Money man: Naperville deficit to top $10 million

Dear Mayor and City Council,

Many suggestions were made on this blog site including on the Napergate Threads and many others regarding what we can do to control our costs.

The hollering by hundreds of Napergatians and many others lasted the better part of a year on this thread. Nobody listened except Councilman Bob who joined the discussion at times and provided valuable information. I suggest all those blogs be reviewed.

HERE ARE SOME PERSONAL SUGGESTIONS:

1. Start policemen at 40k instead of 60k. This will help the current situation and the pension fund system when they retire which is $53 million in the deficit.

2. Start fire fighters at 40k instead of 60k. This will also help the current situaton and the pension fund system when they retire which is $53 million in the deficit.

3. When retired employees collecting pensions from Naperville are working for the city, subtract the pension from their annual salary. Let us not pay them twice when they are suppose to be retired. Don't allow them to qualify for a second pension while already working and collecting a pension.

4. The 6 school bike cops downtown in the period the school is closed are not necessary. The downtown is just as busy one month before they start and one month after they cease patrol. The downtown does fine without them. We need to use them to rest and relieve police officers who accumulated a lot of overtime.

5. Ways have to be found to reduce the $3.15 million police overtime just as the Napergatians mentioned. The Last Fling and Rib Fest need to hire their own security and pay for it. Using cultural sales tax money to subsidize these events by paying 100k in police overtime is unethical and immoral.

6. Cancel the building of the last 2 parking decks downtown. The hugeCentennial Beach parking lot is only a scenic 2 block walk and is always empty for the better part of 9 months and on most summer evenings. A trolley running back and forth from the beach parking lot would cost much less than 2 parking decks with a cost approaching 40 million excluding the valuable price of land.

7. City Vehicles do not need to be replaced at the 53,000 mile mark. Let us try to get 150,000 miles out of them before replacing.

8. Cut all the positions related to growth in City Hall since growth has stopped in this beautiful town that once experienced 10% growth per year. Last year was less than 1%. The land is no longer there to sustain the growth of the past.

9. The fire department seems to be running like a well oiled machine without a Fire Chief. Let who ever is running it continue running it and save the salary of a Fire Chief which is over 150k. Obviously this person can handle his old job and act as Fire Chief very easily and without a glitch. Thus it sounds to me like firemen are underworked and can be given more duties.

10. The 9 existing fire stations should contribute one fireman to Fire Station 10 when it is built and no new firemen should be hired. This could save us about 1 million a year. Once a few firemen get to the scene of a fire, if it is bad the other 9 stations can participate in a few extra minutes so what is the point of having so many firemen in each fire station. Let us reevaluate now that we are looking at a 10 million deficit.

11. Five individuals were involved in brush collection 2 weeks ago in front of my home. One was simply driving the wood chopper. Never got out of his trailer truck even on big stops. 3 were loading the brush. A vehicle behind was doing nothing but observing to make sure the other 4 were doing their jobs. These 5 positions could be knocked down to 3 very easily. The garbage man gets out of his truck to load the garbage. He has no helper. That is private industy by the way. In my opinion he works as hard as at least 3 city employees. Maybe we need to farm out brush collection if the union won't allow the driver to help and requires 3 guys to load brush instead of only 2. Basically, they were mostly in each others way! And they did not care to sweep the mess they made in the street. Unbelievable!!! I swept it after they left.

12. Building grass medians on streets that require grass cutting weekly can get expensive. I would rather see 75th St have 6 lanes instead of 2 lanes of grass in the middle. At least traffic would flow much better. Check out 75th St. between Washington and Naper Blvd for a great example!

13. A nice parking deck at the train station that would charge for parking and be profitable while eliminating a 1783 person waiting list would be a needed revenue generator. It is guaranteed to be profitable since we already have the waiting list and no guess work is necessary to see if it is needed. McMansion folks in Naperville may have no problem paying 10 dollars to park per day on the lower levels. Ordinary folk could park in higher levels for 3 dollars. Just a suggestion!

14. Making the landlords downtown who charge 50 bucks per square foot buy the downtown parking garages. They built buidings with no parking. That is a form of cheating. They all could have built underground parking but did not because of the expense and they knew Uncle Naperville would foot the bill.

15. The cultural tax and downtown parking tax imposed on residents should be eliminated. Together they chase shoppers to other towns at they add 2.5% to the product or service. This could be contributing to the revenue decline. For those who do not know, the cultural tax is city wide and not just downtown. And to think we use this cultural tax to pay for police overtime just makes my stomach churn.

I could think of 85 more ways to save money but since most bloggers do not like to read long letters, I think I said enough for now.

I can only advise. The Mayor and City Council have the power to implement. I hope they implement. I hope they love Naperville as much as the residents do. I hope they understand they can not continue to bail out their buddies who get in trouble by converting their land from residential to commercial to artificially increase value before bai-outs take place such as in the Ponds of Hobson West! I hope they stay away from subsidizing the great risk involved in Omnia that could end up being costly for the taxpayers.

City Officials were warned by the Napergatians but were not phased. Now they are being warned by the numbers in red. It seems like they have finally been phased!

Let us all work together and hopefully conquer our $10.1 million deficit before it becomes reality and hits us in our real estate tax bills.

I think it is finally great that the problem was acknowledged. This is the first necessary step needed to bring solutions. I have confidence that the Mayor and City Council will take the appropriate measures now that we are approaching a crisis stage that is only getting worse.

That makes sense...was wondering why every time you turn around now in Naperville you see a cop writing a ticket. Maybe a better way to go about the shortfall though would be stop patrolmen from making over 100K a year. And why don't they just hire Marshall permnanently instead of blowing dough with one of the city's ridiculous search firms? That did a lot of good with the Parks guy. And, maybe Furstenau might think about putting his constituents first and drop his ill-advised lawsuit. Where is the Napergate man when you need him. I'd like to see how my fellow Napergatians feel about this topic.

I think Moderator Ted would be well-advised to open a separate Napergatian thread on this pressing issue. This is meat and potatoes - with a few Chicago hot dogs thrown in - for all loyal Napergatians.

First of all, a newspaper should make sure it writes without error as you should be leading by example. Your initial blog includes "So pretend your talking to the mayor..." Please at least have someone proof-read; your and you're is a lesson from grade school.

I believe the Sun has a responsibility to report the news accurately. More and more lately people have been misquoted, leading to much misunderstanding in the general public. Stop trying to be sensationalists, you are not the Naperville Enquirer. Instead report the news without editorial license on articles. More of us might buy the newspaper again instead of occasionally reading someone else's copy.

Naperville residents should be more informed by our hometown newspaper that some of the shortfall falls on their shoulders. It is easy to complain but residents must realize that every time they shop in another city or online, they are not paying sales tax to Naperville. Now that car sales are down, it is more important to shop where you live. Your city services depend on it. For the last several years the city council has actually cut the city tax rate. We have been the lowest rate in DuPage County for some time. Don't complain about the restaurant tax, we have the best restaurants in the western suburbs and our thriving downtown brings money to run the city. Residents also don't understand that the Park District is not the city and that its taxes are separate from the city. Our schools are not the city, their taxes are separate and are the largest portion of their tax bill. The city receives less than 15% of a property owner's tax bill. From that our city is run very efficiently. Unlike other municipalities, residents do not have to pay for their garbage or recycling. They only pay for yard waste that they might generate or construction and remodeling material. Everything else is unlimited. We don't need one garbage amnesty day a year to get rid of appliances or furniture. We don't have to pay to have leaves picked up in the fall. Bags of leaves are picked up free after November 1. Workers pick up leaves that are raked to the street until the middle of November. Other cities charge for bag leaf pickup and many do not pick up from the street. We have a huge city with many roads to be taken care of. They don't fix themselves and must be kept in good repair to save money down the road.

All in all, everyone should do what they can to help the city run efficiently. Don't clog storm sewers with leaves and cause flooding. Clean them off from in front of their houses and back yards. The city serves you well. Don't expect it to be able to do more than it can reasonably do. Our city depends on everyone pitching in. Shop Naperville and keep your tax dollars at home and our stores in business during these lean times. Help a neighbor in need. Donate to the food pantry. Everyone is feeling the pinch and we all can make a difference.

Another Anonymous should run for City Council. Seriously.

To Another Anonymous,

I don't understand why you think that the police and fire departments should start $20,000 lower than their current starting salaries. Have you had a bad experience that has tainted to you towards Naperville's public servants? If you have, maybe you should deal with your anger instead of coming on here and ranting about them without being educated about what they do and why they need the manpower they do.

I am not saying that every department in the city couldn't cut their budget in some way. But please be educated before asking for changes.

A little information--
The firemen work about 54 hours a week without getting overtime. That is and has been the nature of their shift work for years. It's called FLSA and it's been in place for years. Most of the people love their jobs and put their lives on the line every day when they arrive at work. The engines in Naperville are ALL manned with at least one firefighter/paramedic so if the ambulance is busy on another call the engine can respond and give the patient ALS (Advanced Life Support)treatment if needed.Each ambulance in Naperville has 2 firefighter/paramedics on it. There is no way to treat the patient in back and drive the ambulance without 2 people. The engines are manned with 3 people. An officer, an engineer and a firefighter/paramedic. The engineer must stay outside and hook up to the hydrant and run the pumper. One firefighter can not enter a burning building alone so your suggestion about cutting down on the amount of people at each station would not work. If your suggestion was followed then every house fire that occured would most likely result in total loss because as we all know, fire spreads VERY rapidly. In minutes,the time they would be waiting for another station to arrive BEFORE they could enter and start the attack or start search and rescue,the house would most likely be fully involved and anyone inside would have less of a chance of being saved before the fire was out of control.

I also question your calling the fire department a well oiled machine running without a chief. They are not only running short a chief but also several other high level officers. Some things are not running too smoothly because of it but they are doing what firemen do. Plugging along doing the best they can with what they have and working as a team. They are a very well trained,educated, and dedicated department.Giving the residents of Naperville what the city demands for it's residents--GREAT SERVICE ALL THE TIME-- no matter what...

