Category Archives: City of Freeport

Deer Continue to Destroy Plants and Shrubs in Freeport, Illinois – City Does Nothing!

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Ten years ago in the City of Freeport, it was a rare occurrence to see deer in the daytime. Now you will see herds of deer in parts of Freeport 24 hours a day. They are eating their way through our plants, shrubs, and small trees. The City has spent and continues to spend tens of thousands of dollars yearly on downtown beautification while the rest of the City to put it bluntly goes to Hell. I guess there is no money for a program to reduce the deer population. If only the deer would relocate to the downtown. Then and only then would we get some action. In the meantime, just buy lots of mulch for your flower beds since you will have no living plants. Give Alderperson Klemm a call. Perhaps. he can get you a beautification grant to buy mulch! Then again, don’t waste your time calling him. He will do nothing as usual except pontificate about his do-nothing 10 years as an alderperson.

If You Think Freeport’s Real Estate Taxes Are Too Low – Contribute to the City of Freeport!

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Certain alderpersons on the present Freeport City Council have consistently supported more spending and higher taxes. This group is led by Tom Klemm, Sally Brashaw, and Mike Koester who have not seen a tax increase or higher spending that they did not feel was necessary. I for one agree with Alderman Chesney – WE ARE TAXED ENOUGH. For those who feel they are undertaxed, they are free to copy the above form and make an additional contribution to the City of Freeport. I hope everyone sends Klemm, Brashaw, and Koester a copy of the form. As the expression goes, put your money where your mouth is!

Freeport City Council to Consider Ordinance to Eliminate City Legal Department on Monday, April 4

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The Freeport City Council will be meeting on Monday, April 4, 2016 at 6:00 pm at 524 W. Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor. You can watch it live on Comcast Channel 17. 

One of the more interesting items on the agenda is the ordinance to eliminate the City’s Legal Department. In the last 40 years Freeport’s population has not grown, but the size of City government has continued to grow. 40 years ago Freeport did not have a legal department, but retained private counsel for the City’s corporation counsel. Today we have a separate legal department with a full time corporation counsel, a part time attorney retained to prosecute ordinance violations, and other attorneys retained for “specialized” legal work. Of course, there is the need for office space, equipment, and support staff, all at taxpayer expense in city hall. Every time Freeport hires more firemen, policemen, and other city employees, it is not just the cost of the salaries. You must add on the present benefits for each employee plus the cost of retirement benefits. The State of Illinois is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the horrendous pension obligations incurred by state government, and the City of Freeport is headed in the same direction. Any time you can outsource government work, you normally will save money in the long run. This would certainly apply to the City’s legal department. The City’s legal department should be eliminated. It is luxury the taxpayers of Freeport cannot afford.

If the citizens of Freeport are interested in seeing the real cost of certain employees of the City of Freeport, go to the 2014 – 2015 Total Compensation Report for City Employees over $75,000

Click to access FY_2015%20Wages%20and%20Benefits%20for%20City%20of%20Freeport.pdf

For the complete Council agenda go to

Click to access A20160404.pdf

Freeport City Council to Meet January 19

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  The Freeport City Council will be meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at 6:00 pm at 524 W. Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor. You can watch it live on Comcast Channel 17. 
 Some items of interest on the agenda:

Presentation on Economic Data for Northwest Illinois (wherever that is!) by NIDA Director and TCEDA Director. Just look at their titles and you know the presentation will be another bureaucratic disaster. For everyone’s information LWA 3 consists of Boone, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties. TCEDA stands for Tri-County Economic Development Alliance which consists of Jo Daviess, Carroll, and Whiteside Counties. The Rockford MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) consists of Boone and Winnebago Counties. The report starts out showing the population change in LWA 3 and then the next page shows population trends in TCEDA. This is typical of this report. I guess the NIDA director is paid by counties in TCEDA and Rockford MSA. If the report had been done with consistent comparisons and an emphasis on Stephenson County, it would have shown disastrous trends for the area which should be addressed. 

See the full report at http://www.cityoffreeport.org/OrdRes/NIDA%20TCEDA%20HCC%20presentation.pdf

Ordinance Directing Sale of vacated fire station at 1819 S West Avenue, Freeport. Before proceeding, the Freeport Assessor should give the Council an estimate as to how much the Assessor will assess the property for and how much tax revenue it will generate if it is sold. A prospective buyer would appreciate this information.

For the full agenda go to http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20160119.pdf

Verbal Agreement or Not – It’s Wrong! 

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 If a city or other government employee enters into a verbal agreement which violates the law, is it enforceable? It would even be worse if that city employee knew that the agreement violated the law, and is enriched personally as a result of the knowing violation. Let’s assume the city employee is the chief legal counsel for the city, and creates a special exception for the city’s legal counsel contrary to the city’s ordinances. Is such conduct acceptable from ethical stand point much less from a legal stand point? You be the judge. The level of corruption in the State of Illinois, real or perceived, is beyond belief. It starts with city governments, goes to the county level, and then ends up at the State level. Let’s be honest and face the facts. Freeport and Stephenson County are not the exception to the Illinois rule: Corruption is ok – just don’t’ get caught.

