So LarryBoy's anti-union mouthpiece is cranking up....
"...We know union contracts make it difficult for government officials to figure out where to cut. In the private sector, wage freezes, wage cuts, benefit changes, pension plans, etc., are quickly adjusted to match the revenue coming in. If the company’s not making money, you aren’t either.
Union contracts usually call for raises larger than what the private sector gets, no matter how bad the rest of us have it. If the company (the taxpaying public) isn’t making money, union members still are...."
REALITY CHECK....WHY is there no outrage over the increases given NON-UNION city employees....keep in mind,THEY also get the COLA(CostOfLivingAdjustment) unions' bargain for(3.5-4% the last few years) BUT they ALSO receive annual merit raises on top of this...(remember Adam Smith?...5-38% has been awarded recently)...AND, generally speaking, the salaries are GREATER to START WITH!!!!!
(I love to review "Tightsuit"Hayes' LEGAL DEPARTMENT budget...

LEGAL DEPARTMENT BUDGET SUMMARY
2006 2007 2007 2008 INCREASE
APPROPRIATION ACTUAL BUDGET ACTUAL BUDGET (DECREASE)
PERSONNEL $1,428,795 $1,699,405 $1,692,552 $1,813,925 $114,520

OVERTIME 0 9,000 9,000
MERIT PAY 25,543 27,448 1,905
SALARY ADJUSTMENT 33,816 30,450 (3,366)

Now THAT'S some TAX DOLLARS$$$$$$$$$$
seems to save money,MORE CITY EMPLOYEES SHOULD JOIN THE UNIONS....won't be seeing THOSE kinda raises.......

http://www.rrstar.com/homepage/x1543599838/Sagging-economy-is-libraries-boon-bane

So the economy has increased demand for the libraries,but with the twisted priorities in LarryBoy's Empire, our "education"mayor looks to cripple their budget...."... a $700,000 reduction in library funding."...
And in the past life of..."LarryBoy in his own words, for what it's worth -"
I frequently criticized the explosion in the number of TIF districts under LarryBoy, but Mr.RaoulDuke(I suspect THIS GUY) just scores a direct,on the spot observation/challenge in the comments following the story...
"Perhaps it's time the Library District, as a taxing body, grows a pair and starts challenging Larry's TIF districts from here on out. If they didn't play so nice with the administration, they could probably afford to pay their own pensions without depending on the city for it. Select businesses are being subsidized, while taxpayers aren't getting what they've paid for. District 205 needs every cent it can get, so it, too, should be saying no to TIF districts at a time when it's clear no one is going to invest in Rockford but Rockford.

Ask your mayor how many (TIF) tax dollars have been 'borrowed' from libraries, schools and other services that our taxes pay for, and what the return on that investment has been. Go on, ask."
Bravo,Mr.Duke,Bravo!!!

So we got all this gloom and doom about the BUDGET CRISIS

Arbitration ahead for police, fire

Last update Jul 22, 2009 @ 05:21 PM

ROCKFORD — Negotiations for new labor agreements with city police and firefighters are headed for arbitration.

MORE STORIES
Police union plans to file for arbitration (07/21/09)
Police talks delayed; fire may face arbitration (02/26/09)
Rockford's budget cut ideas scrutinized (01/24/09)
Police, fire, public works could face cuts (01/08/09)
$7.5M in cuts proposed as deficit worsens (01/10/09)
Back to square one on police, fire deals (01/01/09)

so I got thinking,then I started looking at the 2007 CAFR(most recent available)

And this on page 140 caught my eye...

Expenses 2006 2007


culture and recreation 7,613,866 20,566,355

in ONE YEAR,spending on this vague line item increased $13mill.

and

Program Revenues? $200,290 in 2006 increased to $201,187 after that $13mill. expense increase........

Some return on investment,huh? Great Job,Larry.........

That City Council is a TRIP!

