And to borrow Yogi Berra's famous phrase, Freeport can learn a lot about how to become a better place to live by learning from other cities. Ken Bonsack recently took the FreeportProGov camera and microphone to the home of Roy Buol, Mayor of Dubuque. Please take a few minutes and watch this interview on YouTube!
Every city has it's own unique strengths - but ever city can benefit from Professional City Management. As Mayor Buol describes, City Manager Mike Van Milligen works is a key team member, implementing policy set forth by the Mayor and City Council - and the many citizens who serve as volunteer advisors and partners.
Have you heard the phrase "Sustainable Dubuque"? Or how the City of Dubuque is partnering with IBM to not only become a "Smarter City" - but to bring 1,300 good-paying jobs to town? Watch the videos and you will be inspired - we can do better! And it starts with your YES vote for City Manager on Nov. 2.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Are We Ready Yet?
This is what our Journal Standard had to say on April 2nd, 1969-- one day after the election of Mark McLeroy.
"The ups and downs of Freeport's city politics justify a prediction that we shall never have a satisfactory and competent conduct of city affairs unless and until a city manager plan is chosen. There will, in such a case, still be a mayor and council, but the city manager plan gives sorely needed continuity to the management of city business, which is very big business, and avoids the vagaries and ignorance of city politics inherited from the nineteenth century.
If the management of all business enterprises were to be subject to periodic eviction on the ground that nobody should remain in office for more than four or eight years, all business would operate in a state of chronic uncertainty. at the earliest possible opportunity, Freeport should renew the consideration of a city manager plan."
Today, 70% of Illinois cities are managed by a professional city manager. When will Freeport move in this direction?
"The ups and downs of Freeport's city politics justify a prediction that we shall never have a satisfactory and competent conduct of city affairs unless and until a city manager plan is chosen. There will, in such a case, still be a mayor and council, but the city manager plan gives sorely needed continuity to the management of city business, which is very big business, and avoids the vagaries and ignorance of city politics inherited from the nineteenth century.
If the management of all business enterprises were to be subject to periodic eviction on the ground that nobody should remain in office for more than four or eight years, all business would operate in a state of chronic uncertainty. at the earliest possible opportunity, Freeport should renew the consideration of a city manager plan."
Today, 70% of Illinois cities are managed by a professional city manager. When will Freeport move in this direction?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
City Manager for Freeport Now on YouTube
Please visit our YouTube presentation of how Freeport will benefit by adopting a managerial form of government.
Just click on "YouTube" to the left of this text.
After you've viewed the presentation, if you have more questions, please get in touch. Send us your comments.
Just click on "YouTube" to the left of this text.
After you've viewed the presentation, if you have more questions, please get in touch. Send us your comments.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Let's Give It Another Go!
It is time to reconsider the question whether our fair city could benefit by transforming itself to a "council-manager form of government."
In a nutshell, the city-- meaning the elected mayor and council-- search for and hire a professional experienced public administrator to manage the day-to-day operations of the city.
The mayor and council act like our school board. They set the goals and objectives and review the performance of the professional manager (or in the case of the school district-- the superintendent).
According to Robert J. O’Neill, Jr., Executive Director International City/County Management Association, “More than half of the 40 cities that received a triple-A bond rating as of December 2003 from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, for example, operate under the council-manager form. It is also the structure used by six of the 10 communities recognized in 2004 by the National Civic League with the coveted All-America City Award, which encourages civic excellence by honoring those communities in which “citizens, government, business, and nonprofit organizations demonstrate successful resolution of critical community issues.”
“Recently the Center for Digital Government and the National League of Cities surveyed local governments and ranked the top 10 cities in four population categories for making the best use of technology to improve operations and better serve their constituents. Eighty-three percent of the highest ranked cities use the council-manager form.”
Here is a list of Illinois communities who have adopted this form of government.
