City finds $1.73 million but still hasn't reimbursed residents $237,046

The Highland Park Patch reported “good news” this week. Seems Highland Park has found some real money. At the last City Council meeting, it was disclosed that the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – Highland Park’s audited financial statement for 2010- revealed that HP had a larger fund balance than projected. Instead of the $11,423,899 projected (or was it reported), the final audited amount was $13,153,861 according to Finance Director Elizabeth Holleb. So, what does this mean?

That’s a “finding” of $1,729,962 that HP unintentionally didn’t spend last year. According to the report, the unreserved, undesignated fund balance in the general fund at December 31, 2010, “represents 45.6% of the 2011 general fund operating expenditures, exceeding the City’s policy guidelines set by the Council for budgetary and planning purposes.”

Yes, in general, it is mighty good to find an additional $1.73 million in your purse. Pretty soon, you’re talking real money… Yet, this also begs additional questions and raises a fine opportunity for the City of Highland Park to correct a terrible inequity it foisted on certain residents.

Let us not forget that 47 HIGHLAND PARK RESIDENTS PAID $237,046 TO THE CITY OF HP UNDER COERCION for unnecessary "repairs" to lateral sanitary sewer lines performed on their private property to address City infrastructure problems. Let us also not forget that these residents allowed this work to be done only because of coercion and threat by the City, and that the Master Neighborhood Sewer Program still exists and could be assessed against other residents at any time. The residents who paid need to be reimbursed (unless you talk to Councilman Steven Mandel who is clearly on record as being unwilling to do so) and the good news is that the City of Highland Park just found the money pay them back and still retain $1.5 million in its coffers from the new found money!

During the recent mayoral elections and 2011 budget discussions, former Councilman Terri Olian raised the possibility of repayment to these residents but questioned how and when the payments could be made without adversely affecting the budget. Candidate Nancy Rotering, now Mayor Rotering, when asked about reimbursing these residents, told the group at the Ravinia Train Station that while she was supportive of reimbursing these residents, as mayor she would only be just one voice among all the councilmen, that she could not promise reimbursement if she were elected.

Well, Mayor Rotering, you’re elected, and in large part due to the support of the Ravinia Neighborhood Association, primarily because of your criticism and willingness to stand up during the fiasco in 2008 and 2009 with regard to the Master Sanitary Sewer Program. Now it's time for you to show real leadership and address this program head on. City Council needs to immediately reimburse these 47 HP residents who have suffered significant financial damage at the hands of City Council, led by City Manager, David Limardi, who ignored everyone’s complaints about the program and pleas throughout.

The good news is that City Council now has “found money” to reimburse these residents and to put this shameful period in this fine city behind us. The City has the funds to cut a check today. Do it!

And, to Mayor Nancy, you were elected to right these wrongs, so we’d like to hold you accountable for getting this done. You need to talk with the councilmen and secure their agreement, at least by a majority, to do this -- that's what leadership is all about. You're not just another councilman now, you're the Mayor!

And, we’ll leave for another day the questions about what budgeted expenses, approved by the City Council, weren't fulfilled to result in a “surprise” net $1.73 million; whether there were any accounting irregularities that caused this budget surprise; how the City’s auditors are selected (as in, do we bid this work out and do we want any City service vendors to have less than 15% women partners?), and other fine questions that arise whenever we’re treated to budget surprises, favorable or unfavorable. Of course, we like the good news surprises better.

Be sure to vote for...

If you haven’t voted already, you need to get out and vote.

More than five months ago, I had asked everyone to refrain from supporting a candidate until she would “officially support and deliver to the [47] HP residents who have been treated so inequitably by the City and the Program and who have already been coerced to pay sums of approximately $5000-$20,000 [in the aggregate $247,000] during the worst economic environment most can recall.” After all, both candidates currently sit on City Council and have been a position throughout these past 5 months to demonstrate that actions are more important than words.

Friends have been asking me for a recommendation on voting and I steadfastly refused to take a stance. Last week, after voting, I began to share my opinion with friends. Terri Olian and Nancy Rotering both have many virtues and have run fine campaigns. Each is extremely bright, professional, articulate and well informed. Highland Park will continue to fare well with either of them as the next Mayor. I am not in one “camp.” I’d like to see both of them continue to serve the City of Highland Park for as long as they have passion and dedication to work on behalf of all residents. My vote last week reflected a desire for that outcome.

Single issue voting is not my style. Yet, I do believe we learned a lot about how the City is managed, how City Council operates, and about the candidates just from examining the history and status of the Sanitary Sewer Program currently "on hiatus."

