Meet Morrison, Illinois’ City Administrator: Jim Wise

"I look forward to the opportunity to do many great things with the community of Morrison," concluded James R. "Jim" Wise, at right, after an interview Monday, May 23, 2011, in the office that will become his on Wednesday, June 1. Mayor Roger Drey was available as the conversation ended, so he welcomed Wise as the soon-to-be City Administrator.

Click on the following for more details:  http://www.thecity1.com/all-current-year-articles/9-people-in-the-news/4061-meet-the-new-city-administrator-jim-wise.html

Consider defense for life after Chrysler - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Mr. Wise’s blog posting gets on RR Star .

Today, a new industrial development plan is needed that will bring jobs to Belvidere before time runs out on Chrysler and this once mighty industrial giant closes its doors.

Consider defense for life after Chrysler - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Monday agenda at Belvidere includes Boone PSB

The ongoing debate over what is an appropriate level of security at the Public Safety Building continued this week as aldermen decided against moving up a special meeting

 

Perhaps even more interesting, are the remarks in the Comments section from Mr. Wise, an apparent Mayoral Candidate for 2013

Wise_for_Mayor2013

What can happen will happen. How right you are Ald. Racz. Regarding the incident at the courthouse, it was not until after it had occurred that, luckily, it was prevented from getting any worse than it did. The security measures that you seek for the PSB will not prevent an incident from occurring, it will merely record it as it is happening. There are serious security issues throughout the entire PSB but, these issues can wait for another time.
There are far more important issues for you and your fellow aldermen to tend to. The communities industrial base is crumbling, businesses are threatened with closure, tax revenues continue to decline and personal hardships abound.
I would ask that you and your fellow aldermen explain to your constituents why it is that camera's for the PSB, gifts for sister city officials and fireworks are more important to the council than doing something that would prevent a complete collapse of the local economy is.
Jim Wise

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  Monday agenda includes Boone PSB - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Jim Wise comments on the local elections and the Republican Party

The following is a direct quote  from Jim Wise as posted on his Blog:   http://belviderepolitiks.wordpress.com/

On April 7, voters sent a clear message – change is coming. This is a message that the leadership of the Boone County Republican Party had better take heed of. This past election cycle, the leadership of the Boone County Republican Party chose to protect the interests of a few select individuals, and the public offices that they hold, at the expense of the needs and interests of the citizens of Boone County. This caused the Party to lose one City and one Township office and only able to hold on to several other elected offices by the slimmest of margins. The prized possession of the Party, the office of Mayor of Belvidere, was nearly lost to an Independent candidate who lacked even the most basic of qualifications to hold such an office. The Party is in trouble of losing its status as the dominant political party in Boone County and to retain its dominance in Boone County politics three things must occur.
First, the Boone County Republican Party needs new leadership. The current Chairman is void of the skills needed to sustain the Party’s dominance in Boone County politics and should be replaced in order to prevent any further decline of the Party’s membership and status within the County.
Secondly, because it has become too focused on a select few public offices and individual office holders its membership base is shrinking and candidates who previously sought County, Municipal, Township and Precinct offices as Republicans now run under the banner of the Independent Party. The Party needs to refocus its attention on the citizens – the ones that live on Main Street not High Street in order to regain its base of support from among the citizens of Boone County.
And thirdly, it needs to move beyond the old ways of governance. Its membership is comprised of both men and women, but has a woman ever led the Party? There are many women among the Party membership who have the skills and ability to lead the Party. Two who come to mind are Cathy Ward and Patricia Zickert. Studies have proven that women make better leaders of organizations where interpersonal skills are more important than brawn. The Party has plenty of brawn, but has failed to take advantage of the skills that are needed to promote, nurture and sustain the Party and its membership, skills that women in general posses.
Change is coming to Boone County in small measured steps. But change in the leadership of the Boone County Republican Party needs to take place before the next cycle of elections, before it loses its status as the dominant political party in Boone County and surely before the current leadership leads the Party to its grave.

