Our second annual Neighborhood Clean-Up Day is Saturday October 9 at 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. We will meet at Village Hall, get our assignments and materials there, and then proceed out into (hopefully) a crisp clear autumn day.
Thanks again to Village Clerk Shauna Musselman for spear-heading this very worthwhile event. Litter is not nearly that problem it was when I was a kid, but there's always some out there...
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Peoria Heights "Voice" & The Cost of Tower Park
Open posting to the Peoria Heights "Voice" person:
Your latest posting does not allow for responses, so I have to respond this way. Any time you want to come by Village Hall, and obtain a printout of the costs of the renovations and changes at Tower Park, please do so. I'll make sure the bookkeeper gives you a copy.
The overall costs of the changes to Tower Park totaled $1,062,897.00.
The donations, you stated, were $350,000.00. You're wrong.
The donations were actually $282,472.66. You must be including the "donation" from the two cell towers that former Mayor Carter somehow retrieved from very large, inanimate objects. That $75,000.00 "donation" from the cell towers was actually written on the tally board for keeping track of the donation money; but could not be listed on the actual donation print-out (legally), because you cannot earmark Village funds for specific projects. For a further clarification of this extraordinary "donation" from two cell towers, I refer to this part of a previous posting:
" American Tower Corporation
This is a good one. In his flier, Mr. Carter states that "the Village has already received $75,000.00" for the leases. And, guess what? Mr. Carter listed that $75,000.00 as a DONATION to the Tower Park changes. You know, the ones that cost us $780,000.00. Additionally, in order to do so, Mr. Carter agreed to accept $50,000.00 up front for the tower on Toledo for the first 10 years of the lease; and to accept $25,000.00 up front for the tower off of Gardner Lane, for the first 5 years of the lease.
The actual lease costs are $8,400.00 per year for the tower on Toledo. The lease payment is $7,500.00 per year for the tower off Gardner Lane. Again, using my Radio Shack calculator, that tells me that the lease payments over 10 years for the Toledo tower should have been $84,000.00, instead of the $50,000.00 that was accepted. The lease payments for the Gardner Lane tower should have been $38,500.00 for the first five years of that lease, instead of the $25,000.00 that was accepted.
Why did Mr. Carter insist on having the $75,000.00 up front, instead of taking the $122,500.00 that would have been paid out on the leases as originally conceived? Again, that $75,000.00 was listed as a donation for the Tower Park changes."
The cell towers weren't really able to make a "donation" to the changes at Tower Park, although I'm SURE they really wanted to, Voice. So, in actuality AND reality, the donations were $282,472.66, and that's that. It's a nice figure, but be aware that the vast, vast, VAST majority of those donations came from just a few sources: Caterpillar ($25,000.00); the Bielfeldt Foundation ($75,000.00); an "anonymous" donor ($75,000.00); and Pearl Insurance ($75,000.00). That's still a tidy sum, of course. Do I think Uncle Earl worked his magic for those monies? Not exactly... I have two words that better describe the ability to get those donations, and those words are "Wayne Baum."
And, again, I'll ask that you do the math.
The COSTS to the Village taxpayers were exactly $780,424.40. Period. End of story. As much as you don't want to believe that, and as much as Uncle Earl tells you otherwise, it is a fact. And, this much I'm pretty certain of, even though I've been "caught" at a mis-speak as of late, I have never said that there weren't donations made to the park. More than a few times over the course of this blog, I have stated the TOTAL cost of the park, and the money paid out from Village coffers. But, once again, I'm guessing you'll read into it whatever you want to read into it. End result is this... $780,420.40 was paid out from the Village GENERAL FUND for the work done in Tower Park. That's the money fund available for the Village to do all of the other work it wants done, other than water work and MFT funds. Still don't believe me? Like I said... c'mon by and you can hold the payout list in your hands, and even take it home.
Poplar Lane Park cost over $430,000.00 to put in. We received a $200,000.00 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Again, you do the math.
