ROCKFORD — Mayor Larry Morrissey’s administration will lay off 30 employees this week in a sweeping reduction of labor across city departments,... The cuts are an attempt to reduce long-term, “structural” labor costs the city can no longer afford, officials said.

Gee,"STRUCTURAL",huh?....
like for instance....you keep hearing about those "unreasonable, union contract raises"...
what you DON'T hear is the non-union employees typically recieve TWO raises a year...first of the year they receive the 3.5%-4% increase( the same NEGOTIATED by the unions) BUT then in June/July they receive a "merit" raise....(they couldn't pull it off this year with the attention drawn to "fiscal responsibilities"....HOWEVER, do we hear that from 2007-2008 Patrick ("if everyone takes a 7%cut) Hayes saw his salary go from $119,600.00 to $131,476.80....
or Chester (we'll be fine with fewer cops) Epperson went from$117,416.00 to $$128,169.60....
and by the way...you also realize, don't you, that all these City Hall-types ALSO have pension plans the city pays into.... (and it's a PERCENTAGE of salary...higher the salary,higher the DOLLAR AMOUNT the City kicks in....)

Really intended to comment on THIS CRAP....
yesterday, so today works,huh?
"ROCKFORD — A path took shape today for a budget advisory group that’s awash in unfamiliar statistics but armed with considerable private-sector financial experience. Mayor Larry Morrissey’s City Budget and Finance Advisory Group met for a second time and brought some focus to its ambitious mission to find recommendations that would disentangle the city from projected budget deficits. Made up of more than a dozen financial experts and business leaders, the group was asked to come up with a report by the end of November.

At stake are not only city finances, but also perhaps what level of services, from police and fire to library and public works, is provided by Rockford...."

(Excellent services?maybe not so much ...)
And check THIS "...Meanwhile, the group noted a growing divide between the income of Rockford residents and city employees. The median family income of Rockford residents was $47,491 in 2007, the lowest in a group of eight comparable Illinois cities.

Committee members compared that statistic with what Rockford employees make. Salary and benefits for the average Rockford firefighter combined total $115,193 a year; for the average police officer, it’s $104,486 and for the average nonpublic safety city employee, $74,935, according to information provided by city officials. ..." nice littles apples to oranges, there "TightSuit"Hayes....
OOO,OOO, this is GREAT....
"...Cutting health costs
Advisory group members said wellness, risk management and safety programs could be a way to reduce long-term health insurance costs.
Ryan Brauns of Rockford Consulting & Brokerage said companies have encouraged employee participation in wellness programs that encourage healthy lifestyles, improved nutrition and exercise through incentives and even surcharges for not participating.
“What we would like to deploy is a reward-based system,” Brauns said....."(See the 'companies' well that's HIS and his daddy's and THEY MAKE A PERCENTAGE OFF EVERY INSURANCE PREMIUM....

(Coming next...COMMENTS on the story....)

Recent letters to the editor...
nothing to add....



The idea of reducing the number of firefighters and police officers should not even be under consideration.

Aldermen need to take a long, hard look at their responsibilities to the citizens of our city. In this time of continuing revenue declines, aldermen have a difficult and thankless job.

Nevertheless, it is the job they campaigned for, and now they make the difficult decisions.

This would be a good time for them to participate in a training session on the responsibilities of city elected officials and ask the citizens what their service priorities are.

Maybe they might learn how to prioritize city services and make those difficult decisions.

I hope we could agree that the top priority, at any time, is public safety. The community can understand and learn to live with slower snow removal, but delays in 911? Outrageous!

— Julie Elliott, Rockford
The city wants to lay off police officers and firefighters and cut back on plowing this winter while raising taxes. These are public safety services we’re told are Priority No. 1.

During the mayor’s first election campaign, he pledged to increase city services while not raising taxes. The city should give these groups the chance to reduce their budgets as was given the library folks before layoffs are done.

Rockford has the highest unemployment in the state and one of the highest crime rates. Unemployed people with reduced income equals increased crime.

Chief Epperson says the layoffs will not jeopardize public safety. If that’s the case, why weren’t more police laid off earlier to save money? So be it.

If Rockford can find money to build a riverwalk, which in large part is not even close enough to the river to see it, we should be able to figure this out.

The mayor and his staff will most likely never have a better chance to really shine as now during these tough times. Show us what you got.