Arlington Heights, Barrington, Bloomington, Brookfield, Carbondale, Carpentersville Centralia, Champaign, Charleston, Clarendon Hills, Collinsville, Crystal Lake, Decatur, Deerfield, DeKalb, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Evanston, Galesburg, Glencoe, Glenview, Greenville, Highland, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Joliet, Kenilworth, Kewanee, LaGrange, LaGrange Park, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Lombard, Lyons, Maywood, Mount Prospect, Mt. Vernon, Naperville, Niles, Normal, Northbrook, Northfield, Northlake, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Olney, Orland Park, Palatine, Paris, Park Forest, Park Ridge, Peoria, Princeton, Riverside, Rochelle, Rock Island, Rolling Meadows, Salem, Savanna, Skokie, Sterling, Streator, Sycamore, Villa Park, Westchester, Western Springs, Wheaton, Wheeling, Wilmette, Winnetka, Wood Dale, Wood River, & Woodstock.
Each of these municipalities is managed by a professionally trained and experienced city manager. In many cities, the manager reports to an elected mayor and/or city council.
The mayor and city council set policy, plan for the future, and provide strategic direction for the professional manager. The manager takes care of the day-to-day operations and insures that the strategic directives set by the mayor and/or council are carried out.
Many of the municipalities on this list are among the most vibrant and successful in our state, and some are nationally recognized for their ability to provide their citizens with an exemplary quality of life.
As municipal governance becomes ever more complex and challenging, the need for experienced professional management is evident and necessary. Isn’t it time for Freeport to look to the future?
Let's give this professional form of government a go in Freeport. After all our city has gone through in the past several years, what do we have to loose?
In a nutshell, the city-- meaning the elected mayor and council-- search for and hire a professional experienced public administrator to manage the day-to-day operations of the city.
The mayor and council act like our school board. They set the goals and objectives and review the performance of the professional manager (or in the case of the school district-- the superintendent).
According to Robert J. O’Neill, Jr., Executive Director International City/County Management Association, “More than half of the 40 cities that received a triple-A bond rating as of December 2003 from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, for example, operate under the council-manager form. It is also the structure used by six of the 10 communities recognized in 2004 by the National Civic League with the coveted All-America City Award, which encourages civic excellence by honoring those communities in which “citizens, government, business, and nonprofit organizations demonstrate successful resolution of critical community issues.”
“Recently the Center for Digital Government and the National League of Cities surveyed local governments and ranked the top 10 cities in four population categories for making the best use of technology to improve operations and better serve their constituents. Eighty-three percent of the highest ranked cities use the council-manager form.”
Here is a list of Illinois communities who have adopted this form of government.
Arlington Heights, Barrington, Bloomington, Brookfield, Carbondale, Carpentersville Centralia, Champaign, Charleston, Clarendon Hills, Collinsville, Crystal Lake, Decatur, Deerfield, DeKalb, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Evanston, Galesburg, Glencoe, Glenview, Greenville, Highland, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Joliet, Kenilworth, Kewanee, LaGrange, LaGrange Park, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Lombard, Lyons, Maywood, Mount Prospect, Mt. Vernon, Naperville, Niles, Normal, Northbrook, Northfield, Northlake, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Olney, Orland Park, Palatine, Paris, Park Forest, Park Ridge, Peoria, Princeton, Riverside, Rochelle, Rock Island, Rolling Meadows, Salem, Savanna, Skokie, Sterling, Streator, Sycamore, Villa Park, Westchester, Western Springs, Wheaton, Wheeling, Wilmette, Winnetka, Wood Dale, Wood River, & Woodstock.
Each of these municipalities is managed by a professionally trained and experienced city manager. In many cities, the manager reports to an elected mayor and/or city council.
The mayor and city council set policy, plan for the future, and provide strategic direction for the professional manager. The manager takes care of the day-to-day operations and insures that the strategic directives set by the mayor and/or council are carried out.
Many of the municipalities on this list are among the most vibrant and successful in our state, and some are nationally recognized for their ability to provide their citizens with an exemplary quality of life.
As municipal governance becomes ever more complex and challenging, the need for experienced professional management is evident and necessary. Isn’t it time for Freeport to look to the future?