Does that mean I'm against parks? Of course not. We're pursuing grants for a trailhead building at the piece of land at the corner of Marietta and Columbus, which even if we receive them, we will have to dip into the Village coffers to complete the work. But, you see, I'll be honest about what amount we have to put out.
My issues with Poplar Lane Park were that it was in a bad location (flooding, not many houses in the area for real access) and that Bielfeldt Park is just across Galena Road from it, and that park already offered everything that Poplar Lane Park did, except for basketball hoops, a river view, and flooding.
Do you really think I would have been bellyaching about the cost of Tower Park all of these years without the numbers to back me up? When have you ever come by Village Hall to check those numbers, instead of taking the "expert witness" stuff from the Peoples Party regarding the costs? Come on by and get the facts, please. The printout will have all of the checks that were paid out back in 2002-2003... verified and certified.
Your latest posting does not allow for responses, so I have to respond this way. Any time you want to come by Village Hall, and obtain a printout of the costs of the renovations and changes at Tower Park, please do so. I'll make sure the bookkeeper gives you a copy.
The overall costs of the changes to Tower Park totaled $1,062,897.00.
The donations, you stated, were $350,000.00. You're wrong.
The donations were actually $282,472.66. You must be including the "donation" from the two cell towers that former Mayor Carter somehow retrieved from very large, inanimate objects. That $75,000.00 "donation" from the cell towers was actually written on the tally board for keeping track of the donation money; but could not be listed on the actual donation print-out (legally), because you cannot earmark Village funds for specific projects. For a further clarification of this extraordinary "donation" from two cell towers, I refer to this part of a previous posting:
" American Tower Corporation
This is a good one. In his flier, Mr. Carter states that "the Village has already received $75,000.00" for the leases. And, guess what? Mr. Carter listed that $75,000.00 as a DONATION to the Tower Park changes. You know, the ones that cost us $780,000.00. Additionally, in order to do so, Mr. Carter agreed to accept $50,000.00 up front for the tower on Toledo for the first 10 years of the lease; and to accept $25,000.00 up front for the tower off of Gardner Lane, for the first 5 years of the lease.
The actual lease costs are $8,400.00 per year for the tower on Toledo. The lease payment is $7,500.00 per year for the tower off Gardner Lane. Again, using my Radio Shack calculator, that tells me that the lease payments over 10 years for the Toledo tower should have been $84,000.00, instead of the $50,000.00 that was accepted. The lease payments for the Gardner Lane tower should have been $38,500.00 for the first five years of that lease, instead of the $25,000.00 that was accepted.
Why did Mr. Carter insist on having the $75,000.00 up front, instead of taking the $122,500.00 that would have been paid out on the leases as originally conceived? Again, that $75,000.00 was listed as a donation for the Tower Park changes."
The cell towers weren't really able to make a "donation" to the changes at Tower Park, although I'm SURE they really wanted to, Voice. So, in actuality AND reality, the donations were $282,472.66, and that's that. It's a nice figure, but be aware that the vast, vast, VAST majority of those donations came from just a few sources: Caterpillar ($25,000.00); the Bielfeldt Foundation ($75,000.00); an "anonymous" donor ($75,000.00); and Pearl Insurance ($75,000.00). That's still a tidy sum, of course. Do I think Uncle Earl worked his magic for those monies? Not exactly... I have two words that better describe the ability to get those donations, and those words are "Wayne Baum."
And, again, I'll ask that you do the math.
The COSTS to the Village taxpayers were exactly $780,424.40. Period. End of story. As much as you don't want to believe that, and as much as Uncle Earl tells you otherwise, it is a fact. And, this much I'm pretty certain of, even though I've been "caught" at a mis-speak as of late, I have never said that there weren't donations made to the park. More than a few times over the course of this blog, I have stated the TOTAL cost of the park, and the money paid out from Village coffers. But, once again, I'm guessing you'll read into it whatever you want to read into it. End result is this... $780,420.40 was paid out from the Village GENERAL FUND for the work done in Tower Park. That's the money fund available for the Village to do all of the other work it wants done, other than water work and MFT funds. Still don't believe me? Like I said... c'mon by and you can hold the payout list in your hands, and even take it home.