New LarryBotLawyerVenita, I distinctly remember when that mall removal contract was being discussed, arguing we MUST take Stenstrom's HIGHER bid,because the lower bidder did not follow bid spec requirements,they are legal protection for the citizens....last night, she takes an absolutely OPPOSITE stance on the city-wide sidewalk bids....
'maybe our bid specs are too strict...HYPOCRITE

Found it very interesting that the RRstarLarryBotPressKit found two occasions to criticize/caution LarryBoy on his "AllMoneyDowntown,DamnPublicSafety/WorksAndRecession"flight plan for the city....
Here's the Chuckster, in defense of the library," ...Budget cuts may indeed be required in all city operations. That’s why I’m concerned over how we set municipal priorities. How does the city place a value on its libraries? Are they worth more than the MetroCentre? The Coronado? The vacant armory? The vacant Barber-Colman building? The vacant Ingersoll building? We taxpayers are paying for all of them.

Who decides what’s important? Morrissey has an ad hoc committee chaired by businessman Mike Dunn evaluating how entertainment tax dollars are spent. But where’s an ad hoc committee to examine the city’s overall priorities?..."


And the next day's editorial ...

"...The way Rockford aldermen see it, they boldly declared the MetroCentre a top priority by assuring an extra $5 million in funding for the next three years.
The way we see it, they may have acted rashly and illogically.
Their vote appears to have taken the downtown arena out of all further discussions. They locked themselves into a deal before waiting to hear what an advisory committee says — a committee they (and Mayor Larry Morrissey) created. That committee will now work with one hand tied behind its back...."

That committee was SUPPOSED to consider the Coronado,"On The Waterfront",the tourism/convention bureau...
...it's a little funny,you know, I remember when these things seemed SSSSOOOOO IMPORTANT,
....at one time,Waterfront was almost a symbol of Rockford "patriotism",if you didn't go,didn't agree it was the greatest festival in the Midwest,well you just didn't LOVE ROCKFORD!!!!!!!

And another thing,this concerning library funding really bugs me,is there anywhere BESIDES CityHall one can actually VERIFY
"...The library tax brings in about $6.7 million...."
with LarryBoy's penchant for diverting funds(keep in mind,at the end of last year,$10million from the General Fund was "borrowed" by the development fund )
could the city, in it's creative accounting tradition, be shifting some taxes intended for ONE purpose to ANOTHER??

City, state co-star in MetroCentre payday

Yup, the MetroCentre is now SWIMMING in tax dollars...(swimming,get it?... you did hear about the new entrance roof/gutter system,during one of the heavy spring rains,dumped hundreds of gallons of water into the luxury suites area)...
"After months of rancor, debate and an arduous accounting of the MetroCentre’s past and present budget woes, aldermen approved nearly $5 million more taxpayer dollars to the cash-strapped arena during the next three years.....(I think one problem is the PRESENT BUDGETS were NOT inspected very closely....now I realize $20mill doesn't go as far as it USED to,but, it's apparent to ANYBODY with a BRAINCELL that the renovation IS NOT COMPLETE and they are BROKE...) and throw in "... $4.2 million for physical upgrades to the MetroCentre. The state money, to be doled out over the next five years, will pay for infrastructure improvements..."and Epperson/Pirello/Luther/Provanzano laugh all the way to the bank....
Best part???..."MetroCentre Interim General Manager Brian Luther.But Luther stopped short of promising he wouldn't have to come back to ask the city for more money. That's a key objective for many council members."I don't want us to get into a position where we're making promises I mean we have a lot of work ahead of us," says Luther. "We still have to cut 300-thousand dollars of operating expense right off the top."
So they MIGHT NEED MORE MONEY BECAUSE they have to cut COSTS???????
BRILLIANT!BRILLIANT!! EXCELLENCE!EXCELLENCE!!!!
Interesting even the RRSTAR editorial board ,typically supportive of any Larry"Downtown is more important than ANYTHING"Boy urged ..."think it’s premature for the City Council to vote for a three-year deal to help finance the arena..."
"....The MetroCentre’s fate will be tied with the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Coronado Performing Arts Center and On the Waterfront, other agencies that receive money from the city’s redevelopment tax...."

Because the torture never stops....

