimum of three aldermen to place on this agenda an item to discuss further the matter of outsourcing of our legal…