Poplar Lane Park cost over $430,000.00 to put in. We received a $200,000.00 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Again, you do the math.
Does that mean I'm against parks? Of course not. We're pursuing grants for a trailhead building at the piece of land at the corner of Marietta and Columbus, which even if we receive them, we will have to dip into the Village coffers to complete the work. But, you see, I'll be honest about what amount we have to put out.
My issues with Poplar Lane Park were that it was in a bad location (flooding, not many houses in the area for real access) and that Bielfeldt Park is just across Galena Road from it, and that park already offered everything that Poplar Lane Park did, except for basketball hoops, a river view, and flooding.
Do you really think I would have been bellyaching about the cost of Tower Park all of these years without the numbers to back me up? When have you ever come by Village Hall to check those numbers, instead of taking the "expert witness" stuff from the Peoples Party regarding the costs? Come on by and get the facts, please. The printout will have all of the checks that were paid out back in 2002-2003... verified and certified.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
You Read It Here Second...
The Peoria Heights Voice blog posted the following:
"None of us would ever know when the ‘Silly Season’ was upon us if Mayor Allen didn’t make the announcement as a ruse to attack the People’s Party and the former mayor. And now that he has ‘officially’ opened this ‘Silly Season’, the Mayor is gearing up for the February election, implying, insinuating, and, of course, dragging the opposition into his ‘campaign’.
Would someone please remind Mayor Allen, he isn’t running against anyone in this election. And, let me be the first to announce; no one running in this election will be running against the former mayor because, he isn’t a candidate either.
Allen is savvy about one thing. Crediting nothing more than, ‘word on the street’, and insinuating there’s about to be a political ‘bru-ha-ha’ (initiated by The People’s Party, of course), provides the perfect opportunity for him to insist he has no choice but to bring out the ‘big guns’ (‘facts’ from the archives) to ‘set the record straight’ for our consideration..."
Of course, it doesn't appear that The Voice received his/her copy of the 2007 Peoria Heights Examiner, in which the esteemed staff of that fine periodical pretty much dedicated its entire contents to ripping into me. Oh yeah... I wasn't up for election that year. He/she also obviously is not aware of that fine paper being sent out the Saturday before the Tuesday election. In other words, leaving me no opportunity to respond.
So, in 2009, I decided I wasn't going to let that happen again, I got this blog started. And, surprise surprise surprise, the Peoples Party put out a whole battery of things against me, and I was at least able to respond through this blog. Don't know if it made much difference, but it made me feel better. At least, I was a candidate in 2009... but if ANYONE believes that I won't be the negative focus of their literature coming up next Spring... well, you don't know Earl. I think it's fairly clear from the content of the Voice what their strategy will be... try to keep those non-Peoples Party trustee candidates from winning by ripping into Allen.
This is the one thing I've really noticed about Earl and the Peoples Party... and now The Peoria Heights Voice. They accuse me of doing virtually everything that Earl did. The former mayor had his private road blacktopped while he was mayor... I don't care too much about that, because the people living along that road are taxpayers, too... but he also had a brand-spanking new asphalt turnaround installed in front of his house, courtesy of the Village taxpayers. So, when asphalt was laid on my street, from about four doors up from me, to the area in front of my mother-in-law's house (three doors down on the opposite side of the road), why I've done something very bad! Never mind that the road was disintegrating in this area... never mind that it's all on a public road... never mind that it is just an extended asphalt patch over the damaged road... BY GOD! that doggoned Allen is doing something ILLEGAL!
