City of Sterling, Illinois City Manager's Blog

Potholes!

2011-01-06T01:46:00.000-06:00

Ah, the bane of winter and spring as temperatures vary between freezing and thawing.

Potholes form when moisture gets under the surface and turns the base to mud or washes out parts of the base. Water below the surface also freezes. As it expands, it pushes the road upward. Then as it thaws, base settles and the road surface has no support beneath it. A car or truck hits this spot and breaks the surface open into the hole. There's no avoiding them unfortunately, especially here where temperatures in the winter frequently alternate between freezing and thawing.

Lincolnway/IL Route 2 has been the worst offender. The roadway has needed reconstruction for several years. Since the roadway is a State highway, it is IDOT's responsibility to reconstruct it. Unfortunately, IDOT had to rebid the project and it got off to a late start this year. The work won't be done until spring, so in the meantime, we're at the mercy of IDOT and their contractor to get the holes filled. The road is in such bad shape, it's impossible for our City crews to maintain by ourselves. Since the reconstruction began last fall, it is IDOT's responsibility to hold the road together. We have volunteered City crews to assist the contractor and will continue to do so.

Unfortunately, this time of year, asphalt plants aren't open because of the cold temperatures. This means crews can only use "cold patch." As you've probably noticed, cold patch is temporary at best. However, it's the only solution we have at this time and the most commonly used method across the country. Lasting repairs require the warm temperatures and operating asphalt plants.

Analysis of our economy an what we need to do

2010-12-16T09:57:00.000-06:00

I had the good fortune of hearing Diane Swonk at a recent conference. She's referenced in this article that I think is very telling of our economy. The article offers some suggestions on what we need to do. In short, we have to have a tough conversation with ourselves about how we're going to prepare our 21st century workforce so we can keep jobs in America since we're now competing in a global marketplace. We need to examine long-term change and not short-term platitudes. Middle class jobs for unskilled workers are going to continue to shrink. Not only are we losing unskilled and low-skill jobs to overseas, our education system is falling behind some of the same overseas economies too, putting us behind in new unskilled and skilled jobs. Schools, community leaders and most importantly, parents, have to re-prioritize education and how it is delivered. Please take a few minutes to read: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101216/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_special

Congratulations Sterling Newman

2010-11-28T00:15:00.000-06:00

Four state championships in 20 years! Absolutely amazing. Congratulations to the team and a job well done representing the community.

Expanding our Web Presence

2010-11-07T00:39:00.000-05:00

We're taking our second foray into the world of social media. If you missed our first social media entrance, you can find more here at Nixle. The Nixle service allows you to receive alerts, advisories or other information from the Sterling Police Department via text or email. The sign up link is at the top of the linked page.

This week, we've started our Facebook page. Facebook allows us an additional and very convenient way to get fresh, accurate information out quickly from all of our departments. Check it out today!

Where to start?

2010-10-26T00:10:00.000-05:00

I've neglected this page again, a habit I have to break. It's just so easy to get caught up in everything either already on the desk or happening on job sites or out in other departments.

The summer of 2010 was really quite remarkable in retrospect. Hopefully most people will find the majority of the efforts to be quite positive.

-New Trash program
-NWSW Demolition
-$1,000,000 in forgivable loans from EPA
-Demo project in the 600 block of E. 3rd Street
-$2.7million in grants for abandoned and foreclosed home repair
-New Menard's under construction
-Buffalo Wild Wings Opening
-New Kohl's/PetSmart under construction and the old Wal*mart demolished
-The 14"Mill was sold while we continue cleanup work with EPA Grants behind it
-The most street work ever done with the exception of 1996-97 when the MFT bonds were issued thanks to the local option sales tax and stimulus funds
-VA Clinic announced in Sterling
-Continued sewer separation projects
-Created an Administrative Hearing process to speed up cases and ease the case load of an overwhelmed Whiteside County Circuit Court
-Started the planning process for the future of the riverfront

It's been incredible, but that's really just scratching the surface!

It has taken lot of work to get this much accomplished in a down economy without breaking the bank. There has been assistance from the feds, grant writing, cooperation from the county, help from Sterling Today, the Greater Sterling Development Corporation, U of I Extension, and Rock Island Renaissance. Most importantly, we've had a Council willing to look at new ideas and cooperating with others to bring good things here. I can't say enough about the people I get to work with and that help the City do this. I probably owe a whole post about the great people that work in the background and keep a positive attitude! It's not always sunshine and roses, but we have to keep ourselves pointed in that direction to overcome the negatives.

Municipal Band - A Real Sterling Asset

2010-04-28T22:42:00.001-05:00

Tonight was Sterling Municipal Band's annual "Spring Concert." Another fine performance from Jon James and the crew. Hope you were able to get out and enjoy it!

The summer concert series at Grandon in downtown Sterling starts the 2nd Wednesday in June and runs through the summer each Wednesday evening. Concerts are free. Bring your blanket or lawn chair and join everyone at the band shell. Each week, service groups are there to provide drinks and food, so you can enjoy a light dinner or evening snack with the concert.

Come on down! http://www.sterlingmunicipalband.com/

Big Changes to Solid Waste!

2010-04-12T19:05:00.000-05:00

The City of Sterling is making a big change to how your garbage and recycling are picked up and how the program is paid for.

Trash pickup: Currently, citizens must throw household waste into a special waste pickup bag that must be purchased at the current price of $1.60 each. Buying bags helps encourage people to cut down waste, but it also comes with the inconvenience of buying special bags, ripping and tearing of bags, animals, additional plastic in the landfill, etc.

In July, we will switch to 64+/- gallon garbage carts. No more need for late night trash bag runs on trash night! Simply place your kitchen trash bags in the cart and wheel it to the curb on trash night. The lid will help contain the garbage and keep litter from blowing and animals from getting too inquisitive. The carts are surprisingly easy to move, and unlike a bag, you don't have to drag it nor lift it! If it's still too cumbersome due to a bona fide medical condition or similar, the hauler will work to help you get it picked up.

We also hope that buy having a set fee and no bags to buy, we can help eliminate illegal dumping and trash accumulation in our neighborhoods!

Recycling pickup: Currently, residents have an 18 gallon recycle tub to place all recyclables in. Unfortunately, 18 gallons is hardly enough for most residents these days as we've gotten better about recycling. The open bins overflow and on windy days, we find a lot of plastics in the street. Residents will now receive a second cart for recyclables of either 42 or 64 gallons (to be determined). Everything you can currently recycle, you can continue to recycle, except now you have more room and there will be less litter blowing around your neighborhood!

Rewards $$$! We are very excited to introduce RecycleBank to you! Sterling will be just the 2nd city in Illinois to partner with RecycleBank to bring you rewards just for recycling! Check out their website for more details! In short, each cart is weighed and the more your area of town recycles, the greater the monthly rewards. These rewards include gift certificates and coupons to local and national businesses. If you take advantage of these rewards, you've just taken down your monthly cost of waste disposal while doing your part to help the environment. How neat is that?

Check out these YouTube videos about RecycleBank: Video 1 Video 2 Video 3

Costs: Currently, residents pay $7.50/mo on their water bill for Solid Waste, which includes recycling, yard waste and trash. Additionally, residents pay $1.60 for each "City bag" that has to be used. If you use one bag per week, you'll pay $13.90 to $15.50 per month depending on the number of pick up days that month. Now, you'll have a bill of approximately $13.85 +/- and you'll also get credits back for recycling, effectively reducing that amount even further!

FAQ
When will my trash recycling be picked up?
At this point, your current pick up dates will not change

How will my yard waste be disposed of?
Just as it is now, using either the Kraft paper bags or a container marked with a large "X." You will also have the option of buying a yard waste specific cart if you like.

Do I set my trash in the same place?
At this point, yes. The cart does require space on either side of the cart for the truck to pick up the cart. The Council is considering whether to move trash collection out of the alleys. Alleys require significant maintenance due to the weight of the trucks combined with the freezing and thawing of the alleys each year. Alleys are not built with the same strength as city streets which have much stronger bases beneath them. Trash trucks also run over curbs at alley entrances due to the tight turns required at many alleys. If the Council chooses to move to street collection only, you would be allowed to store your cart neatly against the side of your house.