Jim Wise

Big argument between Mayor and Mr. Wise on the Utility Tax and why it was suspended

Hey I don’t have a clue on this one.  See http://belvideresovereignty.wordpress.com/

RRS--Belvidere City Residents may receive tax relief on their utility taxes next year and Jim Wise’s statement on the issue

The City of Belvidere is considering a roll back in the utility tax for Fiscal Year 2010, beginning May 1, 2009.  Take a look at the article in the Rockford Register Star:  www.rrstar.com/boone/x1589174724 or read it below:

Residents may get a little tax relief starting this spring in the form of a 2 percent reduction to the city’s utility tax.

Plans to cut back on the tax charged to gas and electricity use were laid out Saturday during part of an all-day retreat for the City Council. The majority of the retreat was spent reviewing the city’s proposed $12.7 million budget for the coming year.

The reduction was proposed to give businesses and households relief during a tough economic climate, Mayor Fred Brereton said.

The city’s fiscal 2010 budget, which runs May 1 through April 30, 2010, will be formally introduced today, when aldermen will have their first chance to make any amendments. Officials plan to approve the budget by March 16.

If approved, the utility tax on gas and electricity will be dropped by 2 percent during the budget year. At that time, the city will assess the possibility of making the cut permanent.

Tax often debated Debate surrounded the use of the 5 percent utility tax throughout 2008. First, Brereton proposed using a surplus in the tax to pay for additions and renovations to the Public Safety Building. Officials sought a public-safety sales tax increase instead, which voters defeated.

Ald. Andy Racz tried twice last year — in April and again in October — to get fellow aldermen to agree to cut the tax by 2 percent, but his proposal failed each time. Only Aldermen Mark Sanderson and Ray Pendzinski supported the measure at the time. Money from the tax pays for road construction projects and maintenance. “They say nothing happens until the time is right,” Racz said. “It’s an idea whose time has come, and it is the right thing in terms of our budget.”

Reducing the tax will take about $867,000 out of the city coffers, according to budget estimates provided during the retreat. About $319,400 will be left in the city’s utility tax fund balance at the end of fiscal 2010, according to projections.

The city plans to suspend its street reconstruction program for the coming year, which featured a roughly $1.5 million makeover of Columbia Avenue, Brereton said. The project was part of the city’s submission for federal economic stimulus money.

Revenue down 4 percent
The coming year’s budget is slimmer thanks to a roughly 4 percent drop in revenues. The city plans to spend about $12.7 million in 2010, compared with the $13.3 million it budgeted for fiscal 2009.

Brereton called it a “maintenance budget,” one that’s intended to maintain the services already in place and go through the year without staff reductions. The budget presented calls for a hiring freeze and a halt on capital expenditures, but it doesn’t require layoffs.

Residents also are expected to pay a lower property tax rate than last year. The lower rate equates to lower taxes paid if a home’s assessed value does not change. However, housing values grew by about 4 percent across the board in Boone County this year.

The city’s property tax rate has dropped from 1.1184 percent in 1999 to 0.9291 percent in 2007, largely because of the city’s increase in equalized assessed value.

The city’s total equalized assessed value grew from $201 million in 1998 to $416 million in 2007 thanks to residential, industrial and commercial growth.

The city’s retreat Saturday also featured an update and review on the federal economic stimulus package and a presentation on the National Incident Management System, which is a guide for responding to a crisis.

Staff writer Kevin Haas can be reached at 815-544-3452 or khaas@rrstar.com.

Jim Wise gave a statement on the utility tax issue on http://belvideresovereignty.wordpress.com/ for your convenience I am copying it below:

‘Residents may get a little tax relief this spring…’ a story in the Rockford Register Star announced. Following the Belvidere City Council retreat of Saturday, January 24 the papers reported that Mayor Brereton was offering tax relief to the citizens and businesses of Belvidere in the form of a reduction of the Utility Tax rate for the 2010 fiscal year. “The reduction was proposed to give businesses and households’ relief during a tough economic climate, Mayor Fred Brereton said.”

Sounds good, but this is nothing more than a cheap election year ploy. For two years Mayor Brereton had attempted to convince the citizens of Belvidere to approve an increase in the public safety sales tax to pay for an expansion of the PSB. If that effort had succeeded, you would be paying $100-$125 more a year in sales taxes than you are now. This “tough economic climate” began more than a year ago, yet now mayor Brereton is realizing the impact that this is having on the citizens of Belvidere.