When I had Krumholtz (sp) Brothers landscaping do a project in our backyard a few years back, photos of the Krumholtz Truck on my driveway magically appeared on the desk of a reporter for the Observer. Krumholtz Brothers have done a number of projects in the Heights; they even did Poplar Lane Park landscaping; and honestly they were the only ones I called that responded to my request to have an estimate done on the plan my wife had for the backyard. Some weeks later, I had the Laborers Union dude tell our Village Administrator at the time that "Mayor Allen better watch what he's doing... getting free landscaping done by Krumholtz..." So, I had to call that union dude and explain to him that I got NOTHING for free... we paid $3,400.00 for the project... and then I had to hand out copies of the canceled check to the entire Board of Trustees during a meeting, and threaten legal action against whoever was passing this garbage around.
When we have curbing and sidewalk put in on one block of Boulevard a few years back, it's thrown back at us by the loyal opposition, that "Boulevard is a Peoria street!" Never mind that it only helped out Peoria Heights businesses and a resident. The curbing and sidewalk was only on the Peoria Heights side of the street. Never mind that Peoria paid for half of that entire upgrade, and never mind that there is NO resolution or ordinance that even showed that the Village Board, way back in the early 60s, agreed to turn over maintenance of the Boulevard STREET to Peoria. And, never mind that former Mayor Carter signed off on an agreement when Glen Ave. was widened some years back, that effectively turned over Glen Ave. from the Village boundaries west to Knoxville to Peoria Heights for ALL of its maintenance. That is several blocks of a PEORIA street, on BOTH sides, that Carter signed off on us maintaining FOREVER. The Peoria Heights Voice says that action was just fine, because Carter bartered this, that, and something else by being willing to take on Glen Avenue maintenance even where it is only in Peoria.
But, that's different, right?
There is nothing I would appreciate more than a completely issues-driven campaign next spring. If the Peoples Party is against a paid ambulance staff, then come out and say it. Put it in your campaign literature, and promise to do away with it, and bring in AMT to handle our emergency calls. If the Peoples Party is against Tower Park Music Fest, come out and say it, and promise to do away with it if you get the majority on the Board. If the Peoples Party is against the Police Department being moved to a different building, come out and say it, and promise to bring the police back to Village Hall, and sell off the police building, should they get the majority on the Board. Let the people know where you stand. If the Peoples Party doesn't like the outdoor dining along Prospect, say so, and promise to do away with it if they get the majority on the Board. In other words, let the voters decide based upon the ISSUES.
You know, instead of putting photos of my garbage cans in the newspaper; and I'm sure there will be photos of that "illegal" asphalt strip in front of my house in the next issue; and the cartoon of the tower with money blowing out; instead of that petty, stupid stuff, make it ISSUE driven. I'd love it. I'd be more than happy not to say a word about Earl... I get tired of throwing his name around, I honestly do. I might have to make sure that the people know how Trustee Pendleton voted on several issues in the past years, BUT that's issue-driven, as far as I'm concerned.
Let's see what happens. I'd appreciate being more on the sideline... but I just have a feeling that won't be allowed to happen by certain people.
Additional Discussion Regarding the Ambulance Service
My apologies for borrowing from the new "Peoria Heights Voice" blog. The following was left by Trustee Scott Owen on that blog. He points out a number of issues, mostly about the ambulance service again. It reads as follows:
"phowen says:
(SPECIAL NOTE: I have since been advised by our Street Superintendent that the members of the Street Department could not have applied the Trustee Owen supplied paint, even if it would not be considered a "conflict of interest." It appears that in order to maintain our paint warranty on the ENTIRE tower, any paint repairs we have will have to be done by a recognized paint supplier and applicator... namely, George Young & Sons.)