Who else uses carts?
In Northern Illinois and the Quad Cities, Rock Island, Moline, Dixon, Naperville, Bettendorf, Macomb, Davenport, Sycamore, Mendota, Princeton use carts for trash collection.

Can they be used in the snow?
Toronto, Ontario; Minneapolis,MN; Fargo,ND; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Detroit,MI; Anchorage, AK; Milwaukee, WI; Toledo, OH; Bozeman, MT; Grand Rapids, MI; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Billings, MT; Casper, WY; Rapid City, SD; Bismarck,ND; and Madison, WI are all major northern cities that have successfully adopted various cart collection systems. Carts are easily pushed or pulled down driveways or yards by design. While larger than a bag, there's no lifting, dripping or balancing a heavy bag while walking down the drive. No need to push drag or carry a heavy recycling cart to the curb either.

Do I have to buy the carts?
You will receive a trash cart and a recycle cart as part of your regular bill at no additional charge. You may elect to choose a larger trash container for a monthly premium. Yard waste carts are available for separate purchase. The trash and recycle carts are property of the waste hauler. The yard waste cart would become yours and your responsibility.

All of my trash won't fit in the 64 gallon cart, what do I do?
If this is a rare occurrence, you will be able to purchase stickers to place on extra bags like today's bulk waste stickers. If this is a frequent occurrence, you may want to, or you may be asked to switch to a larger container. Most families won't have this issue with good recycling habits. The 64 gallon carts hold more than an equivalent sized bag since there are no wasted corners or lost space to tie up the bags.

In all, this should be a cost effective means to cleaner neighborhoods, added convenience and increased recycling!

Rural Fire Tax Referendum

2010-01-31T13:10:00.000-06:00

As in the past, life gets in the way and this gets neglected unfortunately. However, there is a very important issue on Tuesday's ballot for residents in the Sterling Rural Fire District. On January 26th, there was an informational meeting held at the Coliseum. For anyone unable to attend, I have uploaded slide from the meeting here.

Much has been made that rural resident pay one-third the rate of City residents and since the rural area is no more than one-third the calls, that is appropriate. What the City is concerned with is that if the rural district is up to a third of the calls, the rural district should contribute up to a third the total cost.

If rural residents, as they are now, pay one-third the rate, a person with a rural home 1 foot outside city limits is paying one third the taxes of the person next door and inside the City. The City Council has been clear that it's not fair for the City to send the same number of firefighters and equipment to the rural district when those residents are paying a fraction of what City residents pay.

I have also been told that comments have been made that the substation or Station 1 is unnecessary. While we can operate without it, it will no doubt have a service impact in some instances. Unfortunately, whether we cut police, spending on infrastructure or economic development, there will be an impact. That's the unfortunate reality of where we are. The costs of general insurance, health insurance, pensions, road construction and specialty equipment have all risen much faster than normal inflation and revenues.

Lastly, I would ask everyone to review Page 15 of the presentation. Sterling Rural Fire District residents have the LOWEST rate in Whiteside's 12 rural fire districts yet are one of only two districts receiving fire services from full-time firefighters. 8 of 12 districts pay either double or triple the Sterling Rural rate for volunteer service. One cannot reasonably expect the City of Sterling to provide fulltime firefighters at a rate that's half of what other districts pay for volunteers.

Please examine all the facts carefully before voting.

Proposed Rental Inspection Ordinance

2009-06-17T14:16:00.003-05:00

The City Council and staff continue to explore an ordinance that would call for regular inspections of rental properties in Sterling. There are some questions that continue to arise. There was a recent Council work session which overviewed the program. You can see the PowerPoint presentation in PDF format here.

One of the questions is the time frame and nature of inspections. First, these are not unannounced or unscheduled inspections. The goal is to make sure all properties are safe and up to building and maintenance codes. Ideally, owners and managers of rental property would have the homes up to code before we arrive, knowing when we would inspect. If the ordinance passes in July or August, we will begin the registration and scheduling process with inspections likely to begin late in the year or around January 1.

Secondly, there is an internal inspection component to the program, but it is not scheduled to begin for 3 years. Due to the limited manpower available and the number of properties in the City, we will focus on exteriors for the first 3 years unless there is a complaint about an issue.

Again, this proposal does not add more stringent codes/standards to what the City has already adopted in past years. This program is just another tool by which to enforce those building and maintenance codes. Those codes are important as they set minimums for safety and health standards for residents. Theoretically, all homes should already be up to code. We want to ensure that renters roofs aren't leaking, that smoke and CO detectors are installed per state law, that there is no exposed wiring, that windows and screens are in place, foundations are solid, etc.

Sterling would be the first in the Sauk Valley to adopt such an ordinance, but many other cities across the state, large and small; rural and urban; have adopted similar ordinances. The end goal being better neighborhoods and safe housing that meets a minimum standard of living.

Clean and Green

2009-05-23T23:05:00.005-05:00

I hope most were able to take advantage of "Clean and Green" in Sterling. This was our second year and a lot of stuff got dumped, so hopefully it's keeping the yards nicer and your basement and attic a little more clutter free! I'll try to get totals posted at some point.

But the other part of this is the volunteer effort we're trying to build. To make a community work and grow better, it takes people stepping up and volunteering for various causes. For Clean And Green, we're trying to spruce up the City using volunteer efforts to take on projects that might not otherwise get done. Last year we did some plantings around the entry signs into the community at N. Locust and on Freeport Road in addition to a litter pickup in the downtown, some storm cleanup and graffiti coverup. This year, we planted in the neighborhood of a few hundred flowers in the downtown, at Grandon, and at the Farmer's Market. We also cleaned one case of graffiti and watered all of the new plantings. Another crew donated some hours at the Manahan home. The third crew worked on a home that's needed painting and cleanup for some time. They blasted the paint off, scraped and got nearly all of it primed over the course of 3 days. Amazing!

So to the Wal*Mart Distribution Center who stepped up with probably 40 volunteers last year and this year, I say thanks to all of you for helping us all out. The Distribution Center has come forward both times and brought volunteers who are happy to be helping and work hard on the task at hand. Much appreciated. We were also joined by Bob and Judy Fox who regularly help the Park District through a volunteer program they coordinate. Great of you two to come down and help. And while I'm at it, thanks to the Public Works guys who took on some overtime hours on a long weekend to help Sterling residents out. I stopped by both sites and I know those guys were happy to help and wearing smiles.

I hope people and other businesses can join us next year, whether it's a project we can decide on, or one you can pick. We're just hoping to get more people into spring cleaning and making our area an even better place to live!!!

Some of the scrap we'll attempt to salvage:

Several of these were filled and taken away!

Tires continued to be a popular drop off item:

It's Bike to Work Day!

2009-05-15T02:39:00.002-05:00

A helpful guide on how to bike to work from the Chicago Bicycle Federation: http://www.biketraffic.org/btwg/

It's probably easier than you think! What might take you 10 minutes to drive might only take 15-20 to ride, plus you get your exercise in for the day! Of course it also cuts down on your car and gas costs.

There's also a new group of recreational cyclists in town that are riding together on Mondays and Wednesday and all levels are welcome. Dixon also has an all are welcome ride on Thursdays. On Wednesdays, riders meet at Ridge Road just south of the I-88 over pass south of Rock Falls at 6pm for individual 10 mile rides. On Mondays, riders meet for a group ride (a short and long option is available) at Arthur's in Sterling at 5:30. Show up, ride with the group and end up back at Arthur's for a bite or dessert!

Sterling is pretty easy to ride through. Please remember to follow the rules of the road, which includes riding to the right with traffic. Never ride against traffic. Motorists are required to give at least 3 feet of space to cyclists by state law.

Get moving!

More on Budgeting

2009-04-20T02:06:00.003-05:00

I could assume most are probably done hearing about the budget, but in an effort to keep getting information out there, I'll keep adding to it. First, it has been said some employees were unaware of the situation or had to do their own homework. I invited all employees to a meeting on January 27th. I made 2 additional presentations to the fire department to cover all the shifts. I've uploaded the exact presentation (so some numbers are now dated).