I have a challenge for you. Why don't you sign up for the Naperville Citizen Police and Citizen Fire Academy or the City Academy providing they haven't cancelled them due to budget/staffing issues. It is a VERY educational experience where any resident can become enlightened about what our police and firemen and city workers experience on a daily basis here in Naperville. Their jobs are not the cakewalk some might perceive them to be. Why don't you try to REALLY walk in their shoes and not just spew negative comments about what you THINK their jobs entail.

signed,
Graduate of all three academys and educated Naperville resident

Trying to Educate,

I never said fire fighters are bad. I called the fire department a well oiled machine and you pretty much agreed by stating they give GREAT SERVICE ALL THE TIME. So we both agree here! But you feel a need to hire additional unnecessary HIGH LEVEL firemen at a great cost to taxpayers while we are already receiving GREAT SERVICE.....Why! All we want is GREAT SERVICE and we both agree we are getting it.

We have 200 firemen in town and 9 Fire Stations. That is about 22 men and women in each station. That is plenty of firemen to perform the duties you suggusted.

The bottom line is the City Council and Manager are correctly demanding all departments make cuts. Rather than lay firemen off, I am suggesting moveing one firemen from each of the 9 existing fire stations to the new station known as Fire Station 10. The plan was to staff it with 10 firemen. Well, I am suggesting staffing it with 9. Is that CRIMINAL? Since there was no fire station at this location and the town provided GREAGT SERVICE ALL THE TIME, how could 9 additional firemen instead of 10 at a new Fire House, not be of great help where there was a complete vacancy.

I have never met a Naperville fireman and have no vendetta against any fireman. I am not trying to lay a single one off. I am suggesting using the ones we may have to lay off, in a the new fire station so we can avoid laying anyone off in the fire department. Does that sound hateful? I think not!

I have not suggested reducing the pay of any existing firemen. I suggested NEW firemen brought in should be paid 40k instead of 60k which is the going rate in surrounding towns. I am willing to grandfather the old salaries but would support the city council if they ordered a freeze on wages for a couple of years to eliminate the deficit in the budget.

I do not hate firemen. Do you hate residents that want to keep there taxes under control? I made 15 of my 100 suggestions that include all aspects of city government and employment. Where did I single out the firemen who we all hold in the highest regard?

But I think the difference between you and I is you want to IMMUNIZE the firemen of which I have reason to believe you are one, while selfishly expecting every other segment of the City to pay the price for this 10-11 million dollar deficit, which will hit us next year. I believe all city departments should participate equally and to the best of their abilities.

The bottom line is fireman do work very hard when there is a big fire and do risk their lives. But thankfully most of the time in Naperville there are no big fires and firemen are not working very hard. It is the nature of the job and we have to expect and accept the situation. Whoever is currently running the Fire Dept should be made Fire Chief and his old job should be elminated or he should be made to run both as he seems very capable from his performance. Since the fire dept. is running great as you say we don't need to fill all these unnecessary high level postions in the fire department that are currently vacant. Keep them vacant for now! Filling them up only makes the 10-11 million dollar deficit shortfall WORSE! It is nice to have a lean and mean fire department with no EXCESS FAT finally! Let us keep it that way!

I have never been in a Fire House in my life. I should not be the one suggesting where cuts should be made. The fire department needs to step up to the plate, think out of the box, and make the suggestions of how they can reduce expenses by 10% to participate in balancing future budgets.

They know much more than I do. However, since no one is stepping out or up or sliding down the pole, I will make my own suggestions so I can get responses like yours and try to get to the bottom of the mess that is taking us to a 10-11 million deficit shortfall next year.

Don't forget your buddies in the fire department already have a $53 million shortfall in their pension fund. Do nothing and it will get worse! Do nothing and the pension fund could become bankrupt and no fire or police officer will ever collect a penny.

Suggesting future firemen should start at 40k would also means their pensions will be at least 15k lower upon retirement. Lower retirement pensions may mean the pension fund can survive without going bankrupt.

The city council has correctly and finally come to the conclusion that the taxpayer is no longer willing to tolerate higher taxes to balance the budget as happened in the past. What makes you think the same taxpayer will continue to pay 21.16% matching funds into the firemen pension fund as they did last year? That is simply not acceptable.

The firemen have to find other solutions that are palatable to them and us. Their president thinks he can make more money by risking it in the stock market. What a joke considering the state of the economy since 2000? He suddenly thinks he is Warren Buffet!

It is also easy to make such statements since in the current system the risk is being taken by the taxpayer. If the Firemen President takes all the pension fund money and loses it in the stock market while trying to make higher returns, the taxpayer has to reimburse the new losses combined with the $53 million existing shortfall so the firemen can get their 75% when they retire no matter what. I see an unfairness here... a big unfairness!!! It does not stem from my hatred of police or firemen...especially firemen since I am yet to meet one. Let me know of any open houses as I would love to visit a Fire House and meet a Naperville Fire Fighter for the first time in my life. It would be an honor...seriously!

I just don't think it is fair for civilians to invest in the stock market and suffer the consequences while firemen and police officers can invest, lose and suffer no consequences. They will always have their 75% pension at taxpayers expense even though the taxpayers lost their entire 401k in the Financial Tsunami that to a great degree swept their accounts, since the turn of the century, as well as the Police and Fire Pension Funds. All I am asking is for some fairness for the taxpayer...please don't translate this to hatred for firemen!

Let us have a civil debate by showing some maturity....PLEASE!!!

Leave the false accusations and allegations of hate and dislike for firemen off this blog sitel...PLEASE....THANKS!!!

No, we should get THOM HIGGINS.

He will show that Naperville tax rates are lower than 50 other communities and TRIPLE our taxes.

Then he would say he was not raising taxes, just making them comparable to others.

Trying to educate,

"The firemen work about 54 hours a week without getting overtime."

Let's not confuse the terms "on duty" and "work". A firefighter who sleeps eight hours each night of his work shift is still technically "on duty" because he could potentially be called out.

With a 24 on 48 off shift a firefighter works 7 days out of a three week cycle or 2 1/3 days per week. 2 1/3 days per week multiplied times the 24 shift equals 56 hours per week average.

As has been previously reported, the culture permitted by the City of Naperville is such that firefighters consider anything after 4PM as their "personal time" and the city does not schedule visits or other public safety activities in firehouses after this time period. All official training, education, exercises, maintenance, inspections, etc. occur only during morning and afternoon hours. Naperville firefighters, with the exception of the ambulance crews, regularly do get a full nights sleep.

Considering the attitude and culture that prevails and which is tolerated by the Fire Chief, the City Manager, and the City Council reality is that Naperville firefighters really like to put in an 8 hour work day just like everyone else. Let's not forget that 2 1/3 days per week times 8 hours per day really works out to just under 19 hours of actual, real work per week. Yes, we all recognize that firefighters are "on duty" for the entire 24 hour shift and yes we also recognize that quite a few firefighters hold simultaneous firefighter positions in two different fire departments and of those who don't work in another fire department most have some other form of employment that they pursue when they are not "on duty".

The point of this is not to undermine the necessary and valuable work that firefighters perform. At the same time when conversations turn to talking about police and fire there are some who hold themselves and would like to hold others emotional hostages over the perception of value during a time of need. Fact is that all jobs and careers have reasonable salary ranges, especially blue collar, union jobs. A union electrician, carpenter, plumber, etc all make the same wages regardless of where they perform their trade in the metropolitan area. Union police and fire are no different.

There is no logical explanation of why any community, Naperville included, should pay $20K more than any other community in the same metro area for the same job. In fact, if you really think about it in terms of size, scale, scope, security, advancement, along with the many other intangibles the City of Naperville offers and provides the city should be able to actually pay slightly less than fair market rates because it is considered such a great place to work and so many qualified applicants want to work here. When the day comes when the City of Naperville is unable to attract sufficient qualified candidates may be the time for the city to consider paying slightly above fair market rates. But not until such a move is necessary to attract candidates. Why is it that the private sector understands how to offer, compare, and control labor rates using competition, the marketplace, and laws of economics and the government is so quick to give the farm away?

Quick grammar check:

"So pretend your talking to the mayor and city council..."

I think "you're" is the better choice here.

I know it's a tired old saw from me, but please stop confusing reduced tax rates with reduced taxes. In twenty plus years in Naperville, my tax bill has NEVER gone down, only up. The rate is not the determinant variable in the tax bill, government spending is.

It's easy to compare our tax bills with other local communities and think it's reasonable. Try comparing to Oak Brook. Tax bills are roughly 1/3 of ours. My boss lives in a home that is valued at nearly three times my modest Naperville home. His tax bill is slightly less!

Every week, the Wall Street Journal spotlights three properties in various parts of the country -- I've compared my taxes to those and while mine are sometimes proportionately less, more often mine are much higher.

Yes, I know, I should move -- and eventually, I will be taxed out of town and I will move.

Here is how the city staff will help the city council balance the budget. City staff will eventually tell the council that they have done everything possible to cut the budget. City council will then gush forth how great and hard working the city staff is.

But the budget still remains unbalanced. What to do? Staff will come back an say we done all we could to cut, it is now time for a compromise Taxes must be raised, cuts are not enough.

So the council again praises staff for their sensible budget cuts, hard work and how great they are. Conclusion, property owners will see an increase in property taxes.

To the Anonymous Duo,

First of all, I am not a firefighter and have never held a job in any way shape or form in the city of Naperville or in any kind of city government for that matter. As I said I went through the academys offered by the city to educate people about how the city
operates and WHY they do things the way they do.

I understand and agree that EVERY department in the city needs to cut their budget. I said as much in my statement above IF you really read it and not just bulldozed through it in a big rush to tell me off. I NEVER said that you said firefighters were bad. Again IF you really read what I wrote you will see that. It appears that you are a VERY rigid person who has a hard time seeing things from another's point of view. It appears TRYING to have any type of communication with you is futile because YOU DON'T LISTEN to what is being said. You have misquoted me in several different instances and it is all here for others to see.

"Perhaps" you are either a disgruntled ex-city worker or have been wronged by someone somewhere. Life is too short to be so angry.I refuse to waste my time trying to communicate with someone who is not LISTENING!! Communication is a two way street-NOT one way!