Does one vote for the candidate who:

· voted in the Neighborhood Sanitary Sewer Program (which was a terrible mistake) yet who listened to community complaints and actively changed her position?

Or…

· who was elected to City Council after the Program was in place and who has consistently been outspoken against it, yet who appears to have taken no official action since 2009 to rectify the problem?

Style is a matter of preference and we may each view this differently.

Yes, I remain concerned that Terri, along with Mayor Belsky and the rest of City Council, voted for the Sanitary Sewer Program. Their actions were detrimental to all HP residents. The Mayor and City Council rely too heavily on David Limardi, our City Manager, responsible for this poorly conceived and inequitable program that was designed with complete disregard for the financial burden on individual residents. Yes, one of Nancy’s strengths as a candidate is that she has said she would address this problem.

Yet, at a recent budget meeting, Terri raised the question of planning for the reimbursement of the 47 HP residents. It takes a lot of personal strength to change one’s position on a program. Too many politicians won’t budge from their original positions. Not only did Terri change her position, she took action. When she suggested that the 2011 budget address reimbursement for the 47 residents, not a single other Councilman supported her. Steve Mandel was reported to have been vociferously against reimbursement (and we should definitely remember this when his term is up in 2013!) and no one else spoke up. That “no one” inexplicably includes Nancy Rotering. (And, I verified the facts by checking with another attendee.)

I asked Nancy about this and she explained she hadn’t said anything because it was late in the budget committee meeting, and that Terri had raised it in an inappropriate forum (in the budget committee rather than on the agenda for City Council). Yet, it wouldn’t take much time for Nancy to have said, “While this isn’t the appropriate forum, and we shouldn't discuss it here, I agree with this in principle and City Council needs to address and fix this problem!” Any brief supportive utterance would have given the issue momentum. In the absence of one other voice, the issue fell into the abyss again.

Nancy’s term on City Council began in 2009 (and ends in 2013) and since arriving, to the best of my knowledge, she has done nothing official to address the Neighborhood Sanitary Sewer Program.

At the Ravinia Train Station candidate evening last week, I asked the candidates whether they would commit to getting the 47 HP residents reimbursed. Nancy replied that she couldn’t commit to this because she has only one vote, just like everyone else on City Council.

From my perspective a candidate who may make a mistake but who is open to criticism and change is preferable to one who agrees with me but takes no action. This may not reflect your own thoughts.

We need a mayor who will lead City Council. Critical thinkers are vital to the success of City Council, however, criticism without action isn't leadership.

It would be a terrible shame to lose Terri Olian’s contributions to City Council – her term is up in 2011. She is in touch with pulse of the City, knows all the facts, figures, relevant history, and is responsive to residents. As a former chairman of HP’s Design Review Commission, I had the opportunity to work with Terri. She has unbounded energy and dedication to Highland Park’s success and future. Her term is over in 2011 and we simply cannot afford to lose her. She also epitomizes HP’s “Six Pillars of Character”. She walks the talk.

I hope you’ll consider this information when you cast your vote the next mayor of HP, the City Councilmen candidates and all the other important races and referendums. I look forward to meeting with whomever HP residents choose to ensure that the 47 are reimbursed, and to preventing the rest of us from receiving the letter demanding we pay $5,000-$10,000+ for unnecessary repairs. And, yes, I had sincerely hoped that both of these candidates would have taken care of Neighborhood Sanitary Sewer Program a long, long time ago.

Photo from Highland Park Patch link used in blog entry.

47 HP residents paid $237,046 to the City of Highland Park under coercion…

The City of Highland Park finally provided documents in response to a request based on the Freedom of Information Act. While I thank the City for turning around these documents fairly quickly with only a delay of a week, and for sending them by e-mail in a PDF (making this very convenient) and for waiving the costs (actually very much appreciated), frankly, I know it is missing some documents. So I'll take that up separately with the City.

Meanwhile, based on the 43 pages they delivered, we learned the following:

• In 2008, 47 HP residents were billed and/or paid in the aggregate $237,046 for City of Highland Park infrastructure improvements.
  
• $5043 was the average invoice for unnecessary repairs to sanitary lateral sewer lines on these residents' private property for the alleged benefit of enhancing the City's sewer infrastructure.
  
• The highest amount on the list was $7044.77 for repairs to a sanitary lateral sewer line on private property for a Ridgewood Drive address.
  
