Not Apples to Apples

While attending the City Council Work Session Sept. 27, 2010, I found out that a work session is identical to a regular meeting including voting, discussion, and paying bills. The reason we are not allowed to make comments is because they (the mayor and the council) don’t want to hear comments during this meeting. At least we now know. Please contact your alderman or Tim Long or Mayor Drey prior to the meetings so that your voice can be heard through your representatives.

Tim Long passed out the appraisals of 101 and 103 W. Main to the council members. The appraisals were not “apples for apples”. Clarkson did some type of sales comparison appraisal and came up with a value of $32,200. Data Source Appraisals did a typical appraisal with income/cost approach coming up with $1000 value. (Both with “as is” conditions). WHY THE BIG DIFFERENCE? What was the cost for these appraisals? The appraisals were to cost around $1000 to $1500 each appraisal-MORE THAN THE APPRAISED VALUE?

Didn’t Kenny Tenboer want to tear the buildings down? Didn’t the city refuse to let him? Didn’t he offer the building to the city for $1? Wasn’t that refused? Then didn’t it become a “SAFETY ISSUE” when the building started to crumble? Wasn’t there a petition signed by over 500 taxpayers of Morrison stating they wanted the building removed? Why did Mayor Drey say we will set the petitions aside and YOU can look at them-they ignored them. Then we poured over $50,000 into shoring it up, scaffolding rental, engineering, etc. So that used up the $50,000 Kenny paid the city to take care of it. At ZERO! Correct me if I am wrong, didn’t we put about $500,000 more into replacing walls, engineering, temporary lighting-electrical cords, etc. (this does not include plumbing, wiring, walls, floors, etc.)? In this state, I really can’t see how this building is still “historical”. How can we recoup the money we have thrown into these buildings? Who has the answers? When are the tours for prospective buyers? What are they going to do now? Sell at what loss? That is our tax money at work!

I am still waiting for answers for questions I have asked repeatedly at prior meetings. Some of the subjects were the Route 30 bridge, Sports Complex, 101 and 103 W. Main buildings, the list goes on.

I do contact an alderman prior to meetings. WE still don’t get answers.

Citizens be aware. The council is discussing passing Ordinance #10-12 (An Ordinance Regulating Development in Floodplain Areas). Go to City Hall and see the mapping and get a copy of the proposed ordinance-some areas have changed from the present ordinance. I’m not sure how you will be contacted. Contact your alderman, mayor or city hall.

The budget is still not finished—only 6 months behind. I believe we have already exceeded the fiscal year’s income or we wouldn’t have already borrowed from city sewer and water department. The rate increase on sewer and water was to save up for needed repairs and upkeep. How can the council transfer those funds into the general fund? I know the council members have really been working hard to get it under control. The next Budget Meeting is Monday, October 4, 2010 at 4:30 pm at City Hall.

The next City Council Meeting is Monday, October 11, 2010 at 7:00pm at City Hall. Be sure to get involved! Contact your alderman, mayor or city administrator with your complaints, praises, thoughts, and ideas prior to the meeting. Get your feedback at the meeting!

Food for thought: TO LEAD PEOPLE, WALK BEHIND THEM. (Lao-Tzu)

A Morrison Taxpayer,

Marti Wood

Representative Misrepresented

I am alarmed at some of the comments made about Representative Jim Sacia by the Ken Turners and the H.O.M.E.S group mostly because of his support of the Bos Dairy Farm.

I have known Jim Sacia for 36 years. He is an honorable, honest, very intelligent man. He has served as an Army Ranger, an FBI agent, a state representative and also has a business dealing with the public. We are very fortunate to have a man like Jim Sacia working for us in Springfield.

I am confused when I read all the information and misinformation published in your paper written by the Turners and other members of the H.O.M.E.S group about large dairy farms and livestock farms. I have been involved directly with agriculture for 55 years and whether you like it or not the evolution from family farms to large farms has been going on for 50 years and I doubt that this will change. It has given us the best farmers and the best most healthy farm products on earth.

Another confusing issue is that of manure. I know that proper application of manure is the best plant food available for our soil today. I wish my farm could have manure applied on it regularly.

The only bad manure that I know of is the manure spread by the Turners and the H.O.M.E.S group because of their lack of knowledge about modern agriculture.

Gary Schreiner

Lena, IL

Editor’s Note: No articles from the Turners or HOMES has appeared in The Prairie Advocate.

U of I Extension Service and the County Budget

I started reading the article Mick Parsons had written regarding the County Board Meeting and could barely believe what he had written! (Sept. 22, 2010 issue, pg. 6, Sec. One). What a disappointment! Who is “Kate Farris”? Mick, let me introduce myself, and for the record, my name is: Kay Ferris.

It seems the meeting Mick attended is not at all the one I attended. Mick tainted the article with his views and used it as a platform to write the story to suit his own style. Mick failed to provide the readers with any facts. Allow me to set the record straight.