I know that I've been ignoring Chief Chet,but after his ridiculous little Crime-by-the-numbers-show-and-tell-slideshow Mon. night,I just had to comment on "My Head's Too Big for My Hat"Epperson....
see here he prattles on with "...We're having greater participation from our neighborhood watch groups, citizens calling us in..." HOW can that reduce crime rates???I mean really,doesn't that mean cops are handling MORE CALLS??????????

And then I went to the public safety section on rrstar.com and found in the last week....

Belvidere man, 19, shot in Rockford

1 hurt in Rockford home invasion

Have you seen these suspects?

ROCKFORD — Rockford police need help finding two suspects in connection to a June 29 shooting.

Elderly couple slain; culprit at large

Keep up the good storytelling,Eppy.....

The stage was set...
first public speaker,one-time aldermanic candidate Gwen Lashock, took LarryBoy(and,indirectly, Dancin'Doug) to task over the "blank check" mentality surrounding the Metro Centre bailout....
http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.new.pl?cmd=viewstory&cat=13&id=23884
"...After the July 29 council meeting, Lashock said, she’d spoken with Brian Luther, the arena’s interim manager. During their conversation, Lashock reported, it was learned the MetroCentre employs 18 full-time employees, not including 16 full-time workers devoted to the IceHogs.“Do you know we have a full-time ice technician?” Lashock questioned aldermen. “Brian tells me that they are all busy every single day. There are only four shows this summer. What could they possibly do all day?”... “Are we just giving them money to meet their payroll? "....
See,Loopy Luther keeps whining about...
http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/50092357.html
"... they owe local vendors around 300-thousand dollars....
" WHY doesn't Council find WHO these "vendors" are,WHAT did they vend, and INFORM THE PUBLIC???? is this STILL from the Coreysezfinished(but sure don't LOOK finished) "renovation"???
This week,however, LarryBoy trots out 3 pro-bailout stooges...my favorite had to be the CPA from the accounting firm that audited the Metro finances....he stood there and could only assure the public that the Metro used "GenerallyAcceptedPractices"....a truly ringing endorsement....

Morrissey warns more cutbacks coming

"....With revenue from income and sales taxes and other elastic revenues coming in even lower than reduced expectations, Morrissey warned more cuts will be needed...."

Better just give the MC what it wants,and nobody will get hurt.........

So MORE NEW DEBT...
"In a measure that should free up $800,000 for the cash-strapped MetroCentre, aldermen authorized the sale of up to $8.1 million in bonds.
The bonds would be used to restructure debt in the city redevelopment fund by deferring payments on principal until 2014..."
Gee that's SWELL...
And HERE'S more...
"The agreement would:

* Provide city operating subsidies of $1.2 million this fiscal year and $1.1 million and $1 million in subsequent years.

* Forgive the MetroCentre from having to pay for its $486,000-a-year share of renovations debt service, but would require repayment of a $456,000 loan from 2007 and a $600,000 loan from this year.

* Require the MetroCentre to make $300,000 in spending reductions from its roughly $9.5 million plan sustained for the life of the agreement. The MetroCentre Authority would have 120 days from approval of the agreement to make the spending reductions.

* Require the MetroCentre to explore placing the downtown arena under private management.
..."
And Cryin'Brian Luther balked over that $300,000....what a joke....I originally thought they were cutting $300,000 A YEAR...but out of $9.5MILLION seems pretty lame...is THAT what this Council calls "accountability"????
And then,there's Joe and Frank....
"

Saying a proposed operating agreement between the City Council and the MetroCentre doesn't provide enough accountability, Ald. Joe Sosnowski, R-1, calls for shortening the term of the deal from three years to one.

"We want to be able to review the operations and what's going on annual basis," he said.

And the co-chair of the committee which drafted the agreement says the deal shouldn't be signed at all, at least until more is known about the future of Rockford's venues and festivals, currently under study.

"If we're going to work with (the MetroCentre), we have to have all the facts on the table so we know, boys and girls, what in the world's going on," Ald. Frank Beach, R-10, said...."

GOOD...good for them....

I'll be glad to retract my previous characterization of Sosnowski as a "LarryBot"....(.as long as he stands his ground)......and Frank,he's typically quite reasonable.....GOOD...good for them....

Should be an interesting night........