Good evening my name is Mr."Know it all" and I like to micro manage. I have something to say on just about every topic known to man. When it comes to saving our great city $$$$ I am your man. I know very little about city workers jobs but darn-it I know they are paid way too much. City workers also never work nearly as hard as private industry employees--I should know because I work for a fortune 500 company in the city. I also know a lot about pensions and the fact that every public employee gets way too-too big of one. I know this because I am the only "horses behind" that works for a fortune 5oo company that has no pension. Therefore it stands to reason every one on the public payroll is not entitled to a pension. Firefighters, police officers, teachers and any other public servant is under worked and over paid. I don't want to stop with just those folks, "oh no" lets get to the crux of the problem: politicians.

Politicians is where the real problem lies, We as the public try to tell them all the problems in our community but they just will not listen. Those darn politicians just want to do things their own way. They also spend all of our tax-payers hard earned cash. This darn town puts on all these events which cause untold millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars to be forwarded to those lazy policeman-- you know the ones over there downtown hanging out just talking to the ladies. Then there is the unneeded 10th firehouse!!! Imagine that a small town of 50 sq. miles needs 10 firehouses with all that new fangled equipment --what a travesty of justice. You know I really have done my research on the "wild world of webs" (internet), I have just enough knowledge along with a crab a_s attitude to be dangerous.

But in all honesty what I really like to do is suck a few people that are really "in the know" to comment on a topic. Once I have a tidbit more of info I strike turning these new facts into the world I have spun. You see in my world "napergate man" is king, while most in the main stream are bad. I comment on this theme endlessly because you see, it is just so important.

My plan once I retire from my no pension corporate job is to run for city council.I hear that those council members sit back and make the big money,fancy cars,paid hospitalization, and a huge salary--I can see it now. You see with a guy like me "shaking the rafters" all the things that are wrong now, will be righted. Please realize that this will take some time for me because I work so darn hard at my corporate job. I know that all the sun employees , especially Ted will join me in this crusade of city waste and political corruption!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ted I realize that working as editor for the Sun cannot take too much of your time so your participation will of course be mandatory. And Ted feel free to call or e-mail me anytime because I am the Squidward of Naperville.

Can we please not bicker amongst ourselves? I think Another Anon has some good suggestions as do others on this blog. Other jobs have lowered the starting salaries of new workers, why not fire fighters, policemen and city jobs? No one's asking the existing employees to take a pay cut. The bottom line is that the City needs to cut the budget and it should be painful, but it needs to be done.

Diane G,

Thank you for your kind words!

Keep up the good work!

When I retire I am not sticking around here. I am moving to Texas. Interesting article in last weeks WSJ. Guess what 3 states accounted for 65% of the job growth in the U.S. in the last 10 years? Texas, Arizona, and Florida. Guess which 3 were at the bottom? Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. There is no future in the Midwest. Sorry but the truth hurts and they are the facts.

Hey all you "anonymous" people.

You are wacko. If Naperville sucks then move. If you think that your idiotic comments will change anything you should be institutionalized. All of you comments are ignorant. Our taxes are not high. Crawl back into your holes.

All these stupid comments "just lower their salaries". Like a snap of the fingers can do that. Hey...why not cut salaries in half? Maybe we can go hire some high school dropouts to patrol are streets-I really want those types of people showing up to my house when my family is being murdered.

I am not going back to this post-as it seems that all the "anonymous" postings are from the same person.

FYI... The "napergate man" is a criminal. I remember him from high school-we got all our booze from his store. Funny what an extra fiver will get you.

Drink up. Later.

FYI... The "napergate man" is a criminal. I remember him from high school-we got all our booze from his store. Funny what an extra fiver will get you.

====================================================================

Host Ted,
I have not written for a while but never stopped reading your blog site. I just want to come on and ask you to delete the last post as it is outright libelous. Anyone knows that!

To be a criminal, you have to be convicted. The Napergate Man was never convicted of the false allegations the city brought against him. He was actually vindicated.

The Napergate Man has been running liquor stores in town for nearly 3 decades. If an extra five will get you booze at his places of businesses for nearly 30 years, what does that truly say about our Naperville Police Dept. It would say they are extremely incompetent.

Neither is our police department extremely incompetent or the Napergate Man a criminal who sells liquor to minors for an extra five bucks.

No sense in rehashing history over and over again that has been written on this blog site, but such filthy, ruthless, and libelous comments do sometimes call for a rehashing.

1. The Napergate Man won a National Award for being the most responsible liquor retailer in the country.

2. Court records throughout the Federal, State, County and City branches all reveal he confiscated more fake IDs than all other retailers in town combined!

3. Newspaper ads of the past reveal the police report numbers of every fake ID he confiscated.

4. By coincidence all these events were taking place at the same time he was being falsely accused.

If I were you Mr. Resident I would hope the Napergate Man does not see your post and file a Freedom of Information on the Naperville Sun to track your IP number down and locate you. He obviously can take a loser like you down pretty easily and wash you to dry in the nearest laudromat. He took a city down so I would be moving out of state if I were you.

Finally, Mr. Ted, I hope you delete that post which is libelous and maintain the credibility and reputation of your successful blog site. I am assuming this one slipped by you!

It is almost as ridiculous as someone stating I can slip Editor Ted Slovick a 20 dollar bill and get an article written about me in the Sun to give me my 15 minutes of fame.

This Resident is a little on the loose side. Imagine he wants people who demand a reduction in taxes institutionalized! I hope the Napergate Man takes his home away from him and makes him homeless!

Ten million here... ten million there... Guess what city council? Pretty soon we will actually be talking real money, real tax dollars. Yes, real money that we actually won't have.

Enough of the wasteful spending. Now is the time to start trimming ALL of the fat out of the city budget once and for all. Let's start by eliminating all overtime pay. Let's follow that up by demanding and requiring a full, honest work week out of every single city employee. City employees need to start delivering more during their regular work week or face layoffs with the budget and revenue where it is. If you and they do not understand this fact clearly then the taxpayers need to band together and replace some city employees, some city managers, and some city council members and replace them with those who do. In these economic times we will be able to replace every single person person with some equally or better qualified for less money. That is reality. Believe it.

This budget crisis is fixable. The first step is having the right people care enough about making the right cuts, at the right time, in the right places BEFORE we are broke. Yes, it will be tough and painful but sticking your heads in the sand will not solve anything and the longer the city council delays action the worse it will become.

Is this really the best vacancy announcement and job description the consultant we hired could do to advertise for a new city manager???? Nice to know the salary level is "open". Once again the frugality of our city council is no where to be seen.

City Manager

The Mayor and City Council of the City of Naperville seek an experienced, innovative City Manager to help them lead this award winning, vibrant community of active and civic minded citizens. Named #3 in “Best Places to Live” in 2008 by Money Magazine, the City of Naperville is a perfect blend of charming small-town living and big-city amenities that offers its residents, families and businesses a truly unique and matchless lifestyle in Chicagoland.

Founded in 1831 and incorporated as a city in 1890, and located in the heart of Chicago’s western suburbs, the City’s 37.5 square miles straddles both DuPage and Will Counties, is rimmed by forest preserves and interwoven with branches of the DuPage River. An excellent system of interstate highways offers residents and travelers convenient access to Chicago, O’Hare International, Midway and DuPage airports, and all of Chicagoland. The City of Naperville also has three tracks belonging to the BNSF Railway that run through the north side of town, with passenger rail service provided by Metra and Amtrak. There is also some bus service to and from the main Naperville train station, as well as to other locations.

Overall, the community offers a good range of housing from modest to luxurious homes. There is an abundance of recreation and community services, and excellent schools including two award-winning school districts and several private schools, as well as a liberal arts college, local campuses of several colleges, universities, and community college. The award-winning Park District manages more than 2.300 acres of land, thousands of recreational activities and more than 23,000 acres of county forest preserve. The library system has also continued to be rated number one in the country for the last eight years. A full-service hospital is located in the heart of downtown as well as other area hospitals. The City of Naperville also offers a diverse base of commerce and industry with companies as large as Fortune 500 firms and as small as home-based businesses; and a thriving downtown, featuring the picturesque Riverwalk. The Riverwalk received first place in the Illinois Home Town Awards program and was a finalist in the national All-American Cities award competition.

Other attractions include: Naper Settlement, the Millennium Carillon, the DuPage Children’s Museum, Summer Place Theatre, the Naperville Municipal Band; Naperville Fine Art Center, and Gallery, Farmer’s Market, annual holiday parades, Naper Days, Ribfest, Last Fling, Hometown Holidays, Santa Train, and much more.

Add to this a Five-Star Accredited Chamber of Commerce (the first one in the state of Illinois) and fully accredited police, fire, museum, and emergency communications departments (the first in the world to have all four) and you can see why the residents and city government are so proud to call Naperville home. As noted, Money Magazine and others think highly of Naperville as well which is why the City has received so many prestigious awards and accolades over the years such as being named the third “Most Desirable Place to Live” in the United States, “The Most Kid-Friendly City in America,” one of the top three places to live in the United States, one of the best places to retire in America, and the number one city in the country in which to raise children.

The City of Naperville has operated under a City Council-Manager form of government since 1969 with a Mayor and eight Council Members who are elected at large to four-year staggered terms. The current Mayor is A. George Pradel. The Mayor and City Council members are responsible for establishing city policy and providing direction to the City Manager. Specific duties of the City Council include hiring the City Manager, setting the budget, approving expenditures, guiding land use, and adopting ordinances and resolutions.

The mission of the City is “Great Service – All the Time.” The Mayor and City Council are proud of the high quality and professionalism of the City staff, and also value involvement and interaction with the community. All residents of the City are encouraged to get involved in their local government and are invited to participate in the many Advisory Boards and Commissions established by the Mayor and Council as well as the regular public forums/discussion opportunities at the Council meetings. Commission members are appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the City Council.