Let's give this professional form of government a go in Freeport. After all our city has gone through in the past several years, what do we have to loose?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Capital or Insanity
Walter Wriston said that, “Capital goes where it is welcome and stays where it is well treated.”
By capital, Wriston meant both what you carry in your head and in your wallet, according to Rich Karlgaard, Publisher of Forbes Magazine. Karlgaard says that,
"People, investment capital and businesses are mobile: They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states or out of the country."
"Forbes’ new study for the American Legislative Exchange Council titled Rich States, Poor States, published in March 2009, shows Americans are more sensitive to high taxes than ever before. The tax differential between low-tax and high-tax states is widening, meaning that a relocation from high-tax California or Ohio, to no-income tax Texas or Tennessee, is all the more financially profitable both in terms of lower tax bills and more job opportunities.”
"Updating some research from Richard Vedder of Ohio University from 1998 to 2007, more than 1,100 people every day including Sundays and holidays moved from the nine highest income-tax states such as California, New Jersey, New York and Ohio and relocated mostly to the nine tax-haven states with no income tax, including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and Texas. We also found that over these same years the no-income tax states created 89% more jobs and had 32% faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts."
"Most rich people are employers, by the way." They are also the most mobile, and "when they leave, they take jobs with them."
"Now you know why California’s unemployment is 11.2%."
At a time when unemployment in Freeport is at an all time low, we have to ask why we cannot come together to nourish and support business enterprises in our community and the region.
One problem may be that we have an economic development foundation which is mute and a newspaper which appears more interested in fanning the fires of penny-wise pound-foolish factionalism than reporting on the actual facts surrounding, e.g., a recent effort to create a concrete processing facility at Mill Race Crossing.
We have to ask why this newspaper continually prints the letters of one member of the county board without spending the time and effort to do its own investigative reporting. It is nonfeasance to continually print one sided biased opinions without so much as a hint of investigative reporting.
Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Business and the hope of jobs created and retained can ill afford to tolerate the lack of cooperation within and between our governmental bodies. Until our governments become reasonable and factual and work hard together to spend tax dollars more effectively and retain and attract employers, we will never pull back from the brink.
Lastly, it is a wasteful lie to hope that a single "white knight" will save us from ourselves.
By capital, Wriston meant both what you carry in your head and in your wallet, according to Rich Karlgaard, Publisher of Forbes Magazine. Karlgaard says that,
"People, investment capital and businesses are mobile: They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states or out of the country."
"Forbes’ new study for the American Legislative Exchange Council titled Rich States, Poor States, published in March 2009, shows Americans are more sensitive to high taxes than ever before. The tax differential between low-tax and high-tax states is widening, meaning that a relocation from high-tax California or Ohio, to no-income tax Texas or Tennessee, is all the more financially profitable both in terms of lower tax bills and more job opportunities.”
"Updating some research from Richard Vedder of Ohio University from 1998 to 2007, more than 1,100 people every day including Sundays and holidays moved from the nine highest income-tax states such as California, New Jersey, New York and Ohio and relocated mostly to the nine tax-haven states with no income tax, including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and Texas. We also found that over these same years the no-income tax states created 89% more jobs and had 32% faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts."
"Most rich people are employers, by the way." They are also the most mobile, and "when they leave, they take jobs with them."
"Now you know why California’s unemployment is 11.2%."
At a time when unemployment in Freeport is at an all time low, we have to ask why we cannot come together to nourish and support business enterprises in our community and the region.
One problem may be that we have an economic development foundation which is mute and a newspaper which appears more interested in fanning the fires of penny-wise pound-foolish factionalism than reporting on the actual facts surrounding, e.g., a recent effort to create a concrete processing facility at Mill Race Crossing.
We have to ask why this newspaper continually prints the letters of one member of the county board without spending the time and effort to do its own investigative reporting. It is nonfeasance to continually print one sided biased opinions without so much as a hint of investigative reporting.
Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Business and the hope of jobs created and retained can ill afford to tolerate the lack of cooperation within and between our governmental bodies. Until our governments become reasonable and factual and work hard together to spend tax dollars more effectively and retain and attract employers, we will never pull back from the brink.
