THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008
Appropriations Approved With Mayor's Tiebreaking Vote
By TODD WESSELL
Journal & Topics Editor
Des Plaines aldermen Monday night officially gave the go-ahead to appropriate $139 million for city expenditures during 2008. However, the road to reach that decision was filled with as many potholes as there exist on the worst of area streets.
Approving the city's Appropriations Ordinance is the final legal act required by City Council to authorize spending for the year. The ordinance is comprised of hundreds of individual expenses that officials have said during numerous previous budget meetings are needed to run the city.
At Monday night's meeting, the biggest bone of contention seemed to be an item recently added to the proposed ordinance that would authorize the spending of $1,050,000 for property on Redecker Road within the controversial "5 Corners" Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. The property owner has asked the city to purchase the land because he wants to move to larger quarters in the Elgin area. City officials had indicated that they are interested in the offer, however, they haven't been able to pull the trigger.
When Monday night's discussion on the Appropriations Ordinance began, local activist Brian Burkross chastised aldermen for considering the idea. He said council members should not use city money to buy private property in the TIF citing their "promise" that development in the TIF would be "developer driven." Several aldermen took issue with Burkross saying the "5 Corners" TIF will be developer driven because the city has no intention of just turning over land to one or more developers. Ald. Don Smith (7th) said developer driven does not mean the city will not buy any of the land in the TIF.
In the end, aldermen mustered barely enough votes to approve the Appropriations Ordinance without the $1,050,000 for the land purchase. At first the vote was 5 to 3 against the proposal. But when Ald. Jean Higgason (4th) changed her mind from opposing it to supporting it, the City Council tally stood at 4 to 4. That's when Mayor Tony Arredia broke the tie.
At the core of the appropriations issue is the sensitive subject of increased city taxes and plans to build a new police headquarters and two new fire stations. During budget discussions, aldermen overwhelmingly favored these projects by authorizing several new and increased forms of taxation to generate the large sums of money needed to pay off the debt that will be incurred.
Approval for those taxes came when it was time to vote for the city's 2008 $139 million budget. However, as the time neared to formally appropriate the funds, the tide seemed to turn.
Mayor Arredia yesterday (Tuesday) said he doesn't understand how some aldermen, who just a few a months ago favored spending $12 million for land acquisition and design work for a new police station and $700,000 for design work for a new fire station now are opposed to appropriating the money to do that work.
Several aldermen said during Monday night's debate that they could not support the appropriation of another $1,050,000.
And, as Ald. Laura Murphy (3d) said, "I cannot support this Appropriations Ordinance because I can't support the budget."