The Mayor, City Council members and City Manager also work closely with numerous civic and community stakeholder groups such as the Naperville Development Partnership, Naperville Homeowners Confederation, Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Naperville Alliance, DuPage and Will Counties, the School Districts, Local Colleges and Universities, Rotary, similar civic clubs and organizations , and more.

The City Manager is the professional chief administrator for all city operations and is appointed by the City Council. He is responsible for executing the policies established by the Naperville City Council. More than 1,000 employees work under the City Manager to provide city services and implement Council policies.

Reporting directly to the City Manager is an Internal Auditor, Safety Manager, Executive Assistant to the City Manager, Assistant to the City Manager and an Assistant City Manager. The Community Relations Division reports to the City Manager through the Assistant City Manager as well as Directors for the Department of Public Works, Finance Department, Fire Department, Legal Department, Management Services Business Group (Business Systems, City Clerk/Records, Safety, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Telecommunications), Police Department, Public Utilities Department (Electric, Waste Water and Water), T.E.D. Business Group (Development, Engineering, Planning, Support and Transportation& Traffic Services). Reporting to the City Manager through the Assistant to the City Manager are Social Services and Grant Administration. The City has an overall 2009 operating budget of approximately $385.4 million which is an increase of about 1.5% over FY 2008. The overall Capital Improvement (CIP) budget for 2009 to 2013 is about $374.6 million of which about $97 million is scheduled for FY 2009. The City enjoys a triple A rating from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, and also received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for May 1, 2007 (17th consecutive year of Award designation).

The Mayor and City Council set City policy and look to the City Manager to execute that policy and to provide leadership to City staff to meet the goals and objectives of the Mayor and Council. The successful candidate will have strong team building, leadership, financial/budgeting, and communication and public relations skills, as well as the ability to work well with the community

Requirements include: a four-year college or university undergraduate degree with major course work in public or business administration, urban planning, finance, or a closely related field. Increasingly responsible managerial experience of which five years is preferred in a public or private agency involving responsibility for strong management and administration. Experience as a City/Town/Village Manager, Chief Executive Officer/COO, Assistant/Deputy Manager or similar high level executive management position is preferred. The ideal candidate will also have a Master's degree or experience and training that would provide the required knowledge and abilities equivalent to a Master's or other Advanced degree, and will also have high-level managerial experience in an organization of similar size to Naperville or larger. Compensation is open dependent upon experience and qualifications. Excellent benefits package. EOE

If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please submit a detailed resume as soon as possible to:

Robert L. Neher, Jr., Executive Vice President

Bennett Yarger Associates

299 Westlake Drive

West Sacramento, CA 95605

Phone:

(916) 443-2421

Fax:

(916) 443-5949

Application is preferred electronically at: rneher@bennettyarger.com or robertneher@wavecable.com

Should you have any questions with regard to your own interest, or a recommendation of a colleague, please contact us at the numbers above. Leading candidates will be reviewed with the City Council before the end of August.

An Equal Opportunity/ADA Employer

Female, minority and disabled candidates are encouraged to apply.

You bloggers have no idea what a policemans life is like. First of all, approximately 44% of a policemans salary goes towards taxes, pension contributions and insurance. How many complainers on the blog can exist on that. Most cannot afford to even live in Naperville. Is a starting salary of approx. $60,000 out of line for this area, again no. I have personally seen comprehensive studies of police salaries for all communities surrounding this area and we are right where we should be if not lower. Also, for a policeman to make $100,000, good for them. That does not even begin to compensate them or their families for the danger, stress, lack of sleep and disruption to a "normal" family lifestyle. My husband has had to work a shift on midnights which means working all night while our fine residents are asleep. He comes home, maybe sees his family, maybe not. Sleeps for a few hours if he is able to and gets up to go to mandatory court calls for several hours. Comes home, maybe sees his family, maybe not and sleeps until it is time to get up for work again and repeat the process. Don't forget about going to investigate alarm calls only to have bullets whizzing by their heads, inches away or being unsure when he makes that stop if he is going to go home that day to his family. Never mind the fact that he rarely gets to spend a holiday with his family. Being a policeman is a choice but definately not a choicethat has nearly the benefits of a 9-5 job. It is a choice that comes from the heart and soul. Most police spouses have to work as well to support the things that many of these bloggers take for granted. I would love to see these complainers about police and fireman take one week of their lives and walk in the shoes of our fine policeman and fireman. Not only would they not be able to "walk" in their shoes, they would not have the fortitude to even "stand".

A cop deserves every bit of his pension, he is counting on that to even be able to retire and it is mostly his money anyway. Remember that 44%? But don't forget, his social security will be greatly reduced because he is collecting a pension. Should city employees be able to collect a pension and a salary. Why not, if they are doing two seperate jobs they should expect to be able to. Would the blogger who stated they should not, work for free just because he retired from a job and started a new career.

Policeman and their families are the ones who take the toll for all of your complaints and for keeping you safe while you are on your computer blogging, not concerned with the robber trying to break in down the street or the person who is DWI or the gun that may or may not be drawn while serving a search warrent (Chicago policman just killed). Are you so blind as to not think these things don't go on in Naperville, wake up, you just don't know about them because the fine policeman potentially put their life on the line and you didn't even know about it. Do you attend your kids functions? Policeman don't have the ability to reschedule a meeting or take an early train home to make it. In fact, they may have just pulled over the car next to you with a drunk driver that could have injured or killed you. They may have been 1/2 hour towards the end of their shift but they need to stay to process the offender in order to keep you safe. Maybe we should just let the person go on their way and put you at risk because they should not have overtime. Policemen have to go to work for 40 hours of on duty tiem or face penalties or suspension, unless utilizing a short supply of vacation or personal time. If they are over the 40 hours and need to make an arrest or go to court should they just not go or work for free for something that is mandatory and they again will be penalized if they do not go? So next time you complain about the salaries, think again. Instead of complaining, stop an officer on the street and say "thank you" for the sacrifices they are making for you and your family.

To the policemen's wife. Everyone pays at least 44% taxes. If you make more than $100,000, at least 50% goes for taxes.

Being a policeman in Naperville is one step up from Barney Fife. Our policemen should be sent to Chicago for six month tours. They really get shot at there. A tour in Bhagdad might be better. And the Chicago police make 20% less.

Solve the financial problem. Lay off at least 10% of the police and firemen. Cut one fireman off a truck. Expand the police districts.

TOO MUCH WHINING!!!!!!!!

Policeman's Wife,

Just a few points:

1. There is only one tax system in our country. A police officer making 60k does not cough up 44% of his salary to taxes. Yes, they pay 9% for pension instead of 7% for Social Security but that would never bring the number you refer to up to 44%. Let us not be putting salt and pepper on your tears.

2. We are not talking about Chicago Police who do get killed on duty annually and who do have bullets razing by them on alarm calls. No police officer in the history of Naperville has ever been shot and killed. No police officer has been shot at during an alarm call. What good does it do to fabricate the truth?

3. Police officers do not work all holidays. They work some. Doctors, nurses, cabbies, pilots, retailers and many others also work some holidays. 7-Elevens are open 24/7/365 and the owners have no holiday.

4. I would like to see your husband work on a General Motors Assembly line for one week. My husband is 45 and looks 65 from the wear and tear on his body. He would love to walk up and down the Last Fling, Rib Fest, Riverwalk or drive around most of the day instead of doing factory work. His company is on the verge of collapse and he is always hoping he will be employed for two more weeks with another check coming. You are fortunate to be thinking of your pension retirement check at taxpayer expense when no one else is getting pensions anymore. I doubt my husband will get the traditional watch at age 65. Your husband, I understand can retire at 51 with no wear and tear on his body compared to factory workers.

5. We pay your husband way above surrounding suburbs. We compensate him well for his duties. Do you expect us to pay him for doing nothing! Common lady!

I don't understand what you are complaining about. I also have to work to support my family. I can tell you that your husband's starting salary is more than my husband's after 20 years on the job. And my husband has been injured on the job several times. How many times has your husband been injured on the job?

Let me guess....never!!!!

To "A policeman's wife": You are right on target with policeman's lives.

To "Tired of Whiners": Looks like you are the one whining. I guess you should have picked another career. Stop blogging and go back to counting your beans.

"Kimberly": You are ignorant. The average police officer dies 5 years after retirement. There is a reason that police have shorter lifespans than everybody else.... STRESS. It gets old after a while by seeing murdered babies-rape victims-gangbanger's complaints-teenagers with bullets stuck in their heads.. Yes-I have seen it all.-I will never be the same.

Until you have stepped into the shoes.....

To get on the Naperville police department you are required to have a bachelors degree. Should we rip into everyone else that has a bachelors degree and say that they probably make too much money and don't work very hard? I don't think this would be fair but most people who post on here don't seem to be very fair in their assessment of what it takes to be a public servant. Wait until you need them to save your life--MAYBE then you'll appreciate what they do.If you think that being a police or fireman doesn't take a toll on your body,think again. The firefighter gear and scuba tank that they must wear on fire calls weighs about 70#.They have to kneel in the street to attend to accident victims and during fires. Try carrying some of the stuff they do and see what you think then! Our police officers have to wear a bullet proof vest along with their firearm,etc.

Why don't you stop by your local fire station or better yet go to the open house this Saturday at Fire Headquarters on Aurora Avenue? Or sign up for the Citizen Academys(Police, Fire or City) and take a walk in their shoes OR stop complaining about something you know nothing to very little about. If you choose the Police Academy,you will be able to sit in the 911 center and hear all the calls you would be shocked to know that our public servants go out on...not Barney Fife types at all. This is not Utopia. A lot of bad stuff happens here that most are very unaware of. GET EDUCATED NAPERVILLIANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Anonymous----When do YOU work? It seems that you post on here at many different times during the day on weekdays. Are you doing this on company time??? GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You are on here ranting about city employees not working hard enough but maybe.....you're thinking of yourself??? Many times you have posted and I wonder......why aren't YOU busy working?????? Maybe you waste your employeers money so you assume every city employee does the same....JUST WONDERING....

Naperville is lying about the true total cost of the current deficit situation. Truth be known the deficit will actually be somewhere between $20 and $30 million. No one is really sure because every week the forecast gets worse. No one is really sure how far in the hole the deficit will end up.