One of the other factors in budgeting is of course a long-term outlook. While the budget only cover 12 months of spending, I have to make recommendations and the Council has to make tough decisions based on creating a budget that is sustainable beyond those 12 months. Are sales tax revenues going to bounce back in 12 months? 18 months? longer? Is unemployment going to reverse its trend in 6 months? 12 months? longer? Will income taxes from the State turn positive this year? next? Will the State withhold tax transfers to cities to make their Budget balance? Is their any end to health insurance increases? Will pension costs ever level off or will they continue to rise faster than revenues?

There are so many questions, but there are also plenty of known pressures. We know the trend for health insurance costs is about 8% a year. We know the police pension cost has doubled in 10 years. We know the fire pension has nearly quadrupled in 10 years. Construction costs have risen faster than inflation and our revenues. Electric has gone up. The cost of meeting EPA regulations for wastewater have gone up. None of this is sustainable over time without a change in the way we operate. When the entire global economy crashes as it has, it expedites the need to implement change. And when in a massive economic downturn, the choices can only be difficult. Difficult, but necessary.

A Word on Fund Balances

2009-04-13T12:41:00.007-05:00

Now here's a topic that's sure to captivate! Well, probably not, but since it's become a topic of conversation, I thought I'd attempt to address it.

First, a fund balance is most simply the difference between assets and liabilities in a governmental fund. The fund balance is not cash sitting in a checking account waiting to be drawn down. While cash is a small component, investments, accounts receivable and inventories are also added into the total assets calculation.

Why maintain a healthy fund balance? The fund balance has multiple purposes. First, not every revenue comes in at a steady rate and not every expense is divided equally over the year. For instance, the second property tax payment for the budget year doesn't come to the City until September, but the majority of the road work and summer maintenance is complete. So while we are waiting for the second property tax payment and awaiting the sales tax for the rest of the year, we need cash and investments on hand to pay suppliers and contractors. Without a fund balance, we wouldn't always have the cash on hand. So we need funds there.

Another reason for the fund balance is to be prepared for a disaster. It's prudent to have funds set aside in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. If a tornado were to hit Sterling and tear up infrastructure, how would we pay the bill for repairs and cleanup? How do we pay overtime to keep employees working through rescue and the cleanup? In two years we find out that a material used to construct the firehouse or the Coliseum is a known carcinogen and the building needs to be razed and rebuilt and revenues aren't significant enough to issue a bond. We would need the reserves to do the work.

Even if we were able to bond, bonding costs are in part determined by the bond rating of the City. Without adequate reserves, the bond rating suffers. A lower bond rating means higher costs which can cost the City tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest payment costs.

We also have to be prepared for economic catastrophe. There is no doubt these are bad times. While we're at 9.8% unemployment locally, in 1933, unemployment spiked nationwide at 24.9%. Even as recent as the early 1980's, much of the Midwest was in the mid to high teens for unemployment. If we reach those levels again, then we will likely be compelled to make use of our fund balances.

To make the most of the reserve funds, the vast majority of it is not in cash. In fact, the majority is held in long-term investments to maximize returns. Those returns are then used as revenues in our budget. That said, not all the investments are readily available. Some investments have maturity dates that extend out 10 or even 20 years. A sound fiscal policy involves investments coming due at staggered intervals so that some monies are constantly available while others are earning the most interest possible in safe investments.

Using fund balances to pay ongoing operational costs is generally not advisable, particularly when the budget deficit is not foreseen as a one-time problem. We do not see the City's budget issue as a one-time or short-term issue. While prior to this year, revenues continued to rise, so did personnel expenses. The problem is the rise in personnel expenses is outpacing the rise in revenues. While revenues may rise 3%-5% in past years, expenses for health insurance and pensions have far exceeded that pace, to the point that pension and health increases are rising at more than twice the rate of revenues. That trend cannot be sustained, which is why the City has to act early and prudently. If we merely use fund balances to solve our budgeting woes, our deficit will only accelerate over time as the cost of employees increase and fund balances disappear, taking with them interest earnings that were previously used to help pay for those very employee costs. Investment and interest income from the General Fund fund balance was worth over $250,000 in revenues. That's not a revenue stream we want to see sacrificed to so we can put off today's hard decision for what becomes tomorrow's even harder decision.

How's that for boring your socks off? If you stuck with that and read it through, congratulations! I hope you were able to gain some valuable insight.

Sterling Main Street's Official Designation

2009-04-11T01:59:00.003-05:00

What a great day for Sterling!

On Main Street Day at the Capitol, Sterling and Sterling Main Street were officially elevated to the status of "Designated Main Street Community." That's result of a lot of effort from a group of dedicated individuals.

(L-R: Representative Jerry Mitchell; Myself; Sterling Main Street President, Ed Cox; Sterling Main Street Director, Shelley Hoffman; Sterling Main Street Board Member Phil Mattox; Governor Pat Quinn)

Normally the Lieutenant Governor comes to your City for the ceremonies, but of course we no longer have a Lt. Governor courtesy of the last Governor. That takes away a lot of the local spotlight from these tireless volunteers and director. They're adding a great asset to our City. The facade grant program and the low interest loan program are two opportunities to help downtown business and building owners that wouldn't exist without Main Street. Congratulations Main Street volunteers! http://www.sterlingmainstreet.org/

City Budgeting

2009-04-03T19:48:00.003-05:00

There's an unfortunate disinformation campaign being waged by individuals that consists of outright false information and misrepresents the ongoing issues with the City budget.

The City of Sterling, as most municipalities in Illinois and across the nation, is facing a sharp downturn in revenues as a result of the decline in the economy since last fall. The Sterling City Council directed staff to prepare a balanced budget that avoided tax increases while focusing on the Council goals of combating gangs and crime; addressing code enforcement and neighborhood issues including housing; maintaining and improving infrastructure, particularly streets; and addressing the condition of the riverfront to encourage future development in the area.

Given the state of the economy, with the exception of the increase to the property tax levy to help offset increases to the police and fire pensions, nearly every other major revenue source to the General Fund is expected to decrease more than $230,000 for Fiscal Year 2010. Further exacerbating the problem are costs for employee health insurance that are rising at 10% (an increase of $78,750), firefighter pension costs that are rising 17% (an increase of $37,328) and police pension costs that are rising 34% (an increase of $81,328). In short, after paying for the increased pension and health insurance costs, and paying a 3% increase to employee salaries due to already negotiated and impending contracts, the City needed to tighten its belt and cut more than half a million dollars from the General Fund budget or increase taxes. The consensus was this was not a good time to consider a tax hike on Sterling residents.

Over 70% of the General Fund’s operating revenues are personnel costs, making it extremely difficult to make significant cuts without cutting personnel costs. In light of the situation, employee meetings were conducted to inform them of the budgetary issues and were solicited for ideas. Staff made cuts to line items throughout the budget, including over $600,000 in departments outside the fire department. However, the budget was still not balanced.

It was determined that the easiest, fairest and most efficient way to balance the budget after all other cuts was to freeze the annual increase to salaries, while still honoring step and merit increases to employees. In an effort to avoid layoffs, the City approached the fire union and asked them for their help in closing the budget gap by reconsidering the contractual across the board increase in pay, and taking merit increases and specialty pay increases only. Even with a 0% change to across the board pay, specialty pay and step increases would increase most firefighter pay by an average of $500, with some as high as $1,080 and one by $4,074.

The City also made the suggestion that it would welcome the idea of furloughs where all employees in the City would keep the 3% increase, but take a few shifts off over the course of the year if the fire union would consider amending the contract to make that allowable. The City expressed a willingness to listen.

If contract employees had agreed to a 0% across the board increase while the City still honored the step and specialty pay increases, we would have avoided layoffs of full time firefighters and the substation would remain open.

If contract employees had agreed to a 3% across the board increase but with some unpaid furlough days, we would have avoided layoffs of full time firefighters and the substation would remain open.

After presenting the City’s difficult financial outlook, and asking for the fire union to help us given these unusual times and bad economy, the City was told that the union would get back to them. The City has not heard a response back from the union and thus, the City has to honor the contract and provide a 3% increase in addition to the step and specialty increases to the firefighters. The City was then left with the option to raise taxes or eliminate positions in the City. The City felt this was an extremely bad time to raise Sterling resident’s taxes, and had no alternative but to eliminate positions. The City cannot continue to sustain it's current spending levels in a down economic environment and since the general fund budget sis 70% personnel, there is little choice to do anything other than adjust the number of personnel in public works, code enforcement, police or fire.

