DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom's plan to finance $70 million in capital improvement projects with federal stimulus money already is drawing heat. County Board member Jeff Redick already is likening the proposal to something former governor Rod Blagojevich would come up with. Many of the projects involve road work but other things like a convalescent center kitchen and jail fire alarm are on the list. Schillerstrom says the projects will create jobs and ease traffic congestion. Redick says the cost to taxpayers will come to $124 million
Look here for the story and a complete list of the projects Schillerstrom has in mind.
Are those things you would spend money on? Is the plan too costly over time?
...and while we're talking stimulus
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Big Bob is toast --- he is trying desperately to create a "legacy" with his name on it.
Bob, just go quietly into the night ---PLEASE!
The first strike against Schillerstrom is the $54 million dollar cost of the financing. We are in a recession. Exactly what kind of a great deal on financing does this reflect?
The second strike against Schillerstrom is looking down the list of projects that was published reads like a Christmas in July wish list for a bunch of county agencies and buildings. Some of the public works projects might make sense, but clearly not all of them.
The third strike against Schillerstrom is that the projects being financed for 30 years do not have a useful life of anywhere near 30 years which means taxpayers will still be paying for these projects long after they have been replaced the next time. Speaking of useful life... the county board should let us know for each and every one of these line item projects when the original went into service, what the design service life was at the time of purchase, and provide a rationale for current replacement if the useful life has not yet been reached.
None of this seems to make any good economic sense except to the contractors and vendors who would benefit from all of the contracts. Sorry Schillerstrom... three strikes and you and your wish list are out of here.