Lastly, it is a wasteful lie to hope that a single "white knight" will save us from ourselves.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
J-S Flatters Hizzonor
On Wednesday, April 7th, The Freeport Journal Standard applauded Mayor Gaulrapp’s willingness to give back 10% of his income and set the example for others to do the same.
We have a few questions for the Journal Standard: First, has the paper compared the payroll of the current administration with the previous administration of Mayor Gitz? Viz. Has the paper examined the rise in compensation department by department and position by position?
This question gives rise to several others, namely the position and compensation of the Finance Director. Is that position strictly necessary when the city also has two other financial people in the administration? Others have questioned this, and yet the Journal Standard remains mute.
And has this paper examined the compensation of the City’s Corporation Attorney and contrasted that with the amount spent on outside legal fees?
Finally, has the Journal Standard looked into the amount of time Mayor Gaulrapp is devoting to his campaign for Don Manzullo’s seat in the US House of Representatives?
His campaign comes at a time when our Mayor and his active and continuous leadership is most needed. Regardless of what the Mayor may say, his focus cannot be entirely on the needs of this Freeport and its current predicaments.
Our feeling is that Mayor Gaulrapp’s pay cut is as political as it is an act of leadership, and we eagerly look forward to further cost improvements in his administration.
We have a few questions for the Journal Standard: First, has the paper compared the payroll of the current administration with the previous administration of Mayor Gitz? Viz. Has the paper examined the rise in compensation department by department and position by position?
This question gives rise to several others, namely the position and compensation of the Finance Director. Is that position strictly necessary when the city also has two other financial people in the administration? Others have questioned this, and yet the Journal Standard remains mute.
And has this paper examined the compensation of the City’s Corporation Attorney and contrasted that with the amount spent on outside legal fees?
Finally, has the Journal Standard looked into the amount of time Mayor Gaulrapp is devoting to his campaign for Don Manzullo’s seat in the US House of Representatives?
His campaign comes at a time when our Mayor and his active and continuous leadership is most needed. Regardless of what the Mayor may say, his focus cannot be entirely on the needs of this Freeport and its current predicaments.
Our feeling is that Mayor Gaulrapp’s pay cut is as political as it is an act of leadership, and we eagerly look forward to further cost improvements in his administration.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Just Say No to Taxes & Fees
Dear Mayor Gaulrapp,
When Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here,” he set the standard for those who would lead example.
Today, enterprises both public and private face critical financial challenges. If leaders expect their organizations to make sacrifices, it is incumbent on them to take the first steps. This should not be an option; it is part of the fundamental job description.
Sadly, our news is full of stories of leaders who continue to handsomely compensate themselves and their cronies while those they lead are called to sacrifice or sent out on the street. Just take a look at Honeywell’s David Cote’s multi-million dollar bonus in the midst of layoffs here in Freeport.
One wonders what would have happened if Louis XVI had voluntarily turned Versailles into a hospital, curtailed all extravagant royal expenditures, moved his family and courtiers into more moderate accommodations, and ordered the French aristocracy to follow his lead.
If our elected leaders expect belt tightening, they should first tighten their own belts. By setting the example, they can expect a more enthusiastic reception from their management team and at the collective bargaining table.
Incidentally, the personal sacrifices that leaders make should not be mere political posturing but part of a well planned strategy which rolls back all expenditures not critically detrimental to the core mission of their team and those they serve.
Here are suggested measures for such a plan:
1. Take a meaningful cut in pay, and have your staff do the same.
2. Clearly lay out the Core Mission of the City of Freeport, and use this to implement a restructuring of City Hall, to dramatically reduce staffing and expenditures. The Core Mission must include the following:
• Provide adequate police protection for Freeport citizens and their assets.
• Maintain fire protection at the existing ISO rating of 3 or better.
• Enforce the codes and standards set forth by the City Code, and state law.
• Ensure proper maintenance of City infrastructure.