Any cut in employees leads to a cut in services, the question is which cut minimizes the effect on citizens day-to0day services and prepares us for long view.

Redevelopment Agreements/Sales Tax Rebates

2009-03-17T16:46:00.002-05:00

Cities have just a few tools in their toolboxes to help stimulate economic development. One such tool is Sales Tax Rebates. State Statute 65 ILCS 5/8‑11‑20 makes this possible. A recent article in regards to just such an agreement brought this to the forefront.

But why would you give sales tax back to a retailer? There are a few reasons, most of those laid out within that very State Statute. And because the State Statute exists, the problem becomes, if we don't do it, odds are another city will. One might say fine, then let them go to the next city that offers a break. Unfortunately, if we did that with every project, there would be a lot fewer projects in town and the retail sector here would be in much worse shape. Retail sales make up our largest revenue source for policing, firefighting, public works and road projects, so it's very important that we strengthen our retail sector and work to expand it. Sometimes that means utilizing a sales tax rebate agreement.

What we don't do. We don't rebate so much as to take a net loss to the City. The goal is to share the new or increased sales tax brought to the community; sales tax that presumably would not otherwise be in our City, but for the agreement that made building or expanding financially feasible.

Incentives may seem like a dirty word, particularly now, but they are something of a necessary evil. Without them, there are a lot of jobs in this community that wouldn't exist, both retail and business/warehouse/industry. Not providing any incentives to businesses and industry only assures us that our City will be the last on nearly so of everyone's choices when it comes to relocating a business or retail opportunity. Yes, the developer gets something back, but what the City and community get back in jobs and taxes far outweighs what is shared in return.

Stimulus Funds

2009-03-11T02:25:00.002-05:00

The City of Sterling should be eligible for approximately $475,000 in road funds. However, there are a number of restrictions on those funds, and believe it or not, we may not receive them in time to use this summer. As with most things government related, strings are attached. We've had conflicting information about what roads are eligible, but we do know that not all roads will be eligible for the funds.

But road projects are just one piece of the pie. We're still hoping for other projects to be funded.

Certainly the stimulus funds weren't supported by everyone, but now that they're out there, we're working to get what we can for Sterling.

My New Year's Resolution Got Away From Me....

2009-03-08T03:49:00.002-05:00

This is a bad time of year to add something to the "to do" list. A lot of time is spent preparing the next fiscal budget (which begins May 1), and I neglected keeping up on this. Since it is budget making time, I thought it might be good to use this spot to talk a little bit about the budget for next year.

The local economy has remained steady judging by sales tax receipts coming into the City. That's not to say a few of our friends and neighbors haven't fallen victim to the nation's downturn, but we're certainly not in the situation many parts of the country are in. The City's largest problem is the revenues the State shares with us are down significantly and cities in Illinois are highly dependent on those revenues based on the way the State works. Combine that with required increases to the pension funds due to the losses on the investments and it's a serious 1-2 punch.

We're working hard to determine what to cut and how deep to make those cuts. Local government does so many things that are a part of your everyday life, that making cuts is difficult. Our budgets are also very labor heavy. Most of the expenses in the the police and fire departments are to pay for the police officers, firefighters and dispatchers that we count on. The majority of the funding in public works goes to the crews patching roads, plowing snow, cleaning up debris or to the lowest bidding contractors to repave roads. That's the VAST majority of the expenses paid for in taxes.

That gets back to why we always encourage people to shop locally. Sales tax makes up one of the largest revenues to the City, and it funds the General Fund, which funds things like the police department, fire department, public works, and road projects. If you buy the same item in Rockford or Moline, none of that sales tax makes it back to your own home community!

The other reason we encourage buying locally is it helps your friends and neighbors. The more we help each other out and the more we keep money flowing locally, the better off we can make our local community.

The inauguration

2009-01-22T23:47:00.002-06:00

This week's big news was obviously the inauguration of the President. I thought this was a rather neat view of the event: http://gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullscreen.php?auth=033ef14483ee899496648c2b4b06233c

The new President has spent a fair amount of time talking about a new stimulus package with lots of infrastructure project funding. While the bill hasn't been passed, the City and the Greater Sterling Development Corporation have turned in our share of requests. We've also called Representative Phil Hare's office and Senator Durbin's office to ask that any infrastructure projects granted be granted directly to cities and counties rather than adding a layer of government in between. We've expressed our viewpoint that we know what is most needed for our own community. However, we'll of course take whatever we can get. We submitted a list that included street reconstruction, business/industrial park development, brownfield redevelopment, sewer extensions, broadband expansion and stormwater management improvements. Heaven knows there's always plenty of work to be done, it's just a matter of finding the means to pay for it.

Tahiti sounds nice....

2009-01-15T01:12:00.002-06:00

Good grief is it cold out there! Add a little snow and it's not the best time to be a public works employee trying to clean up the City, or a police officer responding to a call or a firefighter responding to an accident.

Last winter was thought to be a fluke, but this winter is starting to rival last winter. We've had to spend more time on the roads this year than last year doing snow and ice control. It's definitely starting to make budgeting a challenge!

Joseph Bustos had a great article about our plow drivers in Wednesday's Gazette if you get a chance to read it.

Last, and most importantly, I need to remind people of the importance of odd/even parking. It's important for getting the streets clean and helping to avoid having your car plowed in (and to avoid getting a ticket on those snow routes!!!). The more cooperation from drivers, the faster all the roads get cleaned and the better they are cleared as well. Thanks for your cooperation, and please remember to help neighbors out by getting the sidewalks shoveled and the hydrants dug out. Stay warm out there!

New Year Resolution for all of us

2009-01-07T17:40:00.002-06:00

I found this article, A new year's resolution: Could we be a little more polite, please? to be a good reminder for everyone in the new year.

It's easy in a highly technological world to be cold and to sometimes write or say things that we never would have said to each other in normal conversation. One of my pet peeves is how people will communicate to each other over anonymous message boards or comments sections. Locally, we're one community. We have our ups and downs and good news and bad news like any other. A good mark of each other and the community is how we respond. Casting aspersions or engaging in petty arguments with ugly personal attacks wins no one an award and only makes all of us look a little less civil.

Everyone wants to see progress and economic development happen. We'd like to see people move to the community and be assets to the town bringing new business or services. However, I am troubled by the impression we give others outside of our community reading the online newspaper or forums about the Sauk Valley area. If you're an outsider curious about the area and interested in locating your business or moving your family here, does negativity by local anonymous posters help in any way?

People do their research and reading the local paper is one means. Going there and finding gobs of negativity and infighting doesn't aid our cause. So for 2009, let's celebrate our good news, be happy for people with good news, and when sad news comes our, let's find ways to constructively and civilly correct the issues. A lot of people care about the community, so let's take that energy and put it to productive use. Civility goes a long way in making our cities into communities.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T10:33:00.003-06:00

New Year means resolutions, right? I'll try to make sure this gets tended to weekly.

In the meantime, several things have been happening. You may have seen in the Gazette or heard on WSDR about updates concerning the eastern portion of the former NWSW plant, the area we generically refer to as "Plant 1." As I've stated before, when dealing with environmental law and liabilities, owners in an LLC and mortgage/lien holders, nothing is simple. While it seems black and white (you own a mess, clean it up), it's not so easy unfortunately. One misconception is that nothing is being done, or that only talk is happening. While there are multi-party negotiations in place, the City has filed and is still pursuing a nuisance abatement order in Whiteside County Court. An order of this magnitude is not adjudicated in one appearance unfortunately.

The future use of the property has not been determined, but considering the prior uses, it's likely that much of the are will be retained as public space. The river gave so much to this community in terms of its initial development, but short of Lawrence Park and the old slough, the community has had little access. Hopefully the area can combine some reuse in light development, balanced with green areas along the river. There will definitely be public involvement and comment sought from the community before any plans are formalized for reuse. The Council is committed to making the riverfront a place that serves the community.

November Slips Away

2008-11-27T00:26:00.002-06:00

Yikes, this month went fast. It seems like all we hear is bad news on the national front and it filters down to the daily operations of the City eventually. You may have seen the article in the Gazette that discussed some of the challenges that lie ahead for the City, similar to those that lie ahead for a lot of people in the community.

