City Council: November 2008 Archives

After several months and a nationwide search, the city of Naperville on Friday announced that Finance Director Doug Krieger was picked as the next city manager, replacing Peter Burchard, who left his post in mid-December of 2007.

Other local officials seeking the position included City Manager Pro Tem Bob Marshall, who will now return to his assistant city manager position, and Management Services Director Don Carlsen.

What do you think of the selection of Krieger for the post? Are you surprised the city didn't pick Marshall, who had filled the role since Burchard's departure? Do you think the nationwide search was necessary to find a candidate who already worked for the city?

In today's Sun we report on those annoying campaign signs left standing in yards and along roadways since the election, nine days ago. Campaign signs should be removed within a week of the election, according to Naperville code.

We hear from code enforcement team supervisor Ann Michalsen, who says her crews expect to pull hundreds of signs this week in response to residents' complaints.

Candidates should know better. The good ones will typically go around after election day and pull all their signs, or they'll designate volunteers to do it for them. Candidates were sent letters, notifying them of the code. What's more, residents who still have campaign signs in their yards are subject to fines.

Some problem areas for signs have been along Route 59 at Aurora Avenue, and along Mill Street between Diehl Road and Bauer Road,.

What's your experience with campaign signs? Do you have any in your yard? Did you take them down before they became illegal? What did you did with the signs?

What about around town? Have you noticed signs along roadways during your travels? Have you contacted the city? What response did you get? Where do you still see campaign signs, anywhere in Naperville?

Among the ideas kicking around the Naperville City Council are the notions of electing council members by wards (instead of all at-large) and setting term limits for councilmen.

And the council decided to leave those decisions in the hands of residents. Meaning, if someone wants to initiate a drive to put those questions on ballots as a referendum, have at it.

I suppose while people are at it, if they wanted to repeal home rule they could start collecting petition signatures to have a referendum on that.

See how much power you have? Look at California, and all the ballot initiatives out there. Those are mostly grassroots efforts. If you want something done, get up and try getting it done yourself.

That said, what do you think of the notion of term limits for council members, or elected them by wards instead of at-large?

The City Council has decided to do nothing for now about the controversial Special Events and Cultural Amenities Fund and its revenue source--some $3 million in taxes on food and beverages sold in the city.

The city gives this money to charitable organizations, groups that do things like put on festivals or put up art works around town.

This concept of benevolent generosity is not unique to Naperville. In happier times, the city of Joliet used to give a share of its revenues from casino gambling to schools and nonprofit organizations.

Not any more. Casino revenues are way down, thanks to the indoor smoking ban and the overall sluggish economy. This year, Joliet pulled the plug on handouts.

In theory, the $3 million that Naperville gives away to do-good organizations is $3 million more that you, your neighbor and the guy down the street and the gal across town have to pay out of your own pockets to fund those essential services like police and fire protection.

Now, Naperville's a generous town, and time and time again the community responds when the call goes out for help. The thing is, it's one thing to voluntarily open your hearts and wallets and lend a hand. It's another when the city taxes you and forces you to give money to charity.

What say you? Is it time to abolish the Special Events and Cultural Amenities Fund, and return those food and beverage tax revenues into the general fund to offset the budget deficit and reduce the number of layoffs of public safety and other personnel?

The Naperville City Council voted Wednesday to eliminate 23 vacant positions to help close a budget deficit estimated at $11 million. We also learned that the number of layoffs will be more than previously thought ("upper 40s instead of 40), and that the cuts won't be made until January.

We also learned details about the 23 vacant positions that were eliminated.

Included in the list are three sworn positions in the police department, which include the department's third downtown beat officer, its second crime prevention officer and its domestic violence investigator. Six other positions - three in records and three in telecommunications - were also eliminated.

At the fire department, three positions were cut. The two sworn positions include an assistant fire chief and a firefighter/paramedic. The other is a technical services assistant.

Also eliminated were the jobs of community social worker and video production specialist from staff. Three positions in the city's finance department are on the list, including assistant finance director, financial reporting analyst and billing and collections supervisor. Six jobs in the city's Transportation, Engineering and Development group include a code enforcement officer, records technician, engineering technician, development planner, operations manager and project assistant.

In addition to the 23 positions in the general fund were three cuts in enterprise funds. Those come from the city's Department of Public Utilities. Two are in the electrical division - a senior engineer and journey-line electrician, along with a customer service representative from the water division.

Which of these cuts make the most sense to you? (And please, let's try not to all say video production specialist at the same time.) Which of these cuts most concerns you? This represents what may be only half the cuts--what do you expect to learn in a couple months when the layoffs are decided? Whose jobs will be gone then, and from what departments?