— G. Lee Cecil, Rockford

Lotta EXCELLENCE going on, huh?....
Check it...
LarryBoy SLASHES basic city services cuz the city's broke BUT..."The Rockford City Council’s finance & Personnel Committee recommended an amendment to an engineering agreement previously awarded to Homer L. Chastain & Associates in 2008. Per the amendment, Chastain is to be paid an additional $52,042 for its work related to the downtown streetscape project,...
" AND "...Aldermen authorized the issuance of $2.7 million in general obligation bonds for “financing various economic development and government projects.”..."

Couple things to think about....
Remember LarryBoy's couple of "FORCED ANNEXATIONS"? THAT increased the city's property tax base,right?
And there's been recent news about citizens protesting their taxes and it's explained how assessments are from last year when real estate values were peaking,remember?
SOOOOO, does not logic dictated that the city's PROPERTY TAX take should be UP? We don't hear about that, do we....
Another thing...
Keep hearing how public safety wages and benefits are eating up 60-75-80% of the city budget, right?
So what's up with THIS?

City of Rockford, Illinois
2006 Budget -- Where The Money Goes
$225.9 Million -- All Funds
Other $14.6 Million 7%
Capital Projects $51.2 Million 23%
Human Services $21.0 Million 9%
Community Development $13.2 Million 6%
Public Safety $74.1 Million 33%
Public Works $37.5 Million 17%
Debt Service $14.3 Million 6%
(2005-$202.4 Million)
And THIS...

City of Rockford, Illinois
2009 Budget -- Where The Money Goes
$240.7 Million -- All Funds
Other $15.1 Million 6.3%
Capital Projects $51.7 Million 21.5%
Debt Service $14.1 Million 5.9%
Human Services $22.9 Million 9.5%
Community Development $12.9 Million 5.3%
Public Safety $81.2 Million 33.7%
Public Works $42.9 Million 17.8%

So look(there's these dandy pie charts at those links....LarryBoy LOVES pie charts and bar graphs), if Public Safety and Public Works on these reports total 50-51%...where do they make up their other inflated numbers???
Is the graphic lying (or are those lawyers in City Hall lying??)

YOU decide....

I want to watch the replay tonite of Mon.'s council meeting before I comment, but I caught some of Ald. Venita(LarryBot)Hervey on WNTA and see made claims I found hard to believe so I did some checking...
She played Defense for the LarryBoy Spend-all-you-Can Budget Process...' no one could forsee the current financial mess....
Now, I'm no accountant, but looking at the city financial information...from the 2007 budget
"...the last few years have been more challenging because of lower than anticipated elastic revenues as a result of the slowing economy....This five-year budget forecast indicates annual deficits for the entire period...."
Not much difficulty understanding THAT....
And THIS stuff 2007 CAFR..." The decrease is primarily the result of slowing growth in elastic revenues. Elastic revenues are those revenues that tend to change with economic conditions such as, sales tax, use tax, state income tax, and personal property replacement tax. As a result of a slow down in the state and local economy, revenue from sales taxes finished $1,485,778 below the budgetary estimate...."
Bullcrap 'couldn't forsee it'....DIDN'T WANT TO STOP THE DEBT TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Layoffs and takeoffs.....seems LarryBoy took the next step in his union-busting program by having "Hachetman" Hayes penned layoff letters to at least 20 union employees.... (This pinhead concept that government can be run like a business is such a scam...inconsistent applications of "principles"...isn't there something about "return on investment" in business jargon? Most targeted layoffs recently hired fire and police (trained on the city dime)...great protection of AN INVESTMENT, eh?...
Meanwhile...LarryBoy leaves town... "traveling with delegations to China..."(Does he think he can outsource jobs to save the city from those pesky unions?)

Also notable... "About 1,000 people walked from City Hall to the Winnebago County Criminal Justice Center to show their support for Rockford police officers Stan North and Oda Poole and give thanks to all law enforcement officers...." Seems nowhere is there any mention of those self-proclaimed "community activist" LarryBots - THE WEAVERS....every news coverage ALWAYS seems to seek out their comments....hhhmmmm....don't suppose these NO.1 fans of ChiefChet's policies (their own Batman), beneficiaries of personalized police protection for their neighborhood, don't suppose they were ABSENT.....say it ain't so John....