Now, in an attempt to prove that he is protecting the pocketbooks of the citizens. Mayor Brereton is proposing a reduction in the Utility tax rate of two percentage points (from the current 5% rate to a 3% rate) for the 2010 budget. This would be the equivalent of paying 40% less in utility taxes this coming year than you paid last year. If you pay $200 in utility taxes between May 1, 2009 and April 31, 2010 then this would equal a savings of $80. Wow!!! Now that’s some real relief!

Where was this consideration during the recession of 2002 brought on by the events of 9-11? Then our economy suffered through an 8 month recession. Yet, I don’t remember Mayor Brereton offering to reduce the utility tax rate then. Or, what about when times were good? When revenues were up? When sales taxes, income taxes and property taxes were rising could the city have forgone a few hundred thousand dollars in utility tax revenue then? Mayor Brereton did not think of reducing the rate then either. But now when an election year nears, Mayor Brereton is ready to play his hand. And, he’ll throw in the ultimate election year teaser, saying that “…the city will assess the possibility of making the cut permanent.”

Apparently, Mayor Brereton is attempting to create the appearance that he is looking out for the best interests of the citizens of Belvidere. It is unfortunate that Mayor Brereton only thinks of these things during an election year. I think that he is grasping at straws desperately trying to find any means possible to secure a fourth term as our mayor. He’ll even go so far as to play the ‘I will lower your taxes’ charade while all the time hoping that you will have forgotten that he spent the last two years trying to raise them.
Jim Wise

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James Wise - Is the Train Coming to Belvidere?

With Mr. Wise’s permission, I copied his article about the train and Boone County. The article is from his campaign blog:  www.belviderecommunityfirst.com   I am not a voter in Belvidere and am not endorsing Mr. Wise but his take on the train issue coincides with mine.  Some of the links maybe unnecessarily political but I think it is factual.  If the local government officials  are really asking the Obama Administration for a train let see what you might get.

Is the Train Coming to Belvidere?

"The train will be here in five to seven years."

                                                                   Mayor Brereton, 2001

I am seeking another term, as your mayor to...

"make sure passenger rail service is implemented in four years."

                                                                Mayor Brereton, 2008

Our current mayor was once quoted as saying something along the lines of "the train will be coming to Belvidere in five to seven years."  That was near the end of his first term.

Now, Mayor Brereton has announced that he will seek a fourth term because he wants to "make sure passenger rail service is implemented in four years."

This is getting to be the mayor's reoccurring refrain. He makes this comment at the end of each term as the reason why he wants to remain your mayor for yet another term.

What you are not hearing is how much will this cost? Who will pay for it?  And, is it feasible? 

In 2005, our local representatives (municipal, state and federal) secured millions of dollars to complete a "study" to determine the feasibility of bringing passenger rail to Belvidere.          

In 2007, Amtrak was asked to conduct their own study and guess what? 

The "local" study reads that it is feasible to bring passenger rail service to Belvidere while the Amtrak study reports that it is not. 

Who would you believe?

To the right, I have placed several URL's that will direct you to these study's.

What I am asking you to do is read these study's and see for yourself that there are two sides to every story.

Our local passenger rail advocates are leading you down the path of fantasy by using misinformation, half-truths and overzealous optimism. 

Please do not get me wrong.  Bringing passenger rail to Belvidere would be good for the community and the region, but not at the expense of our cities' resources. Or, an increase in our taxes.

To bring passenger rail to Belvidere. A referendum must be approved to annex Boone County to the METRA transportation district.  A second referendum to increase sales taxes by .075% to subsidize METRA and its expenses will also need to be approved.  Other passenger rail options will require an increase in property taxes to subsidize passenger rail. 

Even better yet, it may take an increase in BOTH taxes to make the mayor's dream of bringing passenger rail service to Belvidere.

Is passenger rail coming to Belvidere?

Or, is our incumbent mayor just telling you that in the hopes that you will let him serve a fourth term as our mayor?

Our incumbent mayor recently announced his intention to seek a fourth term as our mayor and that he was doing so because he wants to..

"make sure passenger rail service is implemented in four years."

Here is the link to the BDR story reporting on the announcement that Mayor Brereton is seeking "another" term

http://belvideredailyrepublican.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1152&Itemid=43

Within this story you will also read that the...