The past few entries has been a lot of chest beating from both sides about cops and firefighters. Fact is this is nothing but a waste of time. Nothing is going to be decided with this line of thought and no one is going to change their opinion. Rather than fighting a war of words that really isn't worth fighting we would all be better off to focus on the real issue facing us... the city deficit.

The city is way past the point where it could have trimmed some fat to hold back this situation, now the reality is that layoffs and other deep cuts will start happening some time later this fall.

We are soon going to witness first hand how all of the lack of fiscal frugalness we should have been using for the last 20 years during good years is going to come back and haunt us during difficult times.

The issue that city employees need to wake up and recognize is that there will be no pay raises. There will be no overtime. City employees will have to contribute more towards health care and other benefits or risk losing them. There will be no new hires for a long, long time. There will be a hiring freeze. There will be additional attrition thru retirement, those who switch employers, those who get fired, and those who get laid off. Those who remain employed by the city will have no choice but to work harder.

The other shoe hasn't dropped yet. Why? The city council is holding out hope to keep the deficit situation quiet until after the fall election. Once the election is over this is going to be the mainline news event around town for many months to come.

Fact is everyone better be really careful about who they vote for in the coming election. For the foreseeable future we need city council members who understand accounting, finance, budgets, negotiations, and a few other critical skills that are going to be essential to see us weather these tough economic times. Never before have we had a greater need for some really tough, hard-nosed city council members that are willing to roll up their sleeves and righten the sinking ship we call city hall.

Part of rightening this sinking ship the city council needs to address the size and cost of city administration. We simply have way too many administrators, way too many supervisors and managers. City administration cost needs to be cut to at least one half of what we currently are spending. For twenty years we have watched the bureaucrats in city hall build their little kingdoms of personal power. We don't need these fiefdoms and really never did. Now reality is that we can no longer afford these fiefdoms. We need a bare bones administration who knows how to motivate and empower all the highly qualified employees we have long been paying above market compensation. For the extra compensation they are getting compared to neighboring cities; is it too much to expect a little self direction and discipline to go along with some hard work? Those city employees who can not or will not work in a self directed environment need to have their employment opportunities expanded. It is as simple as that. Let's not forget that for every city employee that gets sacked there are at least 200 hundred eager, better qualified candidates ready to fill their job.

Trying to educate,

I can't speak for all of the other Anonymous who post of course. For me, as this Anonymous; I work for myself. I set my own hours and I answer to no one.

Am I doing this on "company time"? Absolutely! Since it's my business I get to give myself permission to do that. Plus there isn't a single city of Naperville employee who puts in anywhere near the number of days or hours I do in any given week.

Not that any of this really is any of your business. Just your asking a bunch of snotty questions that inferred a bunch of rubbish needed to be set straight.

Instead of focusing on my work hours which isn't anyone's business but mine, maybe you would like to discuss how many thousands of man hours the Naperville Police Department squanders every year? I say squandered because I know dozens of hiding places where anyone can find police officers in patrol cars in very out-of-the-way locations that sit for hours, never moving, never patrolling, never arresting anyone, never investigating anything. Just sitting. Doing nothing. Morning, noon, and night. Maybe you would like to discuss how many "breaks" and "lunch hours" Naperville Police officers take when they get bored of sitting for hours in their hiding places? Maybe you would like to discuss how long these "breaks" and "lunch hours" last? Maybe you would like to discuss where these "breaks" and "lunch hours" actually take place?

Maybe you would like to discuss why there are never any Naperville Police cars on patrol on major roads thru Naperville during the morning or evening rush hour? Maybe you would like to discuss why the Naperville Police Department does not have any presence or visibility in or around any of the worst intersections for traffic accidents? Maybe you would like to discuss why other motorists run stop signs and red lights right in front of Naperville patrol cars and they don't do anything? Maybe you would like to discuss the fact that the prevailing speed on just about every major street is at least 20 miles over the posted speed limit and no one worries about getting a speeding ticket because there aren't any patrol cars around and there rarely are any speed traps? Maybe you would like to discuss the example Naperville patrol cars set by rolling thru stop signs and right turns on red?

Maybe you would like to discuss the real, actual crime rate in Naperville? Maybe you would like to discuss why a medical emergency call frequently results in 4-5 police cars 2-3 fire trucks and 1-2 ambulances showing up at a residence? Maybe you would like to discuss what this over response by
all of these police and fire who obviously have nothing better to do is costing taxpayers year after year to support? Maybe you would like to discuss the fact that we could cut the Naperville police department sworn officer head count by 50 percent and not see a single uptick in violent crime?

When you get tired of discussing these points, let me know. I have at least another hundred we can move on to discuss next. And when you grow bored of discussing the police department, let me know that too. We can discuss any department in city hall you desire. The waste and corruption exists everywhere. It permeates the very fabric and culture of the entire city organization. And since I pay hefty personal and business taxes that are helping to subsidize all this waste and corruption I get to voice my opinion and displeasure.

Anyone who thinks the Democrats in Springfield have a corner on political corruption need to come visit DuPage County and Naperville. There is plenty of political corruption that exists here too and the Democrats sure don't have a corner on the corruption market. Quite a few of our local "good old boys" have figured it out too.

The Last Anonymous and Another Anonymous,

Are either of you by any chance the Napergate Man?

If not, do either of you know what happened to him?

Just curious!

Both you guys seem very brilliant and on top of inner workings of the town just like the Napergate Man.

Hey Anonymous----When do YOU work? It seems that you post on here at many different times during the day on weekdays. Are you doing this on company time??? GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You are on here ranting about city employees not working hard enough but maybe.....you're thinking of yourself??? Many times you have posted and I wonder......why aren't YOU busy working?????? Maybe you waste your employeers money so you assume every city employee does the same....JUST WONDERING....

This was meant for the Anonymous person who constantly posts and has a Fortune 500 job in downtown Chicago. Maybe it would help if people use different "names" to avoid confusion and hurt feelings.

Dear trying to educate,

Well since you are trying to get an education... let me clue you in on this one.

It isn't Anonymous who has a Fortune 500 job in downtown Chicago. I believe the person to whom you refer goes by the name "Another Anonymous". Honestly, I have to wonder about how you spend your time if you are going around keeping track of what days and times other people post. Even if someone is posting during work time it really isn't any of your business anyway. It is, if anything, a private matter between the poster and their employer.

But does any of us really care who posts, when they post, or how much they post? Pretty silly if you ask me. Instead of discussing and focusing on the issue at hand all silly stuff like this does is tend to take the thread off on an unrelated tangent.

Idea #12 is nice, but 75th street isn't a city street, it's DuPage County's.

"Maybe you would like to discuss why there are never any Naperville Police cars on patrol on major roads thru Naperville during the morning or evening rush hour?"

Oh, I got a ticket during the evening rush on Washington St. approaching 75th street. They're out there, believe you me. I've got the ticket to prove it.

To Anonymous 9/30/08 11:23pm.

"I say squandered because I know dozens of hiding places where anyone can find police officers in patrol cars in very out-of-the-way locations that sit for hours, never moving, never patrolling, never arresting anyone, never investigating anything. Just sitting. Doing nothing. Morning, noon, and night." LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Maybe you would like to discuss how many "breaks" and "lunch hours" Naperville Police officers take when they get bored of sitting for hours in their hiding places? Maybe you would like to discuss how long these "breaks" and "lunch hours" last? Maybe you would like to discuss where these "breaks" and "lunch hours" actually take place? THEY GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AS ANYONE ELSE WHO WORKS 8 HOURS. YOUR BREAK TIME IS REGULATED BY FEDERAL LAW. COPS LOG ONTO THEIR BREAK ELECTRONICALLY SO THEY AREN'T DSIPATCHED TO MINOR CALLS DURING THE BREAK TIME. THE ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE IF YOU WANT TO SEE THEM. YOU CAN ALSO SEE WHEN THEY ARE DISPATCHED TO CALLS, WHEN THEY ARRIVE ON THE SCENE, AND WHEN THEY LEAVE THE SCENE. ALL ELECTRONICALLY RECORDED.

"Maybe you would like to discuss the real, actual crime rate in Naperville?" HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? SHOW US YOUR INFORMATION. DON'T INFER THERE IS A LOWER CRIME RATE TNAN THE PUBLIC IS LED TO BELIEVE UNLESS YOU HAVE FACTS!

"Maybe you would like to discuss why a medical emergency call frequently results in 4-5 police cars 2-3 fire trucks and 1-2 ambulances showing up at a residence?" LIAR! THE RESPONSE CARDS FOR ALL EMERGENCY RESPONSES ARE SETUP FOR THE SEVERITY OF THE INCIDENT. THERE ARE NO CARDS WITH THE VEHICLES YOU DESCRIBE. THE SEVEREST EMS CALL WOULD GET ONE ENGINE AND ONE AMBULANCE. COPS DON'T EVEN RESPOND TO MOST EMS CALLS AND WHEN THEY DO THERE IS USUALLY ONLY ONE OR TWO OFFICERS.

"When you get tired of discussing these points, let me know. I have at least another hundred we can move on to discuss next. And when you grow bored of discussing the police department, let me know that too. We can discuss any department in city hall you desire."

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What we need is some retired couple to start following some Naperville cops around town with a video camera and start documenting what they actually do during the day. That would be hilarious.

Not only would it be hilarious, it would be very enlightening. Better yet if one of the TV channels did a "special investigation". Kind of like they do every now and then in Chicago like showing street workers loafing around while supposedly on the clock.

No one would probably be more shocked than the Chief of Police and the rest of the command staff. They are obviously so full of themselves being such important people that they can't be bothered with basic management concepts such "managing by walking around". They clearly have no clue where the patrol officers are half the time or what they are doing with their time.

Sad truth is that the thousands of squandered man hours are so blatantly obvious. All you have to do is open your eyes and look. If someone like me can stumble upon all of these hiding places and see all of these cops loafing around, then so can anyone else. Let me give you one clue. Graveyard shift. While all the hardworking taxpayers of Naperville are asleep getting rest for their next work day and none of them have a clue what any city workers who are on duty are doing late at night and during the very early hours of morning.

