The Freeport City Council will meet at 6:00 pm on Monday, March 2 in its temporary quarters at 524 W. Stephenson Streeet, 3rd floor.  If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.

Some items of interest on the agenda:

Proclamation declaring March “Youth Art Month in the City of Freeport” and urging everyone to join in celebrating this event by attending Aspiring Artists Exhibition at the Freeport Art Museum at 121 N. Harlem Avenue,  on March 20 at 5:00 pm.

2^nd Reading of Ordinance providing for annual rental property registration fees so that enforcement of the ordinance will be paid from the fees generated.   See ordinance at http://www.cityoffreeport.org/OrdRes/Proposed%20rpr%20fees.pdf

Mayor Gitz stated in the Journal Standard on March 1, 2015 when talking about Freeport landlords:

“They want you and I to pay for the impact their business has on all of us.  Basically, they want 

to socialize the cost and privatize the benefit.”

I do hope Mr. Gitz will keep this statement in mind and apply it to other areas of government when he seeks new revenues.  Every new TIF district and enterprize zone shifts the tax burden to other small businesses and homeowners.  Existing TIF funds are used to benefit districts and not the town at large.  If that is not socializing the cost – I don’t know what it is.   With that said landlords should be prepared for increasing fees in the future.  Have you ever heard of a government program that is run so efficiently that the cost goes down every year?    

For the complete agenda go to http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20150302.pdf