More importantly (I feel), is what I think would be needed in order to properly compare what AMT would reportedly offer (via what Trustee Owen posted), and what we presently offer in our own service. Following are the clarifications I have requested Trustee Owen to obtain for the Board of Trustees:
"Mark Allen says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
"phowen says:
Wow! Looks like your blog took off in grand style! I see that Mayor Allen stated the Ambulance Dept. costs the Village about $100,000.00 per year to operate. The Mayor told me some time ago that the cost was about $175,000.00 per year. My best guess with all the costs entered in is about $250,000.00 per year. We are talking some major variations between these posted amounts. I would like to see just what this Dept. costs the Village. When I read that if AMT were to be the Ambulance service, emergency response could take up to an hour. I was the guy who called AMT and spoke with Andrew Rand about the what if AMT was our Ambulance provider, what kind of service we could expect. AMT stated they have 3 Ambulances near Peoria Heights. One on Knoxville Ave. close to Glen Ave., one on N. Galena Road, and one at the Walgreens at War Dr. and Prospect. These 3 locations circle the Heights. AMT also stated that if they were the Ambulance provider for the Heights, they would put another full time unit in our Fire Station driveway at Village Hall! All this at no cost to the Village. This would provide service as fast or faster than our in house Ambulance service. Also AMT is now using advanced trained RN’s in their units. That is a step above ALS Techs! I am not picking on our Heights Ambulance service, I am just stating what is available in the local market. As a Trustee in this crazy down economy, I am just looking at any and all options we have. Revenue is down for the Village and the State painfully slow in getting our money to us. At some point in the future I feel the expense for this Ambulance Dept. may become too much to afford. The good Mayor and I could not disagree more on this subject and I stand alone with any other option than the existing program. And one more thing……….I offered to provide 3 gallons of paint to the Village to touch up the damage to the water tower done by vandals on the observation decks. I went to the tower with a Village official and brought my color chip books and found an exact match. I then mixed 3 gallons of 2 part commercial epoxy to donate to the Village. We thought the street dept. could simply apply the paint over the damage and save the Village a good deal of money vs. paying Geo. Young & Sons to do this work. The day I was to bring the paint to Village Hall I received an e-mail from the Village Administrator stating the Mayor thought this would be a total conflict of interest, and to keep my paint. I am allowed to polish the Lincoln bust, work the Tower Park Fest, but donating this paint would be a conflict. It’s only a conflict because the Mayor thinks so. signed, John Smith……no really….Scott Owen"
(SPECIAL NOTE: I have since been advised by our Street Superintendent that the members of the Street Department could not have applied the Trustee Owen supplied paint, even if it would not be considered a "conflict of interest." It appears that in order to maintain our paint warranty on the ENTIRE tower, any paint repairs we have will have to be done by a recognized paint supplier and applicator... namely, George Young & Sons.)
More importantly (I feel), is what I think would be needed in order to properly compare what AMT would reportedly offer (via what Trustee Owen posted), and what we presently offer in our own service. Following are the clarifications I have requested Trustee Owen to obtain for the Board of Trustees:
"Mark Allen says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Just to clarify, Scott, I think here is what we would need to compare “like to like” with AMT. You stated that you spoke with Andrew Rand of AMT and he guaranteed a vehicle to be parked at Village Hall, if the Village signed on with AMT. We need the following clarifications:
1. Would the vehicle be parked at Village Hall 24/7? Would it ONLY respond to Peoria Heights calls? At no cost to the Village?
2. Can there be a guarantee of a SECOND AMT vehicle to be parked in the Village somewhere, 24/7 as well, and responding ONLY to Heights emergency calls? A second one would be required, as we have two ambulances at our service now. Again, at NO cost to the Village?
3. Can this be guaranteed with a contract? And, will there be substantial monetary penalties, paid to the Village, if the AMT vehicle leaves the Village boundaries to respond to an emergency call outside of those same boundaries? I would say that a penalty of around $10,000.00 each time the AMT vehicle would leave the Village to attend to another call might keep them from doing so.