The City has pension obligations to pay for. The State mandates the benefits and mandates minimum contributions to the fund, the City is then left to figure out how to pay for it. As you might suspect, the pension funds have lost significant value this year, but we still have to meet our obligations. This means the contribution the City must make to the pension funds goes up significantly, nearly an 18% increase to the fire pension fund and a 34% increase to the police pension fund. In order to make those funding commitments, the City has to cut elsewhere. The City of Sterling has typically chosen to fund the pension funds slightly higher than the State mandated minimum, which is a good thing, otherwise we'd have lost more and we'd have to come up with even more this year.

Of course on the revenue side, we anticipate a decrease as well. The only consolation is nearly every city in Illinois is in the same boat. This is not a Sterling issue or Sauk Valley issue. For instance, the State collects all the income tax receipts, then sets aside 11% for distribution to cities based on census counts. If the State collects fewer income tax receipts because fewer people are working and businesses are making less, every city in Illinois is going to get a decrease in the amount distributed. The same principle applies to Motor Fuel Tax. The State collects the tax and then distributes a portion of that tax to local governments based on population counts. So far, Motor Fuel Tax is down this year, which means less money to the City for roads, salt, patching, potholes, street lights, traffic lights, etc.

Without dragging this out too much farther, the City is going to have some very weighty decisions before it to determine what is of the highest priority and what's closest to to the cutting table. The unfortunate part is City government delivers those services that are such an important part of our daily lives, and worse, the General Fund is what suffers most. The majority of the expenditures in the City's General Fund are for police, fire and public works. No one is usually too eager to start cutting at those services, but unfortunately, that appears the direction we're heading. Hopefully we can get through this down cycle by delaying capital and equipment purchases, but no matter what we delay now, it will catch up with us later, whether we delay new squad cars or delay sewer projects or delay fire equipment replacements, it will catch back up to us. Whew, that's some grim reading....

The good news is we're still doing what we can to maximize what we're getting for the dollar and trying to find creative ways to both enhance the community and find efficiencies in our operations. And the good news is that believe it or not, we're not taking the lumps as badly as a lot of communities out there. As I always say, if you want to make a difference in the economy locally, make that extra effort to shop local. Keeping dollars in our area keeps your neigbors employed, keeps stores in business (and can attract new stores!), keeps money coming to the City for police, fire and roads, and allows local employees and local businesses to give back. We have a lot of local businesses that do a lot in the community to support a wide range of projects ranging from United Way to fund raising support. A lot of them do it fairly quietly, but it makes a big difference. Please keep those little intangibles in mind when you're out shopping and give the local stores a shot, and if you find a better deal elsewhere, see if they can at least match it for you. The little things go a long way and yes, you can make a difference.

Veterans Day

2008-11-11T02:19:00.003-06:00

Thank you to all the veterans out there in our community. You'll never get enough recognition for what you've contributed to society.

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those
who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

Learn about Veterans Day at the Dept of Veterans Affairs website.

Falling behind!

2008-10-31T16:58:00.002-05:00

I let a week slip by without updating. It's certainly been an interesting week at that. One of the most fascinating moments of the week was sitting down with foreign visitors that came through the Rock River International Fellowship program. Heather Sotelo, Betty Steinart and I had the privilege of sitting down with people from across the Middle East to discuss economic development. The visitors ranged from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Bahrain, Jordan and points beyond. They were all great people to meet with and share information with.

And as we head to November, I encourage everyone to get out and vote... once. I don't think I have to clarify that this far out from Chicago, but you never know. At least I didn't ask that you leave your dead relatives at home. I don't believe in the argument that your one vote doesn't matter. Just knowing that people care enough to vote sends a message to elected officials that they're accountable and people care enough to monitor what is happening.

Enjoy this fantastic fall weather!!!

Take Action Now or Want a Better Community? Get Involved!

2008-10-23T14:27:00.002-05:00

This morning I had the great pleasure of walking around the Propheter Park neighborhood with members of their Neighborhood Watch program, helping to clean up the area. Sterling Police Officer, Frank Hopes who coordinates the Watch program in that area, borrowed a truck from the Public Works Department and lent some muscle to further assist the neighbors. It was great to see neighbors not only showing concern for their neighborhood, but actually doing something about it. In the process, I met some nice people and I learned more about the history of the neighborhood. Pretty neat!

The disappointing part was the amount of litter and junk we picked up. Fortunately, it was limited to small areas, but it's certainly disheartening to see a few people unwilling to clean up after themselves or properly dispose of trash. But when the neighborhood comes together, it really makes a difference. Hopefully it rubs off and people can get more people involved and those people can get even more people involved and so forth until most neighbors know and are familiar with each other.

Take pride in your City and in your neighborhood. The little things truly add up! If you're interested in forming a Neighborhood Watch group in your area, call the Sterling Police Department at 632-6600. Neighborhood Watch groups are assigned a police officer to help them put the group together. The Groups then learn more about what the police department is doing, what neighbors can do, hold block parties, neighborhood meetings and cleanup events.

2008-10-21T14:18:00.000-05:00

I know it's late in the year, but the Twin City Farmers Market is open year-round! While some items are summer dependent, there are a lot more goodies that aren't. I was especially inspired to mention the Farmers Market after having some amazing brats this weekend. Holy cow were those great. It's not just corn and beans, you can find a variety there, especially through out the summer, but even now as autumn sets in, you can still buy a variety of meats, sweets and other treats. Some vendors also start focusing on seasonal gifts and crafts that are locally created.

"Year round offerings include locally grown beef, pork, bison, free range chicken and eggs. Locally grown organic herbs (fresh in the summer, dried in the winter) and Illinois made jams, jellies, and sauces are available year round.

Rural entrepreneurs also offer toffee, baked goods (pies, breads, cookies, cakes), soaps, spun wool, forged metalwork, soy candles, rag rugs, black walnuts, homemade noodles, baskets, sunflower seeds and corn for wildlife feeding, home decor and crafts."

We have one of the very few indoor Farmer Markets in Illinois. What a gem to have here! So whether you want to be a customer or a vendor, be sure and check them out in person at the old Twin City Market building at 106 Avenue A (just southwest of the Chamber) or stop first on the web at www.tcmarket.org

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-17T17:38:00.001-05:00

Okay, I'm a sucker for a Midnight Milky Way, I confess. However, I won't be at your door asking for one, but there might be a few dozen ghosts, witches and vampires knocking on your door in about 2 weeks looking for mini Milky Ways, Snickers, licorice and the like.

The official Trick or Treat hours for Sterling and Rock Falls will be 4:30-7:00p, on Friday October 31st.

Safety Tips

• Wear light colored clothing & reflective material

• Make sure face masks do not impair vision

• Accompany your children

• Go out in the daylight

• Carry a flashlight

• Watch for traffic

• Stay in your neighborhood and only visit homes you know

• Only give or accept wrapped or packaged candy

• Examine your child’s candy before they eat it

• Drivers slow to 5mph under the speed limit!

Fall is in the forecast and leaves are hitting the ground!

2008-10-14T16:37:00.002-05:00

Leaves will be collected through the first full week of December on the same day as your garbage and recycling pick up. From December 15th through March 15th, you may drop off your yard waste at the Public Works Department at 1605 Avenue L. Please call Public Works at 625-6040 before you drop off yard waste for more information.

Leaves should be placed in paper yard waste bags and set out to the alley or curb (same place as your garbage or recycling). There is a 50lb weight limit on each bag. You may also use a 30 gallon can with handles for grass clippings, leaves, and small limbs. A 50lb weight limit also applies to the cans. You may also use 60 gallon or 90 gallon totes for yard waste disposal. All containers must be marked with a large "X."

For hard yard waste, such as large limbs, tree stumps, and bushes, you must put them in bundles of lengths of 4 feet or less, and 4 inches or less in diameter. Tie each bundle with twine and set out with your garbage and recycling. The 50 lb weight limit applies to this also. Bushes and shrubs must be bundled, if possible, and sat out with garbage and recycling.

Please remember that you cannot burn yard waste within city limits! You can also try composting if you have a little bit of space!

100 Years of City Management

2008-10-10T13:01:00.004-05:00

Not to bore you, but 2008 is a significant milestone in the governance of cities. We've come a long way from Tammany Hall and patronage, well most cities have. Much of that had to do with the introduction of professional management into our cities. That started 100 years ago in Virginia....

