Violent crime is down in Belvidere, but gangs are not gone, officials warn - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

BELVIDERE — Statistics suggest that violent crime has fallen since 2008, but city and county officials warned community members Monday that Belvidere's problem with gangs is not gone, and it might never be.

Data released Monday by the Belvidere Police Department show that 2014 was the city's fourth straight year without a homicide. Vandalism and destruction of property dropped for the fifth year in a row. However, increases were reported in burglary, fraud, drug and DUI offenses.

“The ones we are truly concerned with are the violent crimes and it’s important to note that we got through the entirety of 2014 without a single homicide,” police Chief Jan Noble said. "A lot of our violent crime is down, but a lot of our misdemeanor crime is up slightly."

There were 329 vandalism and destruction of property offenses in 2014. Boone County State's Attorney Michelle Courier said the number of graffiti offenses in Belvidere has fallen significantly since 2009. A drop in gang-related vandalism could suggest that gangs have been less active in the area.

“If you look at the statistics … there has been a decrease in one indicator of gang activity, and that’s graffiti,” Courier said.

In 2009, Courier successfully sued the Latin Kings under the 1993 Illinois Street Gang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act, which says street gangs and their activities present a clear and present danger to public order and safety that no society should be required to endure without redress.

At a Boone County Gang Task Force forum Monday at the Belvidere Community Building, DEA agent Brian Besser said the city, region and the country may never shake their problems with gangs because of social problems including drug use and collapsed family structures.

From April 4 through Oct. 3, 2014, the Gang Intervention Unit made 476 contacts with people willing to give information about gang members or activities, which led to 25 arrests and 60 citations.

There were 485 drug and narcotic offenses in Belvidere in 2014. In 2013, there were 349.

Noble said the department’s gang unit and the Boone County Gang Task Force have been integral in maintaining low violent crime in Belvidere.

"Our city still has the challenges of dealing with the ongoing issue of narcotics and gangs," he said. "Overall, it is all a work in progress.”

Ben Stanley: 815-987-1369; bstanley@rrstar.com; @ben_j_stanley

Violent crime is down in Belvidere, but gangs are not gone, officials warn - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

GM, Ford to ask UAW for new lower-pay tier in U.S.: Bloomberg | Reuters

 

Reuters) - U.S. automakers General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) are considering asking the United Auto Workers union to create a new tier of lower-paid union workers in their U.S. factories, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The UAW currently has a two-tier wage system, that includes top-paid $28-an-hour assembly workers and the lower-paid second tier, whose wages top out at $19.28.

The automakers would be pushing forth for a third tier wage system for certain lower-skilled jobs, according to the report. (bloom.bg/1ImHJBP)

The new pay rate for these lower-skilled jobs would help the automakers bring down labor costs as they compete with Asian and European rivals that pay less at non-union U.S. plants, the report said.

GM and Ford have much higher labor costs than their cross-town rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI), according to a study released just ahead of a meeting of United Auto Workers officials as they prepare for contract talks with the Detroit Three.

GM's U.S. auto workers on average earn about 21 percent more in wages and benefits than their counterparts at Fiat Chrysler, reflecting the much higher percentage of lower-paid, entry-level workers at FCA, according to a study of 2014 labor costs by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR).

Ford's hourly labor costs were $57, just behind GM's at $58. FCA's U.S. workers averaged $48 per hour.

"We aren't going to comment on potential topics in upcoming negotiations... we are committed to working with our UAW partners on solutions that will benefit employees and improve GM's competitiveness," GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said in an email.

Ford was not immediately available for a comment. UAW could not be reached outside business hours.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera and Anjali Rao Koppala in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Anupama Dwivedi)

GM, Ford to ask UAW for new lower-pay tier in U.S.: Bloomberg | Reuters

US auto labor cost study shows impact of two-tier wage system - Yahoo Finance

 

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co <GM.N> and Ford Motor Co <F.N> have much higher labor costs than their cross-town rival Fiat Chrysler, according to a new study released just ahead of a meeting of United Auto Workers officials as they prepare for contract talks with the Detroit Three.

GM's <GM.N> U.S. auto workers on average earn about 21 percent more in wages and benefits than their counterparts at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles <FCAU.N> <FCHA.MI>, reflecting the much higher percentage of lower-paid, entry-level workers at FCA, according to a study of 2014 labor costs by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR).

Ford Motor Co's <F.N> hourly labor costs were $57, just behind GM's at $58. FCA's U.S. workers averaged $48 per hour.

The two-tiered pay scale implemented as part of the United Auto Workers 2007 labor agreement allows GM, Fiat Chrysler and Ford to pay their newer "entry-level" workers less than veteran ones. UAW leaders have said that narrowing the gap between new hires and veterans will be a top issue when negotiations begin with the Detroit automakers this summer.

Germany's Daimler AG <DAIGn.DE>, for its Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama, at its only U.S. plant, has the highest U.S. auto labor costs, at an average of $65 an hour. Workers at the U.S. plants of Volkswagen AG <VOWG_p.DE> and BMW <BMWG.DE> earn the least, at $38 and $39 per hour, respectively, according to estimates by CAR.

GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler are the only automakers whose U.S. workers are represented by the UAW.

Despite major restructuring since the 2009 recession, GM and Ford still have higher labor costs than their major competitors. The $10 per hour labor cost gap between GM and Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> translates to roughly $250 a car in additional labor costs for GM, according to data in the study.

Some 43 percent of Fiat Chrysler's U.S. auto workers earn the lower entry-level wage, almost double the percentage of such workers at Ford and GM.

Of the other automakers operating in the United States, Honda Motor Co <7267.T> workers earned on average $49 per hour, Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> $48, Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> $42, Hyundai Motor Co <005380.KS> and its corporate stablemate Kia Motors Corp <000270.KS> $41.

Per hour labor cost averages include pay for "temporary" workers who are formally employed by outside agencies such as Kelly Services Inc <KELYA.O> but mainly work full-time alongside workers employed directly by the automakers. Japanese automakers have the highest percentages of temporary workers, which cut labor costs, CAR analysts have said

US auto labor cost study shows impact of two-tier wage system - Yahoo Finance

How much tax would Wind Turbines pay North Boone School District?

Well here is a tax bill from Stephenson County on one wind turbine somewhat smaller than the ones proposed for Northern Boone County.  Assessments are done by the State of Illinois based upon megawatts so the Boone County assessment should be higher than $167,945.

Boone County’s total property assessment for 2014 is $978,051,132; see Table #2.  Using a figure of $170,000 per wind turbine, fifty wind turbines would increase Boone County’s total property assessment by $8,500,000, less than a one per cent increase (.87%). 

For the North Boone School District there would be a more dramatic effect. See Table #3, the District’s equalized assessed valuation (EAV) is $137,152,702.  The additional $8,500,000 (fifty turbines)  represents a 6.205% increase in assessed valuation.

In actual dollar terms, using the tax rates in Table #3—each year District #200 should receive an additional $514,394.50 for the various operating expenses and the taxpayers should receive $141,780 in assistance in paying the required principal and interest on outstanding school bonds.

Table #1 :  Calculation of taxes to be paid to North Boone School District for a 50 Turbine Wind Farm with each turbine assessed at $170,000, $8,500,000 additional EAV.

Table #2

 

TABLE #3

Below is from: http://www.nbcusd.org/budgetinfo/FY14Annual%20Statement%20of%20Affairs.pdf

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