The electronic system referred to above for logging in and out for lunch and breaks still requires someone to honestly log in and out properly. There are plenty of examples of officers taking 2-3 hours for meals. And I'm not talking about an occasional situation either. I'm talking about systemic abuse throughout the entire police department. Obviously there is something wrong if everyone is relying on the electronic system to know what these officers are doing or where they are supposed to be.

Anonymous:

"Sad truth is that the thousands of squandered man hours are so blatantly obvious. All you have to do is open your eyes and look. If someone like me can stumble upon all of these hiding places and see all of these cops loafing around, then so can anyone else. Let me give you one clue. Graveyard shift. While all the hardworking taxpayers of Naperville are asleep getting rest for their next work day and none of them have a clue what any city workers who are on duty are doing late at night and during the very early hours of morning."

So, what's keeping you from naming a few of these hiding places?

Obviously I could name a few or even all of the hiding places of which I am aware. Of course in a city the geographic size of Naperville I am pretty sure that I don't know all of the hiding places, probably not even close. More would be accomplished in the long run by asking all citizens to keep their eyes and ears open when they are out and about anyway. Let's not forget that police officers, first and foremost, are civil servants and all civil servants are ultimately responsible to the citizens.

The result of naming a few hiding places would simply move the patrol officers out of these spots, for a while at least, and on to other hiding spots. Better to keep the patrol officers guessing which hiding spots have been identified than to play a game of hide and seek. The more time these officers spend looking over their shoulder the less time they will be able to spend loafing around.

If I was ever inclined to disclose the hiding places of which I am aware; I would most likely only do so to a reporter from a major Chicago TV station. I've been watching officers hide out in these spots for years. They obviously must pass word about them to one another because a variety of different officers routinely use the same spots. However, my goal isn't to embarrass the city, rather to give it the opportunity to police (no pun intended) itself. In the days and weeks and months ahead we will see what the "powers to be" do with this information and this opportunity.

If nothing changes the Channel 7 I-team is always a phone call away from a special report.

Anonymous wrote:

"The result of naming a few hiding places would simply move the patrol officers out of these spots, for a while at least, and on to other hiding spots. Better to keep the patrol officers guessing which hiding spots have been identified than to play a game of hide and seek. The more time these officers spend looking over their shoulder the less time they will be able to spend loafing around."

Why would they be looking over their shoulders if you're not going to expose them?

"If nothing changes the Channel 7 I-team is always a phone call away from a special report."

So what is stopping you from making that call?

"However, my goal isn't to embarrass the city, rather to give it the opportunity to police (no pun intended) itself."

High salaries and benefits for municipal employees will bankrput one municipality after another across this whole country for years to come. People who work for local governments, including police, fire, trash collectors and many many others, have absolutely no idea what a good gig they have moving into the type of economic environment that will pervade this country in the coming decades. I live in Chicago, not Naperville, but the issues are all the same. Garbage collectors in Chicago make 60k per year. There will be a major backlash and revolt coming nation wide about the ridiculous amounts of money on city payrolls for doing jobs a fifteen year old kid could perform. I know people out of work that would do it for half that.

In reference to the replies by Kimberly and Tire of Whiners. Policemen not only pay into pension but also Social Security. I have seen the pay stubs and done the math. Not that hard. Also, my husband suffered a life threatening injury on duty (while protecting affluent families I might add)and is now permantly disabled so don't whine about your husband. There are many events that residents don't even know about so don't preach to me about it not being a dangerous job. Do you think all criminals from Chicago stay in Chicago? Do you think they might travel to hmmm, let's say Aurora? Do you know any police officers who have been seriously hurt by gangs in Aurora, I do.

Kimberly, have you ever seen a small elementary school childs head whith his brains spread all over the street after he was run over and killed by his school bus in front of his own home? My husband has. Has your husband ever found a dead, blue and frozen baby under a car seat? My husband has. Has your husband ever responded to a armed robbery call at a gas station while the offender had a gun taped up under his hood? My husband has. Has your husband suffered a heart attack at his job because he was protecting your family? My husband has. Has your husband ever had to open a car door of a horrific accident while trying to save a life only to have skin and body parts fall out? My husband has. Kimberly, have you ever been to the scene of a motorcycle accident, picked up the victims helmet only to find his head still in there rather than on his body? Guess what, my husband has. So tell me dear Kimberly how does that even compare to working at GM. No comparison, police work is much more difficult.

Kimberly, how do you know what happens on alarm calls? Do you work for the PD as a COP or do you do a ride along with every officer on duty everyday of the year? Your lack of knowledge is leading to your ignorance.

To "Tire of Whiners" Barney Fife, please my husband did serve in the Army, did you? He saw active duty, did you? I personally make well over $100,000 a year, not including my husbands salary. I am well educated and work hard. Do I think my job compares to my husbands, no. He should be compensated a lot higher than I am. I have never had to pay 50% in taxes. Maybe you need a better accountant.

Naperville Police are not the hightest paid in the area, I have seen the actual surveys conducted by a local police department independent of Naperville. Also, Kimberly, perhaps if your husband received his degree from a four year university like my husband and I did, and his Master's degree, like my husband did he would make more money instead of being a factory worker.

FYI, I never stated that my husband works for Naperville PD. He works for a much more affluent community within 15 miles from Naperville and has experienced bullets flying by on an alarm call. Yes, this community puts Naperville's per capita income to shame and the housing as well. Naperville is much more dangerous than this community.

My purpose in blogging is to address the common misunderstanding and ignorance against policemen and firemen so that people stop, take a moment to realize just what our policemen sacrifice. There is a new show on the Biography channel about the Naperville Police Women. Watch it, you might be surprised.

Kimberly, your example of those who also work holidays is silly. Do you think doctors and nurses make more than the police? I am quite sure they do. Also, do you really think those who own the 7-11's celebrate the same holidays as those that are celebrated as United States of America National holidays? Please.

In conclusion, I certainly hope if the City takes any of the suggestions to make cuts as described in the above blogs, that the above bloggers are the ones who have to wait an extra amount of time while they have a police or fire emergency and suffer a consequence for their ignorence. Maybe the 10% of policemen that got cut fromt the budget would have been the ones to respond. Oops, sorry I would have responded to your emergency but I got cut so I am not here to help you when you have a crisis. Let me guess, they would be the very first ones to complain.

Policeman's Wife,

What hasn't your husband done!

Maybe it is time for him to run for President of the USA!

I think Kimberly was right on the money.

You would not have to be so defensive if you did not feel so guilty.

I doubt your husband is half the man you describe. Enjoy him!

I am willing to take a chance and live without him! I will SURVIVE!

Will you survive without his paycheck and his pension???

Dear Coward aka Another Anonymous,

Your blog was great because it brought a big laugh to my householed, thank you. What on earth could I possibly have to defensive of. I know how pensions work in the police departments, obviously you do not.

Yes, my husband has accomplished and has experienced many things, jealous-lol. It sure seems like I ruffled your feathers-lol. I (myself) make well over $100,000 per year and work hard. The largest portion of a policemans pension has been deducted from his own paycheck and is his own monetary contribution not from where they work or taxpayers. Not like a matching 401K. I am not defensive at all just highly critical of moronic complainers like you and Kimberly who have no appreciation for anyone except yourselve let alone those who protect and serve you. You really are treating them as "servents" or someone who is beneath you. Amazing, the truly affluent people where I grew up and my husband served are not as critical and unappreciative as the cowardly anonymous complainers posting in this blog.

For your information, I live in a wonderful newer subdivision in the southern part of Naperville and afford it very nicely (well within our means) and no, you are not paying for it, I am, from my own income. We have no debt with the exception of a small mortgage. Do I feel guilty-not at all we have worked hard for everything we have. But if it makes you feel better, when I find a penny on the ground I will think of you because that is approximately all you contribute to the policemens salary/pension over a several year period of time, you poor deprived taxpayer. I bet I pay more in real estate taxes than you do.

You have not walked in a policemans shoes is my entire point and cannot judge what police and firemen see on a daily basis. You and Kimberly obviously completely missed the point and have taken things entirely out of context. You are laughingly attempting to strike out when you don't have a clue as to what you are speaking of. Perhaps you should brush up on the subject matter before you log on to your computer. It is unfortunate that police and firemen risk and incur life long and life changing injuries thinking of saving and protecting citizens first and foremost. Gee, I really (cough, laugh) hope you are safe when that 10% of our police force is let go. I am sure you will not be missed.

Fyi, when another child is run over by a bus, I think you should be called to pick up his brains and guts like my husband had to.

By A Policemans Wife on October 11, 2008 12:11 AM
Dear Coward aka Another Anonymous,

The largest portion of a policemans pension has been deducted from his own paycheck and is his own monetary contribution not from where they work or taxpayers. Not like a matching 401K. I am not defensive at all just highly critical of moronic complainers like you and Kimberly who have no appreciation for anyone except yourselve let alone those who protect and serve you.

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Ms. Policeman's Wife,

If you want to have any credibility, you need to be honest, truthful and credible. Your above statement as well as most of what you say is patently false.

Your police officer husband conrtibutes roughly 9.91% of his salary to his pension fund. The taxpayers contribute twice that much or roughly 19.82% or something very close to that figure as reported by Councilman Bob on this blog site directly. The taxpayers contribute 21.16% for the fire officers while they only contribute 9.46%.

If you could be so wrong on black and white figures how could anyone believe a word you say.

For a lady who makes well over a 100k, you can not even understand your husband's paycheck, how his pension works or how much the taxpayers contribute to his retirement.

Well, I feel sorry for that employer paying you well over a 100k a year. I would not even hire you for that penny you found on the ground.

And I challenge you to name the child that your husband "picked his brain and guts after a school bus ran him over." I read the news daily and have not heard of any child who had his brains and guts thrown on the street after being railroaded by a school bus. Let us be factual.

Earn respect by being truthful. Save your deep emotion for your household! Keep your brain and guts in place when writing on this blog site!

Thank you, maam!!!

And may God Bless you and your household.

