Further Planner Progress

Two quick and happy items:

Stormwater: Park District Steps Up…

...seems like a good trade off instead of this.

… and Village Shows The Love

All material taken from 8/26/2008 Workshop Agenda Item Active b , a resolution and background report to council, submitted by David Fieldman, Deputy Village Manager, that will be approved next week, in blue.

Intergovernmental Agreements with the Downers Grove Park District for Stormwater Improvement Projects

The Strange Case of 63rd and Leonard: Endgame?

Where’d it go?

Funny thing about Bradford Real Estate, LLC: on the way to traumatizing Hobson Triangle DG taxpaying residents (who think their residential neighborhood should remain a residential neighborhood despite what some opportunists from Tinley Park or wherever might want) Bradford stopped talking. To residents, and to the village.

Naperville “Sound Off” On Public Pensions

Pensions: Retirement’s Holy Grail

Opens up a can of pent up hostility in the friendly confines of our large neighbor to the west. Maybe things aren’t so bad here after all?

Read the blog and comments here.

Fire and Police Public Pension Problems

“governments (must) stop granting any new retirement benefit enhancements unless they also increase employer and/or employee contributions sufficiently to fully fund the enhancements.”

Most Illinois’ pension funds for public employees are in financial trouble. The plight of the state’s retirement programs for public school teachers and state workers has been widely discussed in the media, but the pension funds serving police officers and firefighters are in even worse financial condition. Illinois has the second highest unfunded pension obligations in the country with a $40 billion shortfall in 2006. The real culprit has been and continues to be the repeated failure of the state to make its full annual employer contribution to the system.

James M. Banovetz and Dawn S. Peters at the NIU Center for Governmental Studies reports on the question:

“What needs to be done to improve the financial strength of the pension systems for Illinois police officers and firefighters, with special emphasis on those public safety personnel in all Illinois municipalities other than Chicago?”

Read the entire report here.

Can cities afford to keep paying pensions?

Speaking the unspeakable.

19 percent of local tax levy supports retirement plans

August 24, 2008 By MIKE MITCHELL mmitchell@scn1.com

While many employees in the private sector sock away part of their incomes into 401(k)s and IRAs for retirement, full-time government employees can bank on a pension that is guaranteed to support them for the rest of their lives.

Read the rest here.

5 Year Strategic Plan + 5 Year Budget Plan = ?

The Strategic Plan and the Budget Plan give a somewhat muddled snapshot of what taxpayers can expect in the near future. It isn’t pretty.

I need a picture of a bigger pile of money…

5 Year Strategic Plan v 2008

5 Year Strategic Plan v 2007

5 Year Budget Plan

Happy 89th Birthday Mom!

Stubborn old mule Pearl Thoman 1, Cancer 0.

I’ve spent a lot of time the last six weeks hovering over and around this old bird as doctors were trying to figure out why her blood count was so low and she was so out of gas. Some said meh, almost 89 years old is old.

Long Range Budget Projections

Have five year program, comrade. Will only hurt little bit.

Read it here.

Analysis as time allows.

Metra Gives Council The Word

Metra says what it is.

And it is good. Three plus years to build, a separate pedestrian underpass to the west, three construction stages, and a construction time-line chart that is clean as can be, all inside…

Click on any image for a larger version.

Shoving It Under Our Nose

How can more information get to more people?

Note: I originally wrote this post on August 4th.  A couple days later, it turned into a full-on discussion between author/analyst C. Grammich and DGreport editor/publisher Elaine Johnson, with a couple crucial add-ins by Council Commissioner Martin Tully.  I’m smart enough to know when I walk into a crowded room I’ can probably learn something while I’m there: here’s another example.

Patriot Park Pics Point To Possible Pool Project Problems

Would it remain an award winning park without most of the park?

Placement problematic, perhaps prohibitive.

I took a walk around Patriot’s Park today. Mainly walkers, joggers and dog walkers out. And me with my trusty cell phone camera and note pad. Art Jaros, much maligned PD board member, does not favor this site, so please keep this in mind. He does, however, share the siting information should PP be the place the PD board decides to move forward on.

Here’s what I found…

Carpenter Compromise Calms Current Concerns

It isn’t perfect, but it’s more right than wrong.

Bomag 4413 Rules Road Repair

Small paving projects get new gear.

Carpenter Street Update

While loading the car to take one son back to college yesterday Kerstin vonderHeide and Tom the sidewalk engineer came by to look at my situation, as Mike Millette and Dave Fieldman promised. It was coincidence I was still there, but I made my points, and there was, generally, no disagreement past the “here’s how we try and do things”.

Houseal & Lavigne Selection An Outcome Of RFP/RFQ Process

Several inside sources explain the hybrid Request For Proposal, Request For Qualifications process.

While DG did not follow a classic bid process for the hiring of Houseal & Lavigne, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued in the Spring for these services. The RFP requested overall comprehensive plan and public input facilitation qualifications, along with an estimated fee for the comprehensive plan portion only. The RFP indicated that TCD3 services, scope and fees would be negotiated with the recommended firm. A draft contract was prepared based on this process and is up for discussion by Council tomorrow evening.

Carpenter Street: Failing Parkway Tree Protections

Rigid engineering more important than flexible common sense?

TCD3 One Step Forward, Comp Plan One Step Closer

North Star out, Houseal Lavigne very In: Naperville firm will coordinate extensive multi-year TCD3 and Comprehensive Plan effort.

The Downtown TCF Bank Site Development Proposal

At first blush this looks very appealing…

On Monday August 4, 2008, the Plan Commission approved a proposal by Downers Grove Village Square LLC (16 W 343 83rd Street Burr Ridge, IL 60527) to build a totally new building on the site of the now closed downtown TCF Bank.

The Strange Case of 63rd & Leonard: Update 8/01

According To State: Bradford Real Estate=Now in Good Standing

On July 19, 2007, Bradford Real Estate, Inc, the company behind Bradford 63rd LLC, was listed as not in good standing as a corporation by the state.

Bradford 63rd, LLC, was, and is, listed as in good standing.

As of yesterday, they appear to have paid their annual renewal fees.