Excerpts from: Taking Stock of the Council-Manager Form at 100
by James H. Svara and Kimberly L. Nelson

In 1908, a single city adopted what would eventually become the council- manager form of government. In 2008, more than 3,500 cities with populations exceeding 2,500 persons and more than 370 counties use the form. Beyond the direct effect of introducing a new structural option for the organization of local government, this new form also elevated the option of appointing a centrally located generalist administrator in other forms of government. Almost half of mayor-council governments and more than half of the commission and town meeting governments have a chief administrative officer (CAO) or city administrator, and such a position is often found in elected county executive governments as well.

Figure 1. Use of Major Forms of Government and Change, 1990–2007.

All U.S. cities over 2,500 in population	1990	2007	Change
All U.S. cities over 2,500 in population	% (number)	% (number)	% (number)	Cities smaller than 10,000	Cities larger than 10,000
Mayor-council	54.5% (3,645)	43.5% (3,131)	-14.1% (-514)	-515	1
Council-manager	36.2% (2,420)	48.9% (3,520)	45.5% (1,100)	574	526
Other	9.2% (617)	7.5% (543)	-12.0% (-74)	-47	-27
Total	100.0% (6,682)	100.0% (7,194)	7.7% (512)

Differences in Local Government Forms

There are three major features that differentiate the mayor-council and council-manager forms of government, and all three can be traced back to the origins of the form. Analogous to the distinction between presidential and parliamentary systems, the first feature is the allocation of authority.

The council-manager form places all governmental authority in the hands of the council, with certain functions assigned by law, charter, or convention to the manager appointed by the council. Authority is unified in the collective leadership body of the council. To the early reformers citing the practice of English local government, eliminating separation of powers and strengthening the council was as important to the council-manager form as the creation of the manager’s position.³

The relationship between the council and the manager is based on this allocation of authority. Despite all the words that have been written and spoken about the separation of politics and policy from the administration, the unique feature of the council-manager form is the interaction of councilmembers and administrators in both policy and administration. As intended by drafters of the model city charter in 1915, the form ensures that a professional perspective will be presented to the council by the manager on all policy decisions and that council oversight can be directed to any administrative action.

With separation of powers, the mayor can limit the policy advice given to the council and can shield staff from council oversight.⁴ In the mayor-council form, mayors can also have a substantial impact on the amount and quality of professional advice they receive and share with the council and on the level of professionalism that is present in the administrative organization. In contrast with the council-manager form in which the council has authority over the manager, the mayor in the mayor-council form is a separate and independent executive.

The second feature that differentiates forms is how executive responsibilities are assigned to an elected or appointed administrator. In the council-manager form, executive functions are the responsibility of the city or county manager even if some functions on occasion are shared with other officials. In parliamentary-style local governments in northern Europe, the mayor or other top political figure commonly shares executive authority with the top administrator, but this administrator is still the chief executive officer.

In the mayor-council form, executive responsibilities are exercised under the authority of the mayor. A central coordinating administrative position can be created—a CAO—but in contrast with the clear delegation of executive authority to the city manager, the assignments to the CAO may be determined by the will of the executive mayor.⁵ In contrast, the council-manager form ensures the linkage of executive responsibilities with a professional top administrator.

When a top administrator is present in the local government form, the third distinguishing feature is whether the administrator is responsible to the entire council or to the mayor. Responsibility to the entire council is an essential characteristic of the council-manager form and helps to ensure both transparency and a focus on the public interest rather than the political interests of a single elected official.

Figure 2. Percentage of Cities Using the Council-Manager Form by Population Category, 1990 and 2007.

Studies show that when council-manager cities are compared with mayor-council cities the council-manager cities are more likely to have greater efficiency, sounder finances, and stronger management performance. They have greater representation of minority groups in staff positions. Council-manager cities are more likely to pursue long-term goals, use strategic planning, base service delivery on need and other professional standards, have ethics codes and boards, integrate management functions, and adopt innovative management practices.

The Big Read

2008-10-08T13:45:00.003-05:00

The Sterling Public Library is again sponsoring "The Big Read." This year, the book at center stage is The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. Check out the National Endowment for the Arts info on The Maltese Falcon, including an introduction, historical context, and discussion items.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

The Sterling Public Library will hold events in conjunction with the reading including discussion groups. Library Director Jennifer Slaney has done a terrific job in bringing the program to the community and expanding it from Sterling to include Rock Falls and Dixon. Extra copies of the book are available at the library, so stop in and take part in The Big Read!

Rivera to Fritsch

2008-10-06T15:34:00.002-05:00

Holy cow! What a great homecoming game for Sterling High! We were sitting around the 30 yard line when Niko Rivera let loose that 51 yard bomb to Dustin Fritsch from mid-field. All of us were sure Fritsch wouldn't get there as he ran past us, but sure enough, he caught the ball, an arcing tight spiral, in stride for the completion. That play was an exclamation point on one heck of a game for SHS. And congrats to Raciel Ocampo on the new school record!!! (who then turned around and scored 6 goals Saturday for the 17-2 SHS soccer team!) http://www.sterlingpride.com/

Take pride in your schools and in your city!

Credit crunch hits cities too.

2008-10-03T14:20:00.004-05:00

From the New York Times:

Under Strain, Cities are Cutting Back Projects

Cities, states and other local governments have been effectively shut out of the bond markets for the last two weeks, raising the cost of day-to-day operations, threatening longer-term projects and dampening a broad source of jobs and stability at a time when other parts of the economy are weakening.

How does that effect us locally? It's not a terrible burden for the immediate future, but it's something that may eventually cost the City. Since interest rates have been quite low for some time, most of the City's financed debt is at a low interest rate. However, if we were to need to go our for financing to redevelop the riverfront or we wanted to do bonds for road work to take advantage of today's prices over tomorrow's escalating prices, it's going to be much more difficult. As you can see in the article I linked, we would end up paying more in interest if we could even get anyone interested in lending.

Dedicated Employees

2008-10-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks back, we had our Service Awards recognition for employees. We had a twenty year employee this year and two 25 year employees! I kidded them they'll probably be here another 20-25 years at the rate the stock market is going. Little did I know things on Wall Street were going to go from bad to worse from the 15th to the end of the month.

Anyhow, we're fortunate to have a lot of dedicated employees who do great work. Our 25 year employees were Scot Beyer, a crew leader at Public Works and Captain Gary Dettman of the Fire Department. Thanks for the years of service and all those extra efforts I know the two of you have contributed over time!

(L-R Scott Beyer (25); Todd Messer (10); Jeff Mohr (10); Julia Jones (5); Matt laughlin (5); Gary Dettman (25)) Not pictured: Ben Babin (5); Brad Schrader (10); Ken Wright (20)

The old NWSW Mill and the Riverfront

2008-09-30T15:42:00.001-05:00

What on earth is going on down there?

Fair question. To say it's a delicate situation is an understatement. The area of the old NWSW mill along Wallace Street that contains deteriorating and half fallen down buildings is not owned by the City, and in fact, has an owner of record. Not being the owner presents its own challenges in cleaning up the property as you might imagine. We're doing what we can within our powers to hold the owners responsible. Keep reading to see how this becomes complex.

Two very large and credible demolition firms have evaluated the roughly 23 acres of property and determined that it will cost about $2million just to complete demolition of the area. The City does not have $2million at its disposal to finish the demolition even if it were to acquire the property.

Even after the $2million in demolition costs, we have a very rough estimate of $1million to $3million in environmental remediation. That's an estimated $3million to $5million to get the property restored to a developable or reusable area!

Why not write a grant or ask the state or the feds for money?
Believe me, we have. The IEPA and USEPA have been very good to work with and there is some money out there for environmental cleanup, though usually the money requires a match from the City. However, there is no money out there for demolition. We've asked every official we can and no one grants money for demolition. Trust me, if we could get the cash to demolish the structure, we'd likely be in the process, or at least in court getting the ball rolling for next spring. Once the demolition takes place, the time to start environmental cleanup work should be a much quicker process with the help of IEPA and USEPA.