Do you not know how to read? I have repeatedly stated that my husband did not work for Naperville PD. So please tell me how I am not credible, truthful and honest? Again, HE DID NOT WORK FOR NAPERVILLE P.D. Got it this time? Once more just to make sure. HE DID NOT WORK FOR NAPERVILLE P.D.

Mr./Ms. Factual person (not), how precisely do you know what my husband contributes to his pension and what the Village he worked in contributed to his pension? You must be pretty naive to think that what is applicable in Naperville applies to other villages/cities as well. You are SOOOO smart-lol.

Perhaps you can go back about 16 years in a community closer to the city in your paper trail, this boys death was all over the papers at that point. I am sure, since you are SO well read that you must remember. Contact the Chicago Tribune, Suntimes, etc. if their words are not too big for you they reported on this story. The boy was killed in front of his own home. The bus driver did not see him when the boy got off of the bus and ran in front slipping under the front wheel and was strewn all over the street. Why would you imply that I am not factual or making this up. It would serve no purpose. Your reply is inappropriate and not at all applicable to the context of my blog. I am 100% truthful, too bad you can't stand the truth.

YOU are obviously someone I would not choose to work for since you are so short sited. Honestly, you cannot ascertain written facts in black and white. You take items out of context entirely, missing the entire point. It is simpletons like you who perpetuate the common misnomers about police. It is really simple, respect the officers and firemen they deserve it. Got the point now? Duh?

One more time so you can get it. MY HUSBAND DID NOT WORK FOR NAPERVILLE P.D.

My household is very blessed but thanks anyway.

Mrs. Policeman's Wife,

If you husband is not a Naperville Police officer why are you so interested in our internal dispute that regards Napervillians?

Why don't you write on your village's blog site?

I have nothing against your husband if he subdizes his own pension. I only wish our Naperville Police and Firemen would subsidize their own pensions as your husband does.

We have been talking specifically about Naperville Police and Firemen on this blog site. Not Oswego, Hinsdale, or Yorkville. Only Naperville!!!

I never said your husband was overpaid or that his pension was not justified. I said the Naperville Public safey officials are overpaid.

The problem is specific to Naperville. It has nothing to do with police or their performance. Strictly pay!

So please address your feelings to the Naperville Taxpayers having to contribute 3 times what our police and fire officers contribute to their pensions.

Please explain and justify why a New York Police Officer makes 35k a year while a Naperville Police Officer makes 60k a year....

Let us see how sharp of a cookie you are!!!

Once Again, you have failed to read and/or comprehend what I have written. I live in Naperville and have for over 20 years. I pay a high rate of property tax. Do I have an issue with what our firemen and policemen make or what is contributed to their pension? Not at all, they deserve every bit and more. I rather pay to them instead of the hefty amount that goes to our schools which is mismanaged and very top heavy.

As far as New York officers, do your homework, I did. See below:

After years of bitter wrangling that saw starting pay for new officers fall to as low as $25,100 a year, the city and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association on Aug. 21, 2008 reached agreement on a new four-year contract.[11]

The contract, which runs from August 1, 2006 to July 31, 2010, gives police officers a 17 percent pay raise over its four-year life, and raises starting pay from $35,881 to $41,975, and top pay from $65,382 to approximately $76,000 annually. With longevity pay, holiday pay, night shift differential and other additions, the total annual compensation for officers receiving top pay will be approximately $91,823, not including overtime. It should also be noted that this is the first contract since 1994 the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the City of New York mutually agreed on without involving a mediator.[12][13]

Sources: ^ "Deal Raises Officers’ Pay 4% a Year", New York Times (August 22, 2008).
^ NYPD Officers Get 17 Percent Raises over Four Years

Now, if we did not pay our officers the range they are deserving of and being paid. They would move to other higher paying suburbs and we would be left with inexperienced officers. My examples using my husband are merely to demonstrate what a policeman goes through during his/her job performance that the public does not realize. Instead of wanting to take away from the protection services of Naperville, why don't you insist the scumbag Furstenau be centured and removed from the board. The money Naperville has to spend defending his lawsuit would go along way for our City instead of wanting to cut 10% of the force or have them take a reduction in pay. Let the hard working men and women of Naperville police and fire have their salaries. Take it out where it should be.

Once Again, you have failed to read and/or comprehend what I have written. I live in Naperville and have for over 20 years. I pay a high rate of property tax. Do I have an issue with what our firemen and policemen make or what is contributed to their pension? Not at all, they deserve every bit and more. I rather pay to them instead of the hefty amount that goes to our schools which is mismanaged and very top heavy.

As far as New York officers, do your homework, I did. See below:

After years of bitter wrangling that saw starting pay for new officers fall to as low as $25,100 a year, the city and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association on Aug. 21, 2008 reached agreement on a new four-year contract.[11]

The contract, which runs from August 1, 2006 to July 31, 2010, gives police officers a 17 percent pay raise over its four-year life, and raises starting pay from $35,881 to $41,975, and top pay from $65,382 to approximately $76,000 annually. With longevity pay, holiday pay, night shift differential and other additions, the total annual compensation for officers receiving top pay will be approximately $91,823, not including overtime. It should also be noted that this is the first contract since 1994 the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the City of New York mutually agreed on without involving a mediator.[12][13]

Sources: ^ "Deal Raises Officers’ Pay 4% a Year", New York Times (August 22, 2008).
^ NYPD Officers Get 17 Percent Raises over Four Years

Now, if we did not pay our officers the range they are deserving of and being paid. They would move to other higher paying suburbs and we would be left with inexperienced officers. My examples using my husband are merely to demonstrate what a policeman goes through during his/her job performance that the public does not realize. Instead of wanting to take away from the protection services of Naperville, why don't you insist the scumbag Furstenau be centured and removed from the board. The money Naperville has to spend defending his lawsuit would go along way for our City instead of wanting to cut 10% of the force or have them take a reduction in pay. Let the hard working men and women of Naperville police and fire have their salaries. Take it out where it should be.

Dear Policeman's Wife,

I do not lack reading comprehension. I beleive you do. Also the employer who thinks your are worth more than a 100k may lack some comprehension skills.

Thanks for making my point that Naperville Police Officers are very overpaid compared to New York Police Officers. Cost of living is higher in New York and risk to limb and life is also much higher in New York. I do not need to remind you of the large number of brave New York Police and Fireman who lost their lives during 911.

Starting pay for a New York Police Officer at $35,881 is ridiculously low when compared to the cushy Naperville Officers who start a few bucks shy of 60k. By the time a New York Police Officer reaches a starting pay of 41,975 in 2010, the Naperville Police Officer would be approaching 70k in starting salary with a 75% pension of his final salary.

Interesting that top pay for a NYP officer will be 76,000 in the year 2010. Our NPD retirees, like the City Manager who is a former NPD cop, are making 85,000 in police pensions. Mr. Marshall was making 113,000 three years ago before he retired when NYPD were only allowed to make half of what he made as final pay.

Anyway the point I was trying to make is NPD officers make more than there companions across the country. Blogger Diana revealed that to us. You confirmed it! Thank You!

Let us stop picking on my comprehension. You seem to be a space cadet of sorts. Like I said, I can't understand how someone decided you were worth a 100k annually. His or her bearings had to be very loose to have offered you that much.

Anyway, like I said God Bless you and your family.

I have nothing against police officers. They are very important for a civilized society. Most are good! Some like your husband are great!

What I am complaining about is hefty salaries paid to NPD officers. As you may or may not know we pay this Marshall guy 85k to be retired and he does another job in our city for an additional 150k. He is killing the taxpayers in a recession soon to possibly be depression. He seems to care less!

Most of us are on tight budgets these days and do not want to overpay our public employees. Not in these times of home foreclosures and business collapses.

Please be aware that no NPD officer has even been shot and killed while on duty in the 178 years since Naperville was established. We had on cop die as a result of an accident while chasing a robber on his motorcycle in 1929.

I have called on the NPD to remove motorcycles from the department many times but they refuse. They even bought 2 new ones a few years ago despite my objections. I think the NPD is unjustifiably endangering our police officers when they require them to perform a high speed chase on a motor bike to apprehend a robber.

Maybe you can write a letter to Chief David Dial asking him to outlaw high speed chases using dangerous motorcycles if you truly care about the NPD officers as you care about your husband. We did not learn a thing from 1929. Sadly, the police officer at the time was the Chief of Police. You would think this would resonate with our current police chief. It unfortunately appears not to have resonated!!!

Another Anonymous on October 13, 2008 9:40 PM
We had on cop die as a result of an accident while chasing a robber on his motorcycle in 1929.

I have called on the NPD to remove motorcycles from the department many times but they refuse. They even bought 2 new ones a few years ago despite my objections. I think the NPD is unjustifiably endangering our police officers when they require them to perform a high speed chase on a motor bike to apprehend a robber.

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Hi AA. I agree with your assessments and can't figure out the reasoning for such a disparity between Naperville police salaries and those of the NYPD.

I'm not sure I agree that getting rid of motorcycle police is justified. Are you saying that because one officer died in 1929 that they should be banned now? I'm also not sure how many high speed chases the motorcycle cop would be in - I would bet that they quickly call for backup. Given the fact that motorcycles cost less than sedans, and the gas is cheaper I would say it is a good use of resource?

Not trying to start an argument, I just wasn't sure I agreed with your final point.

AA,

Wow, do we agree on something? I believe you are correct in having high speed chases outlawed. If they do not already have an ordinance in place they should. Too may innocent people get hurt or are at risk. Do I agree the motorcycle patrols are necessary yes, they are but not for a high speed chase. Actually, the motorcycle companies make deals to different police departments.

My whole point is not to argue about small nuances but rather to say the police do a job that most people cannot even comprehend in miserable weather, midnight shifts, etc.

An airhead, that is the first time in my life that I have been called that-lol. I will bring that up at my Mensa meeting next month. My employer, very happy with my job performance for this Fortune 100 company.

AA, take care and bless you. I hope you make it through these tough times.

PW,

I am glad we agree on something!

I hope you agree paying NYPD officers 25,100 while giving NPD officers nearly 60k is a little unfair.