4. Can AMT sign a contract for at least 10 years with the Village, guaranteeing the above? And, would it compensate the Village for the costs of our ambulances, supplies, etc., should those be sold off if we no longer need them, if AMT chooses to alter their services after the 10 year contract is up? I’m guesstimating that the value of our vehicles, supplies, etc. would be in excess of $300,000-$400,000.00 at present.
If Andrew Rand and AMT can GUARANTEE CONTRACTUALLY ALL of the above, I believe the Board would love to discuss this with him.
If he cannot guarantee all of the above, then we are not comparing apples to apples. We are only comparing an apple core to the red delicious."
I've been accused of being the instigator of "The Silly Season," with the opposition just sitting on the sidelines during the last few elections, and being good soldiers. So, I'll try to keep my political posturing as issue-driven as possible. Again, I said that I will TRY.
I also advised Trustee Owen (through the blog, of course) that I do not recall ever telling him that I thought the ambulance service would cost us $175,000.00 per year. That doggoned blog has been hell on me, just over the last couple of days, for being called out on things I've supposedly said, months to years ago. I've misspoke on thousand of occasions, so anything is possible, but I normally throw out the $75,000-$100,000.00 figure on the overall cost of the ambulance service, per year. In the end, it really doesn't matter what I THINK it will cost, or what Trustee Owen THINKS it will cost... it only matters what it actually DOES cost. I'll try and get some mid-year figures together, as soon as possible, so that we all can have a better handle on the actual costs of this very necessary service.
Neighborhood Clean-Up Day Is October 9
Our second annual Neighborhood Clean-Up Day is Saturday October 9 at 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. We will meet at Village Hall, get our assignments and materials there, and then proceed out into (hopefully) a crisp clear autumn day.
Thanks again to Village Clerk Shauna Musselman for spear-heading this very worthwhile event. Litter is not nearly that problem it was when I was a kid, but there's always some out there...
Thanks again to Village Clerk Shauna Musselman for spear-heading this very worthwhile event. Litter is not nearly that problem it was when I was a kid, but there's always some out there...
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Police Staffing - Past and Present
I find it interesting to note the following:
In the 8 years that the Earl Carter/Peoples Party regime was in place, police staffing was cut by one position.
We have added that one position back, within the first several months that we were in office in 2005. That position involves the School Resource Officer, where that particular officer is available to our schools anytime that he/she is needed; and that is usually about one half of the school day.
It's important to note this in light of promises that can be made by the Peoples Party in the upcoming election. As usual, the proof is in the pudding... and it's good to know what the actual history of the party making the promises is.
In the 8 years that the Earl Carter/Peoples Party regime was in place, police staffing was cut by one position.
We have added that one position back, within the first several months that we were in office in 2005. That position involves the School Resource Officer, where that particular officer is available to our schools anytime that he/she is needed; and that is usually about one half of the school day.
It's important to note this in light of promises that can be made by the Peoples Party in the upcoming election. As usual, the proof is in the pudding... and it's good to know what the actual history of the party making the promises is.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Why and the Wherefore of the Observation Tower Camera
A couple of times over the past year, I've heard negative remarks about the WEEK-TV webcam mounted on the Observation Tower. Well, actually the complaints have been over the cost of the same, which is $1,500.00/month, paid for by the Village. I'll give you one guess as to which Peoria Heights political party this complainer belongs to. To the casual observer, that would appear to be quite a waste of money, particularly in these times. However, the reason why the Board approved the payment for the camera was not for the camera itself, but for the advertising that the camera brings with it.
The WEEK website has two spots available for the Heights to advertise what is going on in the community, for that $1,500.00 a month. Tens of thousands of people check out those webcams every month. On top of that, the on-air personalities on WEEK and WHOI give a number of "plugs" for the Village each and every day. All because we have the webcam. You might ask, why on Earth does the Heights NEED to advertise? Well, if advertising didn't work, no one would do it. And, as you can tell from the media around you, LOTS of entities advertise.
