DeKalb’s police chief, Eugene Lowery, is so very, very tired of your negativity. Here’s what he said at Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting of council. I want you to hear everyone’s voice. Not the voices of the few that walk up to this podium, and day in and day out, or week in and…
Tag: city council
TIF spending for streets in FY16 did not come anywhere near what DeKalb is claiming
The setup: During the special Committee of the Whole meeting of Monday evening, DeKalb council members were discussing with staff a proposed budget reduction in 2018 for the street improvement program in our two TIF districts, specifically a staff recommendation to cut in half the usual $1 million budgeted for streets in the TIFs. During…
Why I’m alleging DeKalb violated the Open Meetings Act yesterday
During a special meeting of the city council yesterday, I alleged that City of DeKalb had not given sufficient notice of the meeting, in that DeKalb did not explicitly name a location for it. The city maintains that it gave sufficient notice because the agenda was printed on city letterhead, which includes the address of…
Mayor Smith runs from Freedom of Information right smack into the First Amendment
I went to a special city council meeting last night, where I noted two odd occurrences. First off, Aaron Stevens attended. Stevens is DeKalb’s Freedom of Information Act officer, but there was nothing on the agenda about FOIA. The second weird thing was the attentiveness of council members. Gone were the usual tablet-tapping movements and…
DeKalb Park District did not endorse the Annie Glidden North plan proposal. Here’s why
The DeKalb Park District (DPD) did not endorse City of DeKalb’s Annie Glidden North proposal. The resolution on the issue, unanimously passed during a special meeting Tuesday night, reads as follows: NOW BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the DeKalb Park District, County of DeKalb, and State of Illinois, as follows: That…
Video of today’s meeting for 4th and 6th wards
The council members held it at the DeKalb Township building, and about 20 people from the 4th, 5th, and 6th wards attended. The last time I can remember going to a meeting in my ward was 2005, so this was a pretty big deal to me. They didn’t disappoint. I’ve posted it at the City…
Send an email with the same PDF you put up at the website. Yes, it is that simple.
I’ve now viewed DeKalb city council’s Committee of the Whole meeting held last night. The meeting centered around the new online Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Center, and whether city staff members’ changes to FOIA policies and procedures are legal and fair. Nothing was resolved, so they will take up the topic again in a…
More Reasons to Put the Brakes on the STEAM Center Project
Several of DeKalb’s city council members balked at making financial or other commitments to the STEAM center project until they have in hand a thorough analysis of its most important source of funding, the soon-to-be-retired Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. Even the most worthy projects are subject to resource limitations, so a peek into the…
The Other Messages Candidates Send
A few days ago, I described an observation of a mayoral candidate who apparently doesn’t want to hear your complaint unless you have the solutions already worked out. This I take as disregard for the oath of office, specifically as concerns equal treatment for all.
DeKalb City Manager Oversteps Purchasing Authority Again
Recently I came across this City of DeKalb memo circulated via a council meeting agenda in October: With former Commander Smith’s retirement in June, the City faced an immediate crisis by not having on-call IT personnel who are familiar with the City’s specific computer systems and able to keep them operational at all times. On…