3. City Hall should be focused on the Core Mission only. Everything else is either unnecessary or can be provided by others at lower cost to the public. For example:
• Cut outside consulting expenses completely!
• Seek out local talented volunteers (retirees, for example) to replace that outside consultation.
• Consolidate job functions, remove duplication in staff functions and avoid duplicating services already available from other organizations. Again, stick to the Core Mission.
• Work closely with the County and School District on an active program to combine purchasing and maintenance functions.
• Outsource any function not an integral part of the Core Mission.
• Reduce the time and cost of unnecessary legal cases which are not related to the Core Mission.
Mayor Gaulrapp, we are aware that the City is doing some of what is mentioned in this letter. However, we believe that the City has become seriously distracted from its Core Mission. If fact, the City has not clearly articulated or demonstrated that it has a clear strategy to overcome the financial difficulty it finds itself in today.
This distraction, this lack of strategic planning, this lack of leadership is the sole reason why you feel that the only solution is to raise taxes and fees.
Until you and your administration reduce overhead, duplication, and non-core mission items from the budget, we regard the raising of taxes and fees as an effrontery to the businesses and citizens of this community.
Sir, you may consider this our version of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses.” In point of fact, it is just good business.
Yours sincerely,
The Freeport Citizens for Professional Government
When Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here,” he set the standard for those who would lead example.
Today, enterprises both public and private face critical financial challenges. If leaders expect their organizations to make sacrifices, it is incumbent on them to take the first steps. This should not be an option; it is part of the fundamental job description.
Sadly, our news is full of stories of leaders who continue to handsomely compensate themselves and their cronies while those they lead are called to sacrifice or sent out on the street. Just take a look at Honeywell’s David Cote’s multi-million dollar bonus in the midst of layoffs here in Freeport.
One wonders what would have happened if Louis XVI had voluntarily turned Versailles into a hospital, curtailed all extravagant royal expenditures, moved his family and courtiers into more moderate accommodations, and ordered the French aristocracy to follow his lead.
If our elected leaders expect belt tightening, they should first tighten their own belts. By setting the example, they can expect a more enthusiastic reception from their management team and at the collective bargaining table.
Incidentally, the personal sacrifices that leaders make should not be mere political posturing but part of a well planned strategy which rolls back all expenditures not critically detrimental to the core mission of their team and those they serve.
Here are suggested measures for such a plan:
1. Take a meaningful cut in pay, and have your staff do the same.
2. Clearly lay out the Core Mission of the City of Freeport, and use this to implement a restructuring of City Hall, to dramatically reduce staffing and expenditures. The Core Mission must include the following:
• Provide adequate police protection for Freeport citizens and their assets.
• Maintain fire protection at the existing ISO rating of 3 or better.
• Enforce the codes and standards set forth by the City Code, and state law.
• Ensure proper maintenance of City infrastructure.
3. City Hall should be focused on the Core Mission only. Everything else is either unnecessary or can be provided by others at lower cost to the public. For example:
• Cut outside consulting expenses completely!
• Seek out local talented volunteers (retirees, for example) to replace that outside consultation.
• Consolidate job functions, remove duplication in staff functions and avoid duplicating services already available from other organizations. Again, stick to the Core Mission.
• Work closely with the County and School District on an active program to combine purchasing and maintenance functions.
• Outsource any function not an integral part of the Core Mission.
• Reduce the time and cost of unnecessary legal cases which are not related to the Core Mission.
Mayor Gaulrapp, we are aware that the City is doing some of what is mentioned in this letter. However, we believe that the City has become seriously distracted from its Core Mission. If fact, the City has not clearly articulated or demonstrated that it has a clear strategy to overcome the financial difficulty it finds itself in today.
This distraction, this lack of strategic planning, this lack of leadership is the sole reason why you feel that the only solution is to raise taxes and fees.
Until you and your administration reduce overhead, duplication, and non-core mission items from the budget, we regard the raising of taxes and fees as an effrontery to the businesses and citizens of this community.
Sir, you may consider this our version of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses.” In point of fact, it is just good business.
Yours sincerely,
The Freeport Citizens for Professional Government
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