"...Mayor Larry Morrissey warned that layoffs were possible as the city confronts a financial crisis. It wasn’t a bluff:.."
And so the "story" goes...wait, this is NOT a "news" story...it's plain and simple propaganda...this whole "layoff" bit was quite obviously a negotiating TOOL....
LarryBoy continues "...the unions could offer to accept a pay cut to save jobs."
Gee, didn't see THAT coming, now, did we?
The city coffers are SO BROKE, "...the council approved committee reports seeking authority to issue an additional $2.7 million in general obligation bonds for “financing various economic development and government projects.”..."

Excellent! No cops, No firefighters, No public works...BUT plenty of "various economic development"....

Here's an excellent, in-depth analysis of LarryBoy's joke of a committee...
"...William Charles Development’s John Holmstrom III was named chairman of the ad hoc committee....Holmstrom contributed $700 to Morrissey’s campaign, as did William Charles, Ltd....

Appointee Ted Ross, retired vice president of finance at Sundstrand, contributed $31,995 to Morrissey’s campaign.

Fellow appointee LoRayne Logan, president of The Workplace and a Rockford Board of Fire and Police commissioner, contributed $9,962.45 to Morrissey.

The Workplace contributed $9,320 to the mayor’s campaign...Phyllis Ginestra, ... will serve on the board, too. Ginestra contributed $2,234 to the Morrissey campaign.

Rockford Consulting & Brokerage’s Ryan Brauns, also secretary of the Rockford Board of Election Commissioners, will take part as the city’s health insurance consultant. Brauns contributed $165 to Morrissey’s campaign....

Perhaps most disturbing, however, is that the president and publisher of the Rockford Register Star, Scott Bowers, accepted an appointment to the committee.

Although neither Bowers nor the local daily has political campaign contributions on the books, the potential for conflict in this arrangement is egregious....." Now keep in mind,these LarryBots

"...kicked off their work Friday morning...(Sept.11)
Members of the ad hoc committee, hand-selected by Mayor Larry Morrissey, plan to study and analyze the city’s budget and submit a report to the mayor with recommendations by late November...."
So, since this is such a pointless panel WHY NOT?
"ROCKFORD — City officials took the first step today toward laying off possibly 30 city employees.
The mayor’s office issued a release this evening to the media stating the city has given union leaders formal notice that “impending layoffs could come as soon as Oct. 2.”..."
So WHAT IN THE BLOODCLOT will the LarryBotPonyShow come up with in LATE NOVEMBER?
LarryWorld, Idiocy Everywhere!!!!

Wonderful perspective... a hand-picked group of developer/speculators, protecting THEIR slice of taxpayer dollars(especially TIF handouts), celebrate the end of the Labor Day week with an assault on the city employees providing the BASIC CITY SERVICES....priceless!
And so begins LarryBoy's stooge panel ...."Members of the ad hoc committee, hand-selected by Mayor Larry Morrissey, plan to study and analyze the city’s budget.. what city officials described as “uncontrollable expenses” — personnel and pension costs tied mainly to the public safety arena..."See, you got MoneyBags Sammuls feeding this hand-picked group the information LARRYBOY WANTS THEM TO SEE...and they point out the problems as LarryBoy SEES them...
I mean really, I feel like a broken record but I'm simply astounded that BASIC CITY SERVICES are the stuff people pay taxes FOR...the TIF bond debt, the hockey team, mall tear-out, luxury lofts and myriad other "special economic development schemes" that LarryBoy
has embraced since first taking office, THAT'S the drain on the city coffers they DON'T want people looking into....
" “We have built an organization that is unsustainable,” said City Administrator Jim Ryan. “It was built on the premise that tomorrow will always be better than today. ... History has proved that it hasn’t been.”..." EXACTLY!!!!!!!

So LarryBoy seems to be trying to stay low...but watching the Council on TV he sure seemed, oh, I don't know, preoccupied ?
See, I don't know if LarryBoy KNEW Rev. Jesse Jackson was going to speak....and can't see his reaction when the camera is on the speaker, but it sure appeared Jackson was decidedly focused on
Larry as he spoke....and by the time he gave his Officers'Report, LarryBoy showed none of his typical smooth phony concern....noticed he's upped the police presence last few weeks....I think he's SCARED!

