The Freeport City Council will have its regular meeting tonight June 19, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at 314 W. Stephenson Street, Freeport, Illinois.  Of particular interest on the agenda is the 1^st reading of Ordinance #2017-52 which will require city department heads to reside within the corporate limits of the City within six months of the date of his/her appointment.  It’s about time this policy was formally instituted.  If these department heads want to take Freeport’s money, they can at least live in the City.   How can you be the Police Chief, and talk about crime in the City, and you do not live in the City?  How can you talk to others about community development when you do not live in the City?   The answer is simple.  They cannot be good representatives of this great community if they do not live here.  Imagine, if the Governor of Illinois lived in Indiana, and was trying to promote business in Illinois!

You can watch the council meeting at Comcast channel 17, and see the full agenda at the City website.

 
As reported in the June 2017 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, Dog bite claims are on the rise nationwide, and especially in Illinois. Illinois is second in the nation in dog-related claims in 2016. Only California is ahead of Illinois. I guess you could say that at least Illinois leads the nation in something! The average cost of a dog bite in Illinois is $43,343, and the largest dog bite verdict so far in 2017 is $940,000. So, if you have a dog, you better have good insurance because you could lose your home, and then you will be living with Fido in his dog house.

It takes a lot of nerve to want another street sweeper when many of the streets in this community are in such horrible condition that serious damage is being caused to our vehicles. Perhaps, it is time to get rid of the street department, and contract out street maintenance. It could not be any worse, and should save money in the long run with no big public pensions to fund. In the alternative, the City can continue with its present do nothing street department, and start reimbursing residents for vehicle damage caused by the gross negligence of the City of Freeport. Since my posting on September 17, 2015 about Woodside Drive, the City has done absolutely nothing to make this street safer.

On this day, we remember those who died in the service of our country.

 “The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden.” – Ronald Reagan, Memorial Day speech, 1982

The real estate taxes on our small office building in the City of Freeport between 2006 and 2016 increased 51%.  The rate of inflation during that period was 21%.   During the “Great Recession,” values of commercial and residential real estate fell drastically in most cities.  In Freeport any rational person, including appraisers and realtors, would confirm this fact.  Unfortunately, the Freeport Assessor in most cases did not reduce assessments as values dropped.   To make matters worse, taxing bodies continued to increase tax rates each year.  Freeport tax rates between 2006 and 2016 increased 31% (inflation 21%).  In addition, the City imposed and increased other taxes.  Someone asked me why something isn’t done.  My response – residents of Freeport like high taxes.  They had a chance to change the direction of the Freeport Assessor’s Office, but voted for a person who would continue the policies of the past.   I guess those who wanted equity in the assessment process, and some degree of fiscal responsibility gave up and left the City.  A continuation of the tax and spend policies is a recipe for disaster.  This applies to every taxing body, not just the City of Freeport.

The Freeport City Council will meet tonight at 6:00 p.m. at 314 W. Stephenson Street.  The real question is, will it be more of the same, or will there actually be a change of direction.   You cannot keep all of the people who implemented the failed policies of the past.  Some items of interest on the agenda:

Resolution to Enter into a Month-To-Month Lease for the Vacant Fire Station on South West Avenue with an Option to Purchase.

Ordinance appointing Police Chief, Todd Barkalow, to serve as the interim City Manager for the period of time commencing May 16, 2017 through May, 21, 2017.

Notice of Interim Appointments for up to 90 days by City Manager:

Guary Bernadelle – to serve as Finance Director

Alex Mills – to serve as Community Development Director

Todd Barkalow – to serve as Police Chief (Appointed himself police chief?)

Scott Miller – to serve as Fire Chief

Sosnowski Szeto, LLP – to serve as City Legal Counsel

Tom Dole – to serve as Public Works Director

Shaun Gallagher – to serve as City Engineer

Hopefully, some of these appointments will be temporary.  Changes are needed!

If you answered true to all of them, you would be right.  They were all reported in the Tampa Bay Times on April 14, 2017 in a section entitled “Police blotter.”  Parts of the article follow which has been edited due to its length.

Police blotter

POLICE: ST. PETERSBURG MAN DROPS OWN POOP INTO LAUNDROMAT WASHING MACHINE

A 57-year-old man defecated on the floor of a laundromat then dropped his poop into a washing machine, according to St Petersburg police.  About 7:40 a.m. Saturday, a witness saw Michael Shannon poop on the floor of a laundromat at 343515th Ave. S. Shannon picked up the feces and pressed it into the detergent-loading compartment of a washing machine. The incident caused $475 worth of damage, according to Shannon’s arrest report

LARGO

Man takes cookies with ‘dirty bare hands’

A Seminole man is accused of reaching over a display case at Publix, grabbing several cookies and eating them in front of the bakery manager. According to Largo police, a bakery manager at the store at 857 West Bay Drive saw Kane William Hanson, 34, reach over the display case and steal cookies about 230 p.m. Saturday. The remaining 60 cookies had to be thrown away because Hanson contaminated them with his “dirty bare hands,” an officer wrote in Hanson’s arrest report.  Hanson told police he assumed the cookies were free.

INDIAN SHORES

Police pursue truck, then its naked driver

A rogue swimming pool service truck took Indian Shores police on a chase that ended with the driver running naked from officers, according to police. About 2 a.m. April 5, an officer approached a pickup truck bearing the name “Belleair Pool Supply” that he considered suspicious because he “knew there was no swimming pools worked on in the middle of the night,” according to an arrest report. At the wheel was Victor Ciaccta, 42, with his window cracked open. The officer asked him to turn off the engine and hand over identification. Ciacci said he was leaving, then sped away northbound on Gulf Boule­vard from T76th Terrace, hitting the officer’s right leg in the process. As he sped from police, Ciacci drove over spike strips, damaged land­scaping and eventually drove through a chain link fence at the former Wellington School campus, 8000 Starkey Road, his arrest reports say. Ciacci got out of the truck near the school and ran naked from police into a neighborhood.

Today we going to determine how smart you are by giving you a test.    There are only three questions, and you must determine if the news articles are true or false!

St. Petersburg Man Drops Own Poop into Laundromat Washing Machine – true or false?

Man takes cookies with dirty bare hands – true or false?

Police pursue truck, then its naked driver – true or false?

The answers will be in Good Day Illinois tomorrow!

No more needs to be said.    In the private sector, there would be some people without jobs today.  In the City of Freeport, the do-nothing attitude and general neglect is the norm.  It is a sad situation.

Freeport, Illinois is a city where deer run rampant, and the city administration, council members, and city employees have done nothing for years. A few years ago, the City spent $50,000 to beautify certain areas of the City. What a joke! The deer have done hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to residential properties in this City. The City has grants for sidewalks and façade improvements. The time has come for grants to reimburse citizens for deer damage. I guess I did forget that the City has done something about the deer in the City. The City has posted “deer crossing signs” such as the one on South Street right before Burchard! That is as stupid as the City’s do nothing deer policy. Maybe the deer are smarter than City officials, and the deer can read. Then the solution to the deer problem is simple. The City can furnish residents with signs with the following message: Attention All Deer – Please Do Not Eat My Shrubs. Now for the sad part – there are City officials who believe that is a reasonable solution.