Freeport City Council Meeting Monday, October 5 – 1st Reading of New Fence Ordinance

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 The Freeport City Council will be meeting on Monday, October5, 2015 at 6:00 pm at 524 W. Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor. You can watch it live on Comcast Channel 17. 
Some items of interest on the agenda:

1st reading of ordinance dealing with fence installation. Robert Frost said “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,” but in Freeport it used to mean the fence must be two feet from the lot line. This was ridiculous since it deprived a property owner of two feet of his property. I guess it just reinforced the concept that lots were worthless in Freeport (except for assessment purposes), so why not give up two feet! All fences belong on the lot line. Written and recorded easements from adjoining owners should not be required, but all fences on lot lines should require a survey.

1st reading of ordinance permitting deer hunting at the Freeport Country Club with bows. What a joke. Killing a few deer with bows will not solve Freeport’s deer problem. The bow hunt at the Country Club has been done for several years, but the deer problem is just getting worse. I suggest we contact Robin Hood and his band of merry men to take out hundreds of deer in Freeport and then give them to the food pantries in the State of Illinois. That will be Freeport’s contribution to the state’s budget crisis!

For the complete meeting agenda, go to http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20151005a.pdf

If Non-Resident City Employees Are So Great for the City of Freeport – Let’s Publicize It!

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 I’m just glad the new Community Development can live in Orangeville Illinois, and does not have to contribute any tax money to Freeport. He can take our money up to Orangeville where they can put it to good use. As other non-resident City employees say – “I can’t afford to live in Freeport – I want my family in a safe location, and anyway the real estate taxes are just too high.” Oh, by the way, where does the Freeport Chief of Police live?

CITY OF FREEPORT – YOU ARE ON NOTICE – Woodside Drive a Death Trap!

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  Woodside Drive and the adjacent streets of Woodside Kort and Woodside Circle have deteriorated to the point that they are no longer safe. Trees and weeds are growing to the edge of the road. In places there are absolutely no shoulders. In fact, in several areas there are severe drop offs from the edge of the road. In one area on one of the curves if you go off the edge of the road, you will drop several feet and then your vehicle will roll into a ravine possibly killing the occupants. Imagine driving this road in the winter! As an interim measure these streets should be posted as follows:

Local Traffic Only – No through traffic to Krape Park or Fairgrounds Road

No Joggers – absolutely unsafe for joggers due to non-existent road shoulders, and extreme curves limiting visibility. Joggers with impunity run down the middle of the road. Sometimes they run three abreast down Woodside Drive. I guess that means it is not fit to drive on, but it’s perfect for joggers. They should do their jogging in Krape Park or elsewhere, but not on Woodside Drive.  

Watch out for Deer – Herds of deer are all over the road day and night! Not only have they destroyed trees, flowers, and shrubs in the area, but are a danger to vehicles in the area. If you hit one of the deer, your vehicle will not only be seriously damaged, but you could be killed as result of the impact.  

In the winter, there should be special signs on Woodside Drive – FOUR WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES ONLY (due to limited snow removal on many occasions).

Freeport will not be able to hide behind the Tort Immunity Act if someone is injured in this area – YOU ARE ON NOTICE!

The City has no excuses – ask the Finance Director. The City has all of the money it needs to repair this street and do anything else it wants to do. As she stated on September 14, 2015, Freeport is a home rule City which means it can tax its citizens with reckless abandon. NO MORE EXCUSES FREEPORT – ASK YOUR FINANCE DIRECTOR FOR THE MONEY!

Freeport City Council Special Meeting September 14, 2015 – New Community Development Director Appointment on Agenda

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  The Freeport City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday, September 14 at 5:30 pm at 524 W. Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor. You probably can watch it live on Comcast Channel 17. 
Mayor Gitz is submitting to the Council for approval as Community Development Director, Alexander S. Mills. It appears that he presently is Village President of Orangville, Illinois, lives in that community, and works as a consulting Aborist. See LinkedIn profile. I have a feeling that Kenneth Ward who is on the Stephenson County Board is not a friend of Mr. Mills.  

See http://www.rrstar.com/article/20140516/OPINION/140519481 Mr.Mills also was critical of Robert Becker. See http://www.journalstandard.com/article/20150210/Opinion/150219905 

In any case if his appointment is ratified, Mr. Mills will have pretty big shoes to fill.

For the complete agenda for this meeting go to http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20150914special.pdf

 

Freeport (Illinois) Township a Disaster – “Friendly Law Suit” and Purchase of 206 E. Stephenson a Financial Debacle!

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In the Journal Standard on September 1, 2013 it was reported that Attorney Michael Phillips, attorney for Freeport Township, filed a suit to determine if it was valid for Freeport Township to own a building with the Veterans Assistance Commission (VAC). He characterized it as a “Friendly” law suit. Phillips also said in the article that the Township has no intention of leaving the property. What a joke! On August 22, 2014 it was reported in the Journal Standard that Township Supervisor Patrick Sellers intends to move the Township offices which had been purchased for $366,971 in 2012 as early as January 7, 2015. On August 27, 2015 it was reported in the Journal Standard that the suit filed by Mr. Phillips would be dismissed so the building could be sold for $250,000. The Township it was reported had spent between $25,000 and $30,000 on legal fees. So much for the “friendly” law suit. A lot of questions should be asked such as why was the building purchased to begin with if there were legal issues, and of course, why are they selling it for much less than the purchase price? The answer is simple – it’s just taxpayer money. The more you waste the more you can tax. That is the bureaucrat moto.