• The least amount paid by an involved HP resident was $2079.12 for property on Sherwood Avenue.
  
• Here were the streets involved in the initial onslaught against HP residents:
  

Audubon Place	1
Brook Road	2
Clifton Avenue	6
Harvard Court	3
Hill Street	5
Hyacinth Place	1
Ridgewood Drive	15
Sherwood Avenue	1
Sumac Road	1
Summit Avenue	2
Sunset Road	2
University Avenue	5
Western Avenue	1

• In addition to the above table of current HP residents, it appears that bills were issued to and paid by two former HP residents, one that moved to Riverwoods and the other to Winthrop Harbor, who paid $4989.60 and $5,498.84, respectively. As we have advised previously in this blog, the City's demand letter arrives at your door with no warning. So, while we haven't spoken with these former HP residents yet, the ill-conceived Sanitary Sewer Program doesn't allow you to budget for these (unnecessary) repairs. And, if you have already entered into a sales contract with a buyer and you then receive the demand letter, your purchaser is going to make you pay for those repairs (unless you agree otherwise and, frankly, what purchaser would agree to absorb the costs of an unnecessary expense?). However, there is documentation that includes frantic e-mailing that goes back and forth between the HP resident who is trying to close on his house sale and the City's John Welch. The correspondence goes on and on and on…and, clearly, the closing was complicated by this inane Sanitary Sewer Program. In any event, the seller likely walked away with $4989.60 less than he anticipated, not including the additional legal expenses he likely incurred with his real estate lawyer.
  

We were also provided some documentation of residents who were opposed to the Sanitary Sewer Program and/or who ended up with a sanitary lateral sewer line problem after the "repairs" – problems that did not exist before them. We'll cover some of that correspondence in this blog in the days ahead.

It's not just a question anymore of whether the Sanitary Sewer Program should be abandoned. We can see that our City Council adopted this program proposed by David Limardi with the least amount of personal investigation and debate. That's bad enough. However, we need to address the fact that there are real Highland Park residents who have suffered substantial economic harm as a result of this program and who have been treated, not just disrespectfully, but inequitably by the City. They deserve their money back and they deserve it now.

Please help your fellow HP residents while you are helping protect your own hard earned cash. Insist that the City of Highland Park reimburse each one of these individuals now. Don't support any mayoral candidate until she steps up today to do the right thing. If she won't do the right thing before the election, what makes you think she will do the right thing afterward? And, if neither of them will step up to do so today, then we need to look for other leadership to be on the ballot.

Are you on the City's lists...?

Thought you'd like to know that we wrote to the City Clerk of Highland Park yesterday to formally request public records concerning the "Master Plan for Storm & Sanitary Sewers" (also known as the Sanitary Sewer Program). We're looking for lists of all the HP residents who were charged by the City under the Program to date (2007 & 2008) and who were next on the target list (2009 through current). With this information we can start focusing on getting reimbursement for everyone and alerting people about what is about to hit them as soon as the Program goes "off hiatus."

We have also requested copies of correspondence from HP residents who complained to the City, including the Mayor, City Councilmen, the City Manager and anyone at Public Works about the Program. It will be interesting to learn how many of you have been ignored. Can it only be our family?

PS If you ever have other records you're interested in, here's the hyperlink to the City's Request for Public Records, Official Request Form (under the Freedom of Information Act/FOIA).

Hey Big Spender! Spend It All on Your Sanitary Lateral Lines!

This blog identified on November 11, 2010 that, in July 2009, AECOM reported to the City of HP that many other municipalities in Northern Illinois were addressing city infrastructure flooding problems by implementing programs to repair sanitary laterals along with sanitary sewer mains. We pointed out that the community of Downer's Grove pays for any lateral repairs, unlike HP that puts the large cost directly on you.

Moving through the AECOM report, let's now look at Naperville, IL. According to AECOM, Naperville inspects sanitary laterals and identifies those that they "recommend" need repair. ("Recommend" – what a nice word! In HP it is demanded upon penalty of having a lien placed against your home.)

Naperville then enters into an agreement with the property owner to repair the lateral all the way to the residence. ALL WORK IS PAID FOR BY NAPERVILLE. Accordingly to AECOM, "the City points to a reduction in wastewater flows to their treatment plant, and ultimately a reduction in treatment costs as an indication of program success."

So how is that our City Manager, David Limardi, had recommended to City Hall, that individual residents pay for all sanitary sewer lateral repairs? How is it possible that Mayor Belsky and ALL the Councilmen then voted in favor of having targeted individual residents pay for sanitary sewer lateral repairs? Why is it that your elected officials in Highland Park decide YOU have to pay for repairs to enhance the City infrastructure while other communities know that the municipality needs to budget for this?