Can't the City condemn the property or use eminent domain to take it over?
We could, but that leaves us with a court fight to gain control, which then makes us solely responsible for the demolition. Since the state and federal governments have indicated there is no money for demo work, that means local tax payers would shoulder the burden of the demo costs, which we see as highly unfair. Instead of burdening taxpayers with that costs, the City has been working to hold the owners responsible for the cleanup. That takes time, as unfortunate as that is.

If demolition is so expensive, couldn't we at least start doing it in small bits?
One would hope, but unfortunately, 1) it's not our property, it's still private property and 2) there are environmental concerns in the area that wouldn't allow a corps of volunteers to simply start hauling out debris from the site. Much of the rubble on site cannot be taken to a regular landfill.

So what can the City do?
The City has a few options, though some aren't as effective as we might like, but that's what our powers are limited to. For starters, the City has issued a number of nuisance violations in the area. On something of this scale, a nuisance violation isn't a huge incentive to get something done. We also have the ability to ask the courts to issue a demolition order. A demolition order from the court can require the owner to demolish their property, and if they choose not to, the City can demolish the property and put a lien on it. We've initiated this process and it is in the court system at this time. However, if they don't do the demolition, it's up to the City to do it, and again, the City does not have the $2million to front on the project. The City could put a lien on the property for the cost, but realistically, it would be years before the City could recover anything, and it would be a fraction of the cost we put into the property. Last, and our only reasonable option is to hold the owners' feet to the fire for the environmental concerns on the property, both those liabilities inherited through the purchase and the ones created since. It probably doesn't surprise you to hear that using the legal system and negotiation between attorneys to get somewhere takes time and needs to be deliberate, but we've indicated very recently that the clock is ticking and action needs to be taken asap.

In short, it's taken time to minimize the cost that will fall onto local taxpayers. It's not inaction on our part that's caused the property to sit untouched. Council members and staff members alike are terribly frustrated with the condition of the property. We'll keep the pedal to the metal down the legal avenue!

It's a short answer that tries to condense a couple years and a lot of complexity into a few paragraphs, but hopefully this provides a little insight into what the City is trying to accomplish and why we are or aren't doing some things with the property and why we can't turn it into an overnight success. We'll keep diligently plugging away at it until the property is cleaned up.

Not a bad weekend for area sports!

2008-09-29T13:50:00.002-05:00

Cubs win the NL Central, the Sox are playing for a spot, the Bears held off an impressive Philly squad, the Warriors took down Geneseo, and Newman won big. NIU came up big too. Unfortunately the Illini weren't quite so fortunate.

On a more serious note, Friday I was in a community meeting discussing the ongoing needs toward building a better community for students, schools and families alike. A series of speakers and conversations will be taking place, the first of which involves Guest Speaker, Tony West. Everyone is invited to attend Centennial Auditorium at 6:30p on Wednesday, October 8th.

Rental Inspection Program

2008-09-26T10:26:00.005-05:00

As you may have heard during the City's time on WSDR this morning or in the Daily Gazette a few weeks back, the City of Sterling is considering a rental inspection program. The goal of the program is to:

Improve neighborhoods
Reverse the trend in some declining neighborhoods
Improve the overall housing stock
Raise the minimum standard of living
Ensure safe, healthy housing of all
Answer to complaints from citizens
Reduce the number of landlord tenant disputes over property conditions
Make the community an attractive place for people to live and move to and create jobs in

If we're to survive and progress as a community, we must preserve our neighborhoods. If we want to draw people and jobs back to our community, we have to have places people want to live. We need quality housing, sound neighborhoods, quality schools and amenities such as parks and trails. Improving rental properties is just one part of the equation. We will still work to improve code issues with owner occupied homes and we're actively working to develop a self-sustaining housing program either ourselves, or with other Whiteside cities that will hopefully make grant funds available in the future for fixing up homes in our communities.

Nationwide, cities have implemented similar plans. Illinois has rental inspections from Galena to Carbondale and Chicago's suburbs to the Quad Cities.

So what exactly is a rental inspection program?

Some cities license landlords to root out the bad ones. As a non-home rule city, that's not a power our city has. We can however require a landlord to have an occupancy permit to rent out a unit. The occupancy permit is issued if the property is completely up to code. Some cities require a new permit annually, some require it every time tenants change, and some vary the time frame according to the condition of the property. Sterling is considering the option to grade properties so that a property that meets all standards gets a permit that lasts for a few years. Properties that have only minor deficiencies that don't risk the tenants health may get a 1 year permit. If the property has a major deficiency or is an immediate hazard to the tenant, the property may only get a permit good for a month or less, if one at all depending on the severity.

What will the City look for?

Due to the number of properties to inspect, the first round of inspections will likely be exterior only, unless there is a reason to suspect the interior is in an unsafe condition. When it's time to renew, the inspections should be staggered enough to allow the inspector time to inspect the interior as well as the exterior.

Exterior

Roof in good condition
Gutters in tact
Chimney stable
Windows and screens unbroken
Foundations in good condition
Paint not chipping away
Steps and railings secure
Yard mowed and free of junk
Accessory structures in good condition

Interior

Plumbing works (supply and drain)
Electric: Access to panels, no bare wiring, fixtures secure, plates around switches and outlets
Working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors
Walls in good condition
Occupancy load
Ingress/egress (doors secure, entrances unobstructed, etc)
Rodent or insect infestation
Evident mold or mildew problems
Evidence of roof leaks

How will this effect the landlords?

Once registered as a rental property with the code enforcement office, if the property is up to code as it should already be, the landlord will only need to pay a small fee for the occupancy permit which is good for multiple years.

Better maintained properties=better rents=better tenants=better neighborhoods. Everyone benefits from better neighborhoods!

How can this benefit landlords?

This establishes a level playing field for lower rent properties. Good landlords that reinvest in their properties shouldn't have to compete against landlords that let their properties deteriorate so that they can make an extra few dollars
The program will protect your property's value. Your neighbors dilapidated properties may be dragging down the amount you can sell or rent out your property for or worse, make it more difficult to get your property rented
Optimistically, the bad landlords with no desire to fix or maintain properties will sell out to the good landlords that will maintain the property
Attract a better pool of renters

How can landlords be proactive?

Improve screening of rental applicants (requiring an application fee or paying $50 up front to do a background check can save a lot more in damage and eviction fees down the road)
Many landlords fail to secure a lease with their tenants
Create a conditions checklist signed by the tenant and landlord agreeing to the condition of the property
Learn how to evict without the cost of an attorney
Don't accept work for rent... it often leads to quarrels. Make sure you get a lease signed by your tenant. Don't move in new tenants before the property is cleaned and fixed for the next tenant
Adjust security deposits as necessary
Work with the Sterling Police Department and the "Crime Free Housing Program." Use the Crime Free/Drug Free lease addendum that part of the program

Bottom line, how much will this cost?

We anticipate that more than half of the City's cost will come from the rental occupancy permit fees. Subject to change, I would venture to say this would equal $30-$40 per permit. If your property was up to code, that's about $1 a month. If your property is not up to minimum standards, your permit won’t go as far, but your property should be up to code regardless of the rental inspection program
The remainder of the cost would come from the City's general fund. The Council and staff are so concerned with the state of our neighborhoods, that we believe $1 a month on rental units is worth it to ensure we make progress on our neighborhood improvement. We’re not going to cut any other service to make this happen. If the budget dictates, down the road it may mean the permits average out to $2 or $3 a month, but again, for our long-term outlook, we believe this is a necessary program

Motor Fuel Taxes and Road Project Funding

2008-09-25T08:42:00.000-05:00

How does the City fund road projects? Does the City gain from higher gas prices?

The City funds road projects primarily through 4 sources.
1) Local Option Sales Tax. The citizens of Sterling would likely have no idea how much this revenue stream has meant toward road construction. All of the money Sterling receives form the local option sales tax goes toward street projects. A portion goes to pay for the bond used to construct the last section of Lynn Boulevard, but the majority goes to pay for ongoing road projects. 2) Motor Fuel Tax. This is a tax that comes back to us from the State of Illinois. It has little to do with how much gas you buy in Sterling. The State collects the motor fuel tax on your gas purchases and then redistributes the tax to cities (and other local governments) based on population. In very round numbers, Sterling makes up 0.1% of the population in Illinois, so the City of Sterling gets back roughly 0.1% of gas taxes distributed to local governments. A small portion of Motor Fuel Tax funds are also used to pay for street lighting and traffic lighting, which would otherwise come from property taxes.
3) Federal Highway Funds. These are limited and aren't available every year. They are limited to FHWA eligible roads. For Sterling, Lynn Boulevard is eligible for FHWA funds and some older sections will be repaired in the future using FHWA funds.
4) Sales tax/property tax. Not a large part, but a significant part of the road spending. We use sales and property taxes to do a lot of the curb and gutter work on our own and to do some of the coring out of streets on our own which saves dollars for the City.