The bulk of our operating monies come from sales tax revenue. We get next to nothing from property tax. So, if we have a strong and viable business district, we will continue to have a strong and viable Village. It's really that simple. We have given money over the past few years to the Chamber of Commerce to advertise the Village: through billboards, TV and radio spots, through travel magazines, etc. And, it has paid off. During the very sluggish economy since 2006 into the full scale depression of 2009, we have hung in there. While some communities have seen their sales tax revenues drop by as much as 25-30%, ours grew each and every year until 2009, when the revenues dropped by around 8%.
Was advertising the sole cause for this? Of course not. But, there is no doubt it has played a major part. We are in competition with every community around us for the buying public's dollars. Advertising helps to draw people in from outside the community... new customers, so to speak. The Tower Park Music Fest on paper loses around $7,000-9,000 each year. But, that's just on paper. It brings people in, there is no doubt. Many of those people will purchase items while in Peoria Heights; others will like what they see, and return when they have more time. By doing so, they will generate sales tax revenue for the Village; revenue which we otherwise would not have had. A quick comparison? Sales tax revenues in fiscal year 2003-2004 were $1,088,928.00. In fiscal year 2006-2007, they jumped to $1,294,598.00, a 19% BUMP in that 3 year period. Yes, a bit of that would be from simple inflation, perhaps 3 or 4%; but there is no doubt that a sizable chunk of that remaining 15 to 16% can be directly tied to our ADVERTISING our Village.
In many areas, the Heights was quite static before we took office in May 2005. I believe the changes since then have been substantial and progressive. We intend to keep this going, and the advertising exposure generated by the Tower webcam is an example of what communities must do in the 21st Century, to try and stay ahead of the game. We have too much to lose if we falter.
The WEEK website has two spots available for the Heights to advertise what is going on in the community, for that $1,500.00 a month. Tens of thousands of people check out those webcams every month. On top of that, the on-air personalities on WEEK and WHOI give a number of "plugs" for the Village each and every day. All because we have the webcam. You might ask, why on Earth does the Heights NEED to advertise? Well, if advertising didn't work, no one would do it. And, as you can tell from the media around you, LOTS of entities advertise.
The bulk of our operating monies come from sales tax revenue. We get next to nothing from property tax. So, if we have a strong and viable business district, we will continue to have a strong and viable Village. It's really that simple. We have given money over the past few years to the Chamber of Commerce to advertise the Village: through billboards, TV and radio spots, through travel magazines, etc. And, it has paid off. During the very sluggish economy since 2006 into the full scale depression of 2009, we have hung in there. While some communities have seen their sales tax revenues drop by as much as 25-30%, ours grew each and every year until 2009, when the revenues dropped by around 8%.
Was advertising the sole cause for this? Of course not. But, there is no doubt it has played a major part. We are in competition with every community around us for the buying public's dollars. Advertising helps to draw people in from outside the community... new customers, so to speak. The Tower Park Music Fest on paper loses around $7,000-9,000 each year. But, that's just on paper. It brings people in, there is no doubt. Many of those people will purchase items while in Peoria Heights; others will like what they see, and return when they have more time. By doing so, they will generate sales tax revenue for the Village; revenue which we otherwise would not have had. A quick comparison? Sales tax revenues in fiscal year 2003-2004 were $1,088,928.00. In fiscal year 2006-2007, they jumped to $1,294,598.00, a 19% BUMP in that 3 year period. Yes, a bit of that would be from simple inflation, perhaps 3 or 4%; but there is no doubt that a sizable chunk of that remaining 15 to 16% can be directly tied to our ADVERTISING our Village.
In many areas, the Heights was quite static before we took office in May 2005. I believe the changes since then have been substantial and progressive. We intend to keep this going, and the advertising exposure generated by the Tower webcam is an example of what communities must do in the 21st Century, to try and stay ahead of the game. We have too much to lose if we falter.
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