Could it be that your City Councilmen just don't care about you? Or do they hold you in such high esteem that they think you are all wealthy enough to write out a $5,000-20,000 check whenever they send you a mailing?

One thing we DO know. City Council was aware of this report in July 2009, 6 months after vigorous neighborhood complaints on the subject. It's now nearly January 2011. And not a single Councilman has acted to address this inequitable program that targets you as big spenders. Worse yet, when mayoral candidate Terri Olian finally did bring up the issue at the recent budget meetings, she was a lone voice. There wasn't one single Councilman who was supportive of her proposal. They were all silent or voiced their objection to reimbursing the people who were already coerced into paying upon threat of an enforceable lien.

Please talk to the mayoral candidates and tell them you need to see action NOW!! And, tell the City Council candidates that they need to take a stand now. Don't support anyone unless their actions confirm their opposition to targeting individual residents for the Sanitary Sewer Program. Do this before it is too late, before you get your letter from the City demanding payment. The program may be "on hiatus" but it is very much alive.

If you'd like your own copy of the AECOM report, write me at downthedraininhp@gmail.com and provide your e-mail address. Thank you!

Your comments...

This blog does get comments from time to time, even from Mayor Belsky, and I'm not sure if everyone can find them. They trail the various posts (some under "archive") and in teeny-tiny Googleblog letters, if a comment was left, there is a place to click to read them. You can also subscribe to the blog and the comments individually directly in the right hand column.

Dan offered a helpful comment last night. "Couple questions: 1) what's the best way to express our concerns to the candidates; and 2) I don't know Steve Mandel so why is it not surprising he wouldn't want to reimburse those who have already paid in?" Dan is clearly a strategic thinker and person of action!

1) Lots of ways to express our opinion thanks to social media and the fact that we're a rather small city.

If you don't want to go through all the technical and other details, you merely need to tell the candidates that you support Debra's position on the Sanitary Sewer Program and that you will not support a mayoral candidate who does not actively work now to fix this situation before the election. They will understand. They will be sympathetic. Tell them that this isn't enough, that you want to see action now.

You can:

• Send a message: Both candidates have Facebook pages: Nancy's and Terri's. If you'd rather deliver your thoughts more directly, Terri's email address: terri@olianformayor.com and Nancy's: Nancy@FriendsofNancy.com. They also have websites.
  
• Call them (I just don't want to publish their home numbers but they are in the book...)
• Talk to them when they visit your home. Nancy showed up at my home a few weeks ago in the cold!
• Let them know when you run into them at Sunset Foods and other stores.

Let the blog know if you contact them and what their response is. If you do not wish to be published, that will be respected. If you need my personal e-mail address, that will be provided if you leave a comment on the blog and request it.

2) Why wasn't it wasn't a surprise that Steve Mandel was a vocal opponent of Terri Olian's brave position at the budget meeting that the Councilmen address the issue of reimbursement in planning for 2011?

My brother has been writing City Councilmen for more than two years now. Until recently, Steve never even responded to those letters. (And neither did any other Councilman, except for Michael Brenner.) In November, Steve finally sent an e-mail in response David's umpty-ninth correspondence that demanded reimbursement.

Steve responded that he is opposed to the continuation of the Sanitary Sewer Program, although for the past two years he has done nothing to place it on the agenda and get rid of it. (Actions speak louder than words.)

However, Steve further told my brother that he was opposed to reimbursing the residents who already paid for this unsupportable Program. Seems that years ago Steve's parents had to pay for Ridge Road being paved, and that they weren't going to get their money back just because it is not the City's policy anymore with regard to improving arterial roads. He ended his e-mail with a something that purported to be an analogy stating that if he (Steve) was able to get his taxes reduced from them being doubled, that would not save him from the years he was unfairly taxed.

I guess Councilman Mandel thinks the City should operate under the principle that "oh, well, life is tough, it isn't fair, get over it." He did nothing to respond to the complaints before my brother and other HP residents were targeted as individual residents, and has done nothing since. And, now, that these targeted residents have been relieved of their hard earned cash (remember, we're talking $5000-20,000) upon threat of a lien for a program he no longer supports (at least in theory), it is no surprise that he opposed Terri Olian when she raised the question of reimbursement. (The fact that he also supports Nancy Rotering as the candidate may also weigh into his vocal opposition at that meeting, but, who knows?)