You have never addressed this huge disparity.

If you want my opinion I think NYPD officers have been severely underpaid while NPD officers have been severely overpaid.

The black and white numbers support my simple conclusions.

Yes, we are all hoping we can make it though these rough times. I hope the city of Naperville watches expenses to help us make it through these rough times.

I am sure you would object to any pay cuts or reductions for pension payouts for police or fire officers in our city who are paid near the top if not tops in the nation.

Keep in mind sometimes not giving a little back at the right time leads to bankruptcy. If I was a police officer I would rather have a 50% pension than insist on a 75% pension only to see my town go bankrupt.

Naperville faces 2 choices. Raising taxes exponentially year after year until the residents say enough is enough or declaring bankrupty and getting out of these police and fire union contracts that were negotiated by incompetent former Naperville Officials under massive union pressure!

I am glad you live in a very wealthy town that would put Naperville to shame and can afford to pay your husband whatever he desires. I am sure he is making a 100k as you are making a 100k. More power to both of you! Best of luck to both of you!

Here in Naperville we have limited wealth and a lot of high interest loans that were used to buy these McMansions and McMercedes that led to the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. Even our public officials were trading in trucks with only 54,000 miles thinking money grew on trees. We need some relief from higher taxes. In your town, you seem to need no relief.

Please understand not everyone is as rich as you, your husband and your town. That is why I feel you belong on a different blog site where you can relate to your UPPER CLASS STATUS!

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Do you have any clue what kind of a pension a NYPD Officer receives upon retirement. What percent of his final salary? How many years before he or she is vested for full pension benefits. If you know thanks for your answer in advance! You seemed to have done some good research, thus I thought I would ask since you may possess the answer.

AA,

One of the bitter rubs that we have to deal with in comparing police salaries is this...

A New York police officer is a blue collar job, requires a high school diploma or a GED, and actually tolerates applicants with prior arrest records for minor crimes and a history of "soft" drug use.

A Naperville police officer is treated like a professional, requires a college degree, and has to pass a background investigation.

Part of the logic years ago to change the job description to require a college degree was to raise the level of the job from blue collar to the professional level. Part of the idea was that would raise the bar on the quality of the candidates, their academic preparation, and improve overall, long term job performance. Certain other aspects of this decision were also driven by risk management considerations given that less educated officers, less experienced officers tend to make more mistakes and those mistakes tend to cost a lot of money to settle.

So, while we have attempted to treat our police officers as professionals they remain firmly planted with two feet mired in their blue collar roots with union work rules and overtime pay. And we still have complaints and lawsuits stemming from their official actions.

At the same time all of this increased professionalism has questionable results when we look at the what it is going to cost the citizens of Naperville, when all the dust is settled once and for all, after a police officer goes and arrests a member of the City Council.

Maybe, just maybe this was a nice, but misguided attempt. Maybe we should go back to hiring high school grads for police officers like most other towns and lower the pay scale accordingly. The money saved between the difference in the two pay scales could be invested in an interest earning legal defense fund for the inevitable law suit(s) from police mistakes.

Dear Police Chief Dial,

Are you just clueless or just totally insensitive to the financial situation being faced by the rest of the leadership in Naperville city hall? Have discussions at city council meetings not caught your attention that there is a budget deficit situation?

These are tough economic times and you need to start demonstrating some prudence and fiscal restraint. This is not the time to be asking for $10 million dollars for a new police communication system. Yes, it would be nice if we could afford it. Reality is that this is a nice to have system more than it is an absolute necessity. Expenditures like this simply need to be deferred a couple of years until the future of our economy is better understood and the city finances stabilize.

This is no different than deferring the replacement of police vehicles based upon years and miles. Yes we know nothing lasts forever, but the police department has a long history of replacing the majority of its assets way before the end of the useful life.

The kind of leadership we expect from you is the same of other department heads and that is to exhibit fiscal restraint and prudence with our tax dollars. Do that and we will support your need for a new system in a couple of years. Right now the police department like every other city department needs to roll up its sleeves and do its part to help the city get out of a budget deficit situation. If you are not willing to help do your part then we need to think really hard about who should replace you as chief of police.

Host Ted,
This is the post in which Another Anonymous made his suggestions for reducing the budget. It seems like City Manager Marshall has implemented 7 and 10. Hopefully, he will implement the rest of them instead of increasing our taxes 3 cents per 100 dollars or roughly 4% more than last year as is currently the plan. There should be NO TAX INCREASES in these rough times. He should keep implementing Another Anonymous's recommendations and suggestions until enough is chopped out of the budget and we have NO TAX INCREASE.

As I said on another thread a few moments ago, I would like to see City Staff give credit to those who obvioulsy gave them the ideas. Especially NO. 10 which was an awesome idea and is being implemented as recommended by AA.

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By Another Anonymous on September 24, 2008 11:59 AM
Dear Mayor and City Council,

Many suggestions were made on this blog site including on the Napergate Threads and many others regarding what we can do to control our costs.

The hollering by hundreds of Napergatians and many others lasted the better part of a year on this thread. Nobody listened except Councilman Bob who joined the discussion at times and provided valuable information. I suggest all those blogs be reviewed.

HERE ARE SOME PERSONAL SUGGESTIONS:

1. Start policemen at 40k instead of 60k. This will help the current situation and the pension fund system when they retire which is $53 million in the deficit.

2. Start fire fighters at 40k instead of 60k. This will also help the current situaton and the pension fund system when they retire which is $53 million in the deficit.

3. When retired employees collecting pensions from Naperville are working for the city, subtract the pension from their annual salary. Let us not pay them twice when they are suppose to be retired. Don't allow them to qualify for a second pension while already working and collecting a pension.

4. The 6 school bike cops downtown in the period the school is closed are not necessary. The downtown is just as busy one month before they start and one month after they cease patrol. The downtown does fine without them. We need to use them to rest and relieve police officers who accumulated a lot of overtime.

5. Ways have to be found to reduce the $3.15 million police overtime just as the Napergatians mentioned. The Last Fling and Rib Fest need to hire their own security and pay for it. Using cultural sales tax money to subsidize these events by paying 100k in police overtime is unethical and immoral.

6. Cancel the building of the last 2 parking decks downtown. The huge Centennial Beach parking lot is only a scenic 2 block walk and is always empty for the better part of 9 months and on most summer evenings. A trolley running back and forth from the beach parking lot would cost much less than 2 parking decks with a cost approaching 40 million excluding the valuable price of land.

7. City Vehicles do not need to be replaced at the 53,000 mile mark. Let us try to get 150,000 miles out of them before replacing.

8. Cut all the positions related to growth in City Hall since growth has stopped in this beautiful town that once experienced 10% growth per year. Last year was less than 1%. The land is no longer there to sustain the growth of the past.

9. The fire department seems to be running like a well oiled machine without a Fire Chief. Let who ever is running it continue running it and save the salary of a Fire Chief which is over 150k. Obviously this person can handle his old job and act as Fire Chief very easily and without a glitch. Thus it sounds to me like firemen are underworked and can be given more duties.

10. The 9 existing fire stations should contribute one fireman each to Fire Station 10 when it is built and no new firemen should be hired. This could save us about 1 million a year. Once a few firemen get to the scene of a fire, if it is bad, the other 9 stations can participate in a few extra minutes so what is the point of having so many firemen in each fire station. Let us reevaluate now that we are looking at a 10 million deficit.

11. Five individuals were involved in brush collection 2 weeks ago in front of my home. One was simply driving the wood chopper. Never got out of his trailer truck even on big stops. 3 were loading the brush. A vehicle behind was doing nothing but observing to make sure the other 4 were doing their jobs. These 5 positions could be knocked down to 3 very easily. The garbage man gets out of his truck to load the garbage. He has no helper. That is private industy by the way. In my opinion he works as hard as at least 3 city employees. Maybe we need to farm out brush collection if the union won't allow the driver to help and requires 3 guys to load brush instead of only 2. Basically, they were mostly in each others way! And they did not care to sweep the mess they made in the street. Unbelievable!!! I swept it after they left.

12. Building grass medians on streets that require grass cutting weekly can get expensive. I would rather see 75th St have 6 lanes instead of 2 lanes of grass in the middle. At least traffic would flow much better. Check out 75th St. between Washington and Naper Blvd for a great example!

13. A nice parking deck at the train station that would charge for parking and be profitable while eliminating a 1783 person waiting list would be a needed revenue generator. It is guaranteed to be profitable since we already have the waiting list and no guess work is necessary to see if it is needed. McMansion folks in Naperville may have no problem paying 10 dollars to park per day on the lower levels. Ordinary folk could park in higher levels for 3 dollars. Just a suggestion!

14. Making the landlords downtown who charge 50 bucks per square foot buy the downtown parking garages. They built buidings with no parking. That is a form of cheating. They all could have built underground parking but did not because of the expense and they knew Uncle Naperville would foot the bill.

15. The cultural tax and downtown parking tax imposed on residents should be eliminated. Together they chase shoppers to other towns at they add 2.5% to the product or service. This could be contributing to the revenue decline. For those who do not know, the cultural tax is city wide and not just downtown. And to think we use this cultural tax to pay for police overtime just makes my stomach churn.

I could think of 85 more ways to save money but since most bloggers do not like to read long letters, I think I said enough for now.

I can only advise. The Mayor and City Council have the power to implement. I hope they implement. I hope they love Naperville as much as the residents do. I hope they understand they can not continue to bail out their buddies who get in trouble by converting their land from residential to commercial to artificially increase value before bail-outs take place such as in the Ponds of Hobson West! I hope they stay away from subsidizing the great risk involved in Omnia that could end up being costly for the taxpayers.

City Officials were warned by the Napergatians but were not phased. Now they are being warned by the numbers in red. It seems like they have finally been phased!

Let us all work together and hopefully conquer our $10 to 11 million deficit before it becomes reality and hits us in our real estate tax bills.

I think it is finally great that the problem was acknowledged. This is the first necessary step needed to bring solutions. I have confidence that the Mayor and City Council will take the appropriate measures now that we are approaching a crisis stage that is only getting worse.

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