..Union Pacific Railroad recently announced that "Belvidere is the locally preferred site for commuter rail service through METRA or Amtrak."

Really?

The Union Pacific Railroad has never made such a statement.

---

Below is a link to an editorial by RRS editor, Chuck Sweeney.  In this editorial you will read that  "consultants" selected the UP line as the preferred route for passenger rail to serve Belvidere and Rockford. 

These "consultants" are Tran Systems, the consultants selected by NICTI to conduct this study.

http://www.rrstar.com/opinions/columnists/x299931869/Progress-being-made-but-trains-still-far-from-here

---

Who is NICTI?

NICTI, (Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative) is the locally organized passenger rail consortium comprised of Belvidere, Rockford, Winnebago and Boone County  officials.

NICTI hired the consultants named above, TranSytems, to conduct a study of the feasibility of bringing passenger rail to Belvidere.  This study is the one cited by Chuck Sweeney in the May, 2008 editorial.

Now why wouldn't you expect that a consulting firm hired to conduct a study, and be paid hundred of thousand's of dollars to do so, not give you what you paid for. 

What NICTI paid for was a "yes it can be done" study that says it is feasible to bring passenger rail to Belvidere.

And what would the cost be?

Bringing passenger rail to Belvidere, according to TranSystems, is only $247 million!

This link below is the NICTI report that was published in April, 2008.

This is the study which is cited by Mayor Brereton as proof that passenger rail is coming to Belvidere.

http://www.nicti.net/New events & PDFs/May 08/Second Level Screening Executive Summary Report Arpil 2008.pdf

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On April 12, 2007 RATS (Rockford Area Transportation Study) a local government oversight committee, responsible for the distribution of federal funds used for transportation improvements and comprised of local municipal and county officials, voted to create a resolution that will...

"support the most feasible route, which is the route that IDOT recommends to the Illinois General Assembly to restore intercity passenger rail service."

The link below is a PDF of the April 12, 2007 meeting minutes.

http://www.cityofrockford.net/uploadedFiles/government/PublicWorks/Planning/RATS/RATS-PolicyMin-2007Apr.pdf

You will see at the end of this meeting minutes report that our mayor voted "present" to the motion of the committee approving a resolution of support for IDOT's choice of the "most feasible" passenger rail route. Rather than stand his ground (his current re-election motto is "Still Standing for Belvidere") and vote no to the committee's resolution to support IDOT's choice of the "most feasible" passenger rail route, he instead decides to not upset his fellow "regional"  politicians.  How's that for putting his community first!  And, you will also note that the Boone County Board Chairman, a member of this committee, voted "yes" to the resolution.  This says loads about the mayor's supposed ability to build a "consensus of support" among local leaders.

---

This link directs you to the Amtrak study (May, 2007) that outlines the routes studied, identifies the preferred route and declares "Route C" as the "most feasible route." This route does not include a stop in Belvidere.

http://www.dot.state.il.us/amtrak/RCK_Feasibility.pdf

---

This link directs you to the press release from the NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION, (May, 2007) which details our legislative representatives' comments regarding the Illinois Department of Transportation selection of "Route C" as the passenger rail route that will serve northern Illinois.  This route does not include a stop in Belvidere.

http://www.returnthetrain.com/files/ ATK_07_057_Rockford_route_ decision_1_.pdf

---

This link directs you to a McHenry County blog which highlights the Amtrak study and its public release.  There are some interesting facts listed in this blog regarding the costs associated with bring passenger rail to Belvidere.  (the article is 3/4 down the page listed under - appropriately, April 1, 2007.)

http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/ labels/ IDOT.html

---

The link below directs you to the,  

2009-2012 Illinois Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)

http://www.dot.il.gov/opp/FY 2009-2012 STIP.pdf

This plan details the State's transportation plan. Within this plan you will find, in Appendix H, the allocation of $60 million for:

Chicago-Dubuque: Rehab track, ties, surfaces, switches, crossings, signals to prepare for resumption of passenger service.  The planned fiscal year to begin this project is 2011 (June 2010).

The amount of funds allocated for this project is the amount estimated that it will cost to rehabilitate the CN rail line identified as "Route C" and formerly known as Amtrak's "Blackhawk" route.  This route does not include a stop in Belvidere.

Jim Wise - Is the Train Coming to Belvidere?