Does the City benefit from higher gas prices?
On the balance, no. The Motor Fuel Tax receipts are actually down right down. People are in fact driving less and as the Chicago area grows, the rest of Illinois becomes a smaller piece of the pie and therefore gets a smaller amount from the state in motor fuel tax since it's distributed based on your proportion of the population.

Yes, sales taxes are up slightly, but if people drive less and have less to spend elsewhere because they are buying fuel, it's not helping the City.

Worse yet, the City isn't immune. Fire trucks, police cars, street sweepers, backhoes, plow trucks, etc all run on gas and diesel that we have to pay for. Factor that in and the City really suffers from a budget standpoint. We'd much prefer and love to see $2 gas and people having more money to shop locally!

Street Reconstruction - Who gets what when and how much does it cost?

2008-09-24T10:10:00.004-05:00

Something that comes up frequently is road project selection and funding of road projects.

Selecting road projects is always a tough task. Many years ago, the City purchased a software program that helps us pick which roads to repair. So how does software rate our roads? It's actually based on a number of inputs, not just the condition of the street surface. Traffic counts do affect the rating. If two roads are in equally bad condition, with no doubt the road that has more traffic gets the nod. If a road has no curb and gutter and suffers from drainage issues, that road gets a higher rating than a similar road that has good drainage. "Ride-ability." How is the road to drive down? If it has lots of surface cracks but rides okay, the rating may go down. On the other hand, if the road has few cracks but several heaves or depressions where the base under the road has gone away, the rating will go up.

So when is my road getting redone? If you've ever called the City of Sterling, you've likely not gotten the answer you hoped for. Each spring, the public works department and our consulting engineer go out and update the ratings for as many streets as they can. Winter and the freeze thaw cycle are never kind to the roads and some suffer worse than others which requires the annual updates. While your road may be 20th on the list, this year, it may move up or down a bit by next year depending on how bad the winter was on all of our streets.

The other problem with predicting when your road will be done is the cost of doing it. While the local options sales tax is a very valuable tool for the community to make sure roads get done, the cost of reconstructing roads is something we have little control over. 4 years ago, a typical residential block cost about $25,000 to reconstruct. That's tearing out the old, repairing the base and putting the new road down and reseting the manholes, curb cuts etc. This year, we're at roughly $45,000 per block. How does that happen? The major issue we face is the cost of oil has skyrocketed in 4 years. Asphalt is essentially a rock and an oil derivative mixed together. So asphalt has nearly doubled, the cost to deliver the road rock for the base and the asphalt for the surface has doubled and it's not hard to see why the cost to the City has doubled.

Believe me, it's very frustrating to see our community's dollars going half as far as they did just a few years back for street projects, but as a City, we have no control over the cost of oil and asphalt. We're at the mercy of the markets. In hindsight,we'd have been geniuses if we'd sold $10 million in bonds in 2003 to do road projects at those 2003 costs. Of course had we done that in 2003, people would have probably thought we were off our rockers. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'll post more about Motor Fuel Taxes in the future.

Congratulations Sterling Girls Softball!!!

2008-08-04T10:52:00.002-05:00

What a fantastic accomplishment in making it to the Little League World Series! Such a great reward for the work and dedication by the team and coaches. Even more impressive is the dominant way in which the girls won against some of the best teams in the country!

Thanks also to WSDR and Jim Spencer for covering the games live. It was very exciting listening to the final game Saturday afternoon.

Best of luck in Portland and we'll be looking for you on ESPN!

http://www.softballworldseries.com/

http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2008/08/04/news/local/2a771d4d7c6af1d5e8509061c80c5f81.txt

Summer's Here!

2008-06-23T09:52:00.002-05:00

Great news for enjoying the weather, but it also means road work and traffic interruptions. There's a good chance you've already encountered the work going occurring on Polo Road. Workers are improving the stormwater drainage in the area and adding a turn lane to Polo road in addition to resurfacing the area. Most of the work will be done this year and the road completely opened later this summer, but the final layer of asphalt is actually going to be laid next summer to allow the base to settle and to allow for other potential construction work in the area.

Other street projects include:

Broadway – 4^th to 5^th
Avenue F – 5^th to 7^th
E. 23^rd St – Locust – 3^rd
8^th Avenue – 4^th - 5^th
8^th Avenue – 6^th – 10^th
Johnson Ave – 9^th – 10^th
Woodlawn Rd – Route 2 – City Limits
6^th Avenue – 3^rd to 4^th

While the work can tie up traffic and cause temporary parking concerns, the end result more than makes up for it! Please give the workers a break and have a little patience while they're at work. Thanks for the cooperation!

Rock Falls Rockets Baseball

2008-06-06T22:54:00.003-05:00

I just had to say congrats to the Rock Falls Rockets baseball team. Hopefully I don't jinx our neighbors, but after seeing their pitching stat line for the season, you can only we awed. Those are amazing stats. Best of luck to RF in their championship run. It's nice to see so many of our area teams succeeding in so many different prep sports!

Clean & Green

2008-06-06T10:26:00.002-05:00

The City is putting on its first Clean & Green week. We're pretty excited about the event. For the first time in years, the City is offering Sterling residents the chance to dispose of large, non-hazardous junk items. This project is funded largely through the City's Solid Waste fund which is why we're limited to servicing Sterling residents.

Additionally, we're putting together a volunteer effort to do some cleanup projects around the City. We have several volunteers lined up to cleanup the downtown and parks in the City. We've also received some generous donations to help provide lunches and drinks to volunteers. We also received some assistance in sprucing up the entry signs on IL 40 and Freeport Road.

It's the first year, so we're managing expectations and hoping to learn a few things for future events. Hopefully everyone can be patient and help us make this a smooth running event that we can continue. Thanks for everyone's cooperation, particularly the Public Works employees who are going above and beyond with this project!

Bike to Work Week

2008-05-12T01:40:00.002-05:00

In the face of constantly rising fuel prices, what better way to save some dollars and do something good for yourself than to ride your bicycle to work? You can save hundreds, if not a thousand dollars in fuel and maintenance costs depending on how often and how far you normally drive and what you drive. You'll also burn hundreds of calories each day, which means you can lose those extra pounds or you can afford to have that extra scoop of ice cream! All that is without even considering the other benefits such as fewer cars on the road and less pollution.

It's not easy for everyone, but for most, it's probably easier than first imagined. You don't have to be Lance Armstrong to ride 5 miles to work. If you can walk a mile, you can easily handle 5 miles. In fact, you can probably get that far in 20-30 minutes without breaking a sweat!

But what about clothes? Depending on what your job requires, you can wear your work wear or you can simply roll (not fold) your clothes into a backpack or even a trunk pack that attaches to your bike. You can always pack a few handi-wipes just in case you do break a sweat.

But my bike, will my bike be a good commuter? Any bicycle can be used. That old Schwinn road bike, that new Trek comfort bike, or that mountain bike collecting dust in the garage. Make sure the tires are inflated, and consider having a bike mechanic give it a once over to make sure it's shifting well and the brakes are in good shape.

Take a Saturday and give it a try. If nothing else, think about riding once a week, or just getting out and riding after work! You'll feel a lot better at the end of the day!

Check out the League of Bicyclists Brochure designed for new cyclists thinking about biking to work to read many more tips!

Welcome!

2008-05-05T17:20:00.001-05:00

Hello readers!

I hope to update this with some frequency, though I know upfront that updates will be sporadic, depending on time availability and the timeliness of topics.

It's my intention to use this space to help citizens get a better feel for how your City works for you and more insight on what we are doing to make the City of Sterling a better place to live. Having a blog makes getting the message out a little easier and a little more personal for everyone.