Peoria's Uni Gov Efforts

The April 19, 1987 (correct, 1987 or 23 years ago) edition of the JS wrote of a new task force that would including planning and analyzing what this Ti-County Tomorrow task force predicted as a new county "Heartland" formed of Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties. The year this was supposed to be completed was 2010. "They were scenarios of what would happen in the future", said Rob Parks, President of the Greater Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, "there was one piece of fiction that was uni-gov." Bill Hall, a Bradley guru said "I believe its a wonderful thing to look at; however, my concern is that the will to see it through to reality is maybe there, maybe not. If it's not there, these kinds of efforts will crash and burn." Recently, other semi or outright negative comments were made and printed in the JS on 1/29/10; comments by the Mayor of West Peoria, ex-security officials such as Al Andrews and George Shadid, Eric Turner, and Blaine Duhs, president of the Peoria County Sheriff's Fraternal Order of Police 157 who said "my initial reaction is it will never happen. Too many people have their hands in the cookie jar."

I say, you've got that right.

In the interim, many attempts have been made to combine services with very few accomplished that the taxpayer can recognize. Sure, long ago the landfill, booking fees, etc. But the City/County Health Department is mus-named. It is the Peoria County Health Department. Check it out.

In April Mayor Ardis, mayor of a city in DIRE FINANCIAL CONDITION called for a business uni-gov task force who who look into a regional approach for to governing, combining for efficiency and cost savings. (Please read this blog all the way to the bottom, it gets more interesting) A meeting is held between the Greater Peoria Area of the Chamber of Commerce and the Peoria City Council with some county officials in attendance. Ardis thanked Peoria County for picking up the tab for a shared lobbyist being paid $90,000 a year by the County and the Counties frequent trips to Washington D.C. to talk to Durbin and aides to other elected Washington politicians, about evidently trying to get more taxpayer funds for the apparently defunct FireFly and the private sectors failed promises to raise the funds needed to break ground for a new museum. Also, $500,000 for a mental health court, money not yet recived. Credit for this grant already claimed by two Congressmen. City Councilman and former County Board member, Tim Riggenback, gave details about his latest of five trips, at taxpayer expense, to D.C.. Riggenback, a Republican, who I have noted before has never been bashful to expand government, said "it was problematic that the Republican caucus in Congress would not be participating in any earmarks this year". My next nick-name for Riggenbach may be "Earmark Tim".

County Board Chairman said "the current relationship between the City and County has never been so good", possibly referring to the fact that the County is stuck with the total cost of the lobbying bill in total for 15 months or more into the future and that the City recently dumped the animal pound on the County with no offer at the time to pick up any of the expenses yet with a request that the County should buy the buildings, land and equipment from the city.

Recently, Ardis, Urich, O'Neill, City Manager Moore, County Board member Andrew Rand?, Spears and Jacobs went to Chicago where (they?) met with a Mr. Bob Grand who was supposedly instrumental in in Indianapolis' transition to uni-gov. Mr. Grand indicated that he would be a good resource for Peoria to use as the community moves forward with uni-gov.

I'll bet he would as would at least another half dozen paid "consultants" would like to receive some of the hundreds of thousand of dollars paid out to consultants by all the governmental bodies who will eventually make Peoria one of the most heavily taxed entities in the Midwest.

One simple question. Why didn't this expert Bob Grand come to Peoria to talk to ALL 29 County Board and City Councilpeople, plus local "movers and shakers", where ALL could have heard what he offered and could ALL have asked questions instead of hearing it second hand? Mayor Ardis once called "hearsay" when he rallied the City Council to vote AGAINST combining the independent City and County into one body to SAVE EXPENSES. Ardis challenged my statement that Ray LaHood had commented to me that the cost savings combining should be a "no-brainer" to the voter. Typical LaHood, when he found out which direction the wind was blowing, LaHood denied he made that statement when he was complimenting me for the good work I was doing on the County Board while visiting at Beachlers Filling Station a few weeks before the vote. Similar when he tried to back out of his statement about closing Toyota out of the U.S.? Aren't almost all Toyota factories in "right-to-work states?

Anyway, the mayor says we should do our due diligence on whet er uni-gov is now right for Peoria. He says the City and the County are in DIRE financial condition. He's right about the city and its future. As to the County, we appear to be heading that way with a majority of the board appearing to position the county into spending more than we take in. With the uncertainty of the financial condition of the state in reimbursing Medicaid, the uncertainty of the economy, the trend to more home care will all probably lead to more taxes. The Utility Tax amounting to approximately $3.6 million per year for 20 years to help fund the failed Museum Committees Fund Drives is just a start. We recently spent $12 million or so, most. if not all borrowed with interest, we are planing a new collaborative minority Opportunity Center that was projected in 2007 to require 30,000 sq.ft. with $4.7 million needed then to renovate a building. We are on the verge of spending $51 million or so for a new Bel-Wood where we will need to borrow up to $47 million or so, we just settled a $385,000 B-W lawsuit, the second low 6 figure one in nine years at B-W while the census has dropped to a 220+ ranges as home care is on the rise and competition is heavy from many vacancies in the private sector.

And now we have been spending money (Chicago attorneys, consultants, engineers, environmental impact studies, new sewer alignment to accommodate the museum) for month trying to position the County into owning the $78 million museum building and the approximately $9 million dollar parking deck.

Back to uni-gov. It makes good copy in the media and the consultants hired will be positive....After all, isn't that what they are hired to be? Chances for success? Slim and none and then not until probably 2033. My guess is as good as the guess at the start of this blog.