The Freeport City Council's Piggy Bank

At Tuesday night's regular meeting of the Freeport City Council's Committee of the Whole there will be a discussion regarding the agenda item, "Costs of Demeter Bridge Replacement".

The Demeter Street bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic for a decade, those in the vicinity have continued to use the old bridge for pedestrian traffic.

What caught Tutty's attention regarding the issue now in front of the City Council is the "Cost Differential" which was apparently developed by Freeport City Manager Lowell Crow.

This document states that the "initial construction estimate of $1.3 million" has now grown to nearly $2 million.  Financing is broke down as coming from a grant from the State of Illinois of nearly $400,000 leaving Freeport taxpayers on the hook for the remaining $1.5 million.

This is where it becomes interesting, the balance of the costs, according to what was provided with agenda states, "Cost covered through MFT and Water And Sewer CIP fund." Here is a photo of what the City Manager has included with the agenda:

What?  Tutty can understand MFT (motor fuel taxes) but using the Water and Sewer Capital Improvement fund is completely improper.

Last year when the same Freeport City Council voted to drastically increase this fee on residents' and businesses' water bills, users of the public utility were told the huge increases were necessary to upgrade the city's treatment facilities and improve aging "water and sewer" infrastructure

Apparently the Freeport City Council has used home rule to create their own piggy bank to dig into for whatever project they need the money for.  Let's also keep in mind this fee is placed on water bills that everyone, including the city's poorest, need for sustenance.

If you take a look at the City's Codified Ordinances the City Council created this large and very unpopular tax without putting any restrictions upon the use of the proceeds.  If you look at Chapter 1052 it states the fee was created for the "purpose of funding capital projects relating to the City's water system and sewer system, specifically, but not limited to rehabilitation, repair, replacement, renovation and creation of facilities."  Pictured below is the ordinance:

Don't you just love the "specifically, but not limited to" language?  These words essentially make any restrictive use of the funds legally unenforceable.

A new Demeter bridge would benefit but a handful of Freeport residents, furthermore there is virtually no chance of increased economic development on the Krape Park side of the projected structure.  The vast majority of Freeport residents (all of which pay the capital improvement fee) could not care less if there is a bridge over Yellow Creek at this location.

What will this bridge actually do for residents of Cherokee Hills or the Third Ward?  How will it benefit any Freeport business or employer?  The only benefit listed on the flyer provided to the Freeport City Council is, "New Bridge Design will allow emergency vehicles to pass."  But think about it, would an ambulance and firetruck coming from the Park Boulevard fire station really find it any quicker to to get to Gladewood Drive via a new bridge?  Tutty would like to see the time studies.

Tutty considers it a blatant misuse of the water and sewer capital improvement fund to finance any part this proposed new bridge.  And while the use of motor fuel taxes is obviously a better source of funding for this project, those funds are also limited and Freeport streets are in terrible shape...whether this bridge should be a priority at this point in time is an issue worth an in depth public discussion.

Of course who are we to tell the Freeport City Council how to use their home rule piggy bank.

As always,  yours in honesty, Tutty Baker, tutty.baker@gmail.com