BTW, we do give Steve Mandel credit for finally replying to my brother's e-mail. Shortly afterward, Nancy Rotering called my brother. Terri Olian and I had a long chat about the issue. There remain three other Councilmen who in nearly three years have never responded once to any of the letters sent to City Hall with copies to them.

You can reach Steve Mandel at stevemandel@comcast.net. He is most welcome to articulate his position in a comment to this blog.

Actions speak louder than words...

Make no mistake. We should not support any mayoral candidate who does not act NOW, BEFORE the election, to repeal the Master Sanitary Sewer Program with regard to requiring individual residents to bear the financial burden for improving the infrastructure of the City of Highland Park. We should not support any mayoral candidate does not act NOW, BEFORE the election, to reimburse the residents who were coerced by the City into paying thousands of dollars for this ill conceived and inequitable City program. Withhold your support until you see real concrete action.

I have had the opportunity to discuss this stance with candidates Terri Olian and Nancy Rodkin Rotering. While Highland Park is lucky to have two such fine, dedicated and competent mayoral candidates, it appears that neither of them will take the requisite action to squarely place this issue on the agenda for a City Council meeting before the election, and to fight to protect individual HP residents from the risk of receiving the City letter requiring them to pay $5,000-20,000 within weeks thereafter. This makes it highly doubtful that either will do anything about it afterward. So, perhaps we need another candidate to step in…

However, as the greatest journey begins with a single step, we should take note that candidate Terri Olian did step up recently at a budget committee meeting and publicly raised the significance of the issue for discussion, suggesting that the budget should include reimbursement of payments to the residents who have already thousands of dollars for repairs to their lateral sanitary lines as required by Sanitary Sewer Program. Terri was formerly in favor of the Sanitary Sewer Plan yet, I believe, she now sees that it had a negative effect on many individual residents - that it is inequitable and the program is unsupportable. It takes a big person to change one’s stance and she showed real leadership to bring up the issue. Thank you, very much, Terri! It was a fine first step and truly much appreciated. Yet, the issue really needs to get on the City Council agenda and you need to fight it there. You should find a lot of people who will support you in that endeavor.

I was not at the budget meeting. Yet, I’ve been told that after Terri proposed the residents be repaid all the other Councilmen were either opposed to reimbursement or remained silent. It was reported that Steve Mandel was vocal in his opposition and that came as no surprise. With no positive support from any other Councilman, Terri is unlikely to fight alone. Yet, if the residents make it clear that this issue is important to them, Terri will listen and act.

I asked Nancy Rotering why she was silent at this meeting. She replied that the budget meeting was the wrong place to bring up issue and, especially, because Terri raised the issue late in the day after hours of work. I understand tired and also that there is a right time and place for all important ideas. But frankly, I don’t think it takes much effort to say, “I agree with you, Terri, and think that reimbursing the residents for the Sanitary Sewer Program should be placed on the City Council agenda, where it belongs, as soon as possible.” I just don’t understand your silence, Nancy, on this important issue.

Silence from all, except for Steve Mandel who is clearly opposed to reimbursing any resident who was forced to pay for this inequitable program. Silence from very same City Councilmen who in the last election assured Ravinia neighbors that they were opposed to the Sanitary Sewer Program. Shocking, unacceptable, and I sincerely hope they will be held accountable and definitely when their terms are up and they look for votes the next time. (Interestingly, Steve Mandel endorses Nancy Rotering for Mayor.)

We should note that Nancy voted against the 2011 HP Budget. In News from Nancy, Nancy articulates the reasons why she voted against the budget, using reserves and increasing taxes. It’s actually a useful report of her analysis of the major budgeting issues and her commitment to fiscal responsibility. However, nowhere in her report does she address the need to ensure that no resident is ever again coerced into paying thousands of dollars for City infrastructure repairs and that those who have been targeted should be reimbursed. Instead, she expresses her concerns about raising taxes by 2.5%. Some residents in Sunset Park and the Highlands paid thousands of dollars for infrastructure repairs. Wouldn’t most of us be happy to pay another $100 in taxes (far, far, far more than a 2.5% increase) to ensure that the City fixes flooding problems without ever showing up at our door and demanding $5,000-20,000 from any of us? A small price to pay...

We need a mayoral candidate that gets the big picture. Wouldn’t it be great if both of our candidates would do the right thing now?

Mayoral candidates, Councilmen, and residents are welcome to provide their positions on these issues and comment on the blog.