(kinda ironic how he hates public workers until he NEEDS them)

After LarryBoy first was elected, it was one and a half, two years into his term before some started to question his "leadership" ("Coppergate",Jim Ryan's DUI, TWO "hundred-year" floods, remember?)
Through it all,the RRStar stood by their Man(sing it, Tammy) and, as the last election rolled around, the typical short-memory voter, forgot the spoiledbrat/narcissistic/developers'greed-feeding management the city had suffered for 4 years and apathetically re-elected LarryBoy.

And then, almost magically, we learn how, first the MetroCentre, then the city are facing impending financial disaster. But what we DON'T LEARN is how the spoiledbrat/narcissistic/developers'greed-feeding management the city had suffered for 4 years has CONTRIBUTED to this situation....borrowing million$ for TIF debt, adding lawyers and layers of upper-management,high-salary positions of questionable distinct duties AND necessity....while ignoring BASIC GOVERNMENT SERVICES...

Now, THIS attitude of refusing to adequately address the importance of FIRST funding these same BASIC GOVERNMENT SERVICES has really, in my opinion, greatly contributed to this current mess we're in....keep in mind, LarryBoy APPOINTS the Library Board that CHOSE to sink $4million into that east-side branch with disregard for STAFFING....likewise, the forced-annexations and Capital Improvement Programs increase engineers,supervisors,etc. but ignore the needed MANPOWER and EQUIPMENT to adequately maintain the growing city boundaries and new roads (w/Custom ManholeCovers!!)
The increased city area also stretches the city's PUBLIC SAFETY resources, with LarryBoy's attacks on both police and fire ignoring the reality that his "economicdevelopmentutopiahallucination" revolves around handing over millions in tax dollars to attract jobs,business and people to an increasingly LESS SAFE UNDESIRABLE PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK!!!!!!!!!!

And THAT'S the state today of LarryBoy's Empire.......

Doc Slafkosky stands on temporary pads installed along Main Street for the On the Waterfront celebration Sept. 4-6, 2009. The pads outside JR Kortmans, Kryptonite and Octane should allow some outdoor festivities that would have been severely hampered by the removal of the downtown mall without it. Originally the city had hoped to have the project substantially complete by Waterfront.

---

And so continues the special interest, ridiculous extravagant spending targeted for a few LarryBots during the city's "dire financial crisis"....(I have only seen those Custom Logo manhole covers on Main and Church Streets from downtown to the LarryLandLofts at Garrison)...

WHO PAYS? library staff, public safety, public works and TAXPAYERS!!

LarryLove....

"Morrissey said Rockford is a city in pain and needs its mayor to lead it toward healing. He also said he must remain unbiased and visible."
Gee,GREAT LarryBoy....way to step up....see, but as my last post noted, his remarks at City Council were NOT unbiased, his concern(you can put the lawyer into an elected office,but you can't take the ambulance-chasing, phony out of the lawyer)for the victim OVERWHELMED his snub of the cops...
For example, he says he discouraged and then turned down a group’s request for a march down State Street in support of police. (Another group of about 200 people marched down State Street last week asking for justice in the Barmore case.)

Enough for now....

Well, LarryBoy really showed his disdain for city employees last night.
Whatta tool....he starts his remarks with all this care and concern for the shooting victim, his family, the Rev. JJ, the community....
but POLICE OFFICERS? Nah, didn't hear it...just some crap about the cops being tense, jittery, or some such bull.
He's been warned continuously by one public speaker,former cop and County Board member BRUCE ROBERTS that, despite all the cute charts,graphs, and assorted other statistical cosmic debris the city spews, CRIME IS UP AND THE STREETS ARE DANGEROUS...


and then this...
"...During public comments, Gwen Lashock, who had been a candidate for 3rd Ward alderman, encouraged the City Council to place a referendum on the ballot to raise revenue for the library and prevent cutbacks.

“Because of the economic crisis many of our citizens face, we need library services now more than ever before,” Lashock said. “I call upon the mayor and City Council to find the money to maintain services now and allow taxpayers to vote on a referendum to secure future funding.”

Mayor Larry Morrissey said state legislators enacted laws that are leading to significant increases in public safety pension costs that are crippling city resources. He said the state needs to take action to correct that situation and that he would not support a referendum at a time of high unemployment..."

So wait LarryBoy............?,!@?
Despite all the evidence given that library workers ARE indeed city employees, he refuses to allow a referendum because..." significant increases in public safety pension costs..."
Wait?now they are PUBLIC SAFETY personnel????

as I said, WHATTA TOOL!!!