My concerns are based on the impact of cutting the U of I Extension Service’s Budget from ~$82,000 down to ~$35,000. The amount sounds like a lot of “savings” to the county. That is an incorrect conclusion. Most people forget that this “budget cut” cannot fund any County deficit. The tax levy of 3.0 cents per $100 valuation can only be used by the U of I Extension Service.

The U of I Extension Service in Mt. Carroll has been fiscally responsible with the county’s tax funds. It currently spends 2.2 cents per $100 valuation. This number is below the allotted levy of 3.0 cents. The County Board Finance Committee proposed to cut more than one half of the Extension’s Budget. If you do the “math”, this proposed cut saves a homeowner less than a cup of coffee each month!

Is this proposed cut worth it?

If the Board drastically reduces the budget to the Extension Service, it is projected the Extension Office will be closed and employees will be terminated. 4-H and other youth programs, Master Gardener, Home & Community Education, Recycling and Conservation, Community & Economic Development, and Family Nutrition/Family Consumer Science are the programs that would be unsustainable.

The voters of Carroll County need to be aware of this serious matter.

Please contact the Board Members and let them know where you stand on this issue.

Submitted by:

Kay D. Ferris

Volunteer and former 4-H Leader

Tax Cuts and Unemployment

A recent letter to the editor showed the lack of correlation between the top marginal income tax rate and unemployment. I concur with the author that the top marginal rate isn’t the major factor in unemployment. I also agree with the writer that examining unemployment only in the year in which the tax cut is passed won’t provide a meaningful result, as the economy doesn’t react to a tax cut for at least a year, which his data confirmed.

I do disagree with his use of “jobs created” as an economic indicator – the “jobs created” value excludes jobs lost, which can vary widely. I’ll stick with unemployment as the indicator of choice.

BLS data shows that year-to-date, unemployment increased from 14.3M to 14.9M, under-employment increased (300,000 last month) to 8.9M, with un-counted unemployment steady at 2.4M. That’s 26 million fellow Americans who desperately need solutions that work.

Averaging unemployment for the two years before a tax cut, and for years 2-5 after the cut is implemented, IRS data shows:

Unemployment

before 1963 5.6% - after 4.0%

before 1983 9.7% - after 6.8%

before 1993* 7.2% - after 4.8%

before 2003 5.9% - after 4.8%

*Tax-lovers reference the 1993 tax “hike” to tout the advantages of raising taxes, but there’s a little problem with this, in that the following programs (and more) were also enacted; Medical Savings Accounts, an Education IRA, the Section 529 Qualified Tuition Program, and the Roth IRA. These tax shelters actually more than offset the tax increases, resulting in actual taxation plunging from 17.1% of GDP to

16.6%, near the record low of 15.6%. For reference, 2009 at 19.4% was near 2000’s record high 20.4%.

“If government is to retain the confidence of the people, it must not spend more than can be justified on grounds of national need or spent with maximum efficiency.”

-- John F. Kennedy

Terry Smith

Lanark, IL

Misconstruing the Constitution

Three little words.

Our President has lately taken to quoting the Declaration of Independence. Unfortunately he’s been quoting it wrong and it is important to understand the nature and intent of the misquote.

He said, in part “that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights among which are life, liberty, etc . . .”.

The part he left out is critical. It reads “That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights . . .”.

I do not believe Obama’s misquote was an accident at all. This wording was placed in the Declaration to firmly establish that our rights do not come from government, they come from God.

Any right given by government can be taken away by that same government. History is overpopulated with examples, among which are the “right” to health care and the “right” to a job.

Barack Hussein Obama believes (as all liberals/progressives and tyrants do) that our rights come only from the government and therefore are subject to change by government edict, whenever those who control the government decide that to do so is in their interest.

Remember this vital distinction as you read, see and hear the news and especially when you go to vote in November.

Larry J. Farrell

Mt. Carroll, IL

Lanark Chamber Says, ‘Thanks!’

On behalf of the Lanark Chamber of Commerce, I would like to thank all those who helped make the Hometown Cookout on September 23 a great success: chamber members, Lanark Public Library Board, and the Friends of the LPL who volunteered to organize, set up, cook, serve and clean; Express Lane for your generous donation and staff (Jeannine, Jo, Patrick and Renee) for your exceptional service; and of course, all those who joined us for the meal.

A special thank you goes out to Trushar at the Lanark Food Center for donating all of the pork chops. Thanks also to John and Gary for helping gather and transport supplies.

This year the proceeds will go toward the chamber’s scholarship fund. Last year we presented $1000 in scholarships to Eastland seniors. With the sales and donations from this event, we will be able to match that amount again for the class of 2011.

On another note, I want to say thank you to all those who came out and supported the first year of the Lanark Farmers Market. The number of vendors and customers far exceeded our expectations. Watch for new times, new vendors, new entertainment and special events during the market in 2011 beginning in June. The final market for this year will be Tuesday October 12.

Thanks again to all of you for your continued support of local businesses and organizations.

John Huggins


President
Lanark Chamber

of Commerce