Tuesday, August 18, 2015

46th Ward Budget Town Hall Meeting

From Ald. Cappleman's latest newsletter:

"Due to the pension crisis, the City of Chicago's 2016 budget shortfall is expected to be at around $754 million. As my colleagues and I work together to create real solutions to fill this gap in our budget, it is more important than ever before to have as many creative solutions as possible. This is where you come in. Do you have new and innovative ideas about reducing spending and increasing our revenue? Please attend the 46th Ward Town Hall Budget Meeting so I can hear your ideas to reduce costs and increase revenue to fill the gap in next year's budget. See you there!

When: Wednesday, Aug. 26 from 7pm - 8:30pm
Where: Temple Sholom at 3480 N. Lake Shore Drive; entrance off of Stratford. 

P.S. If you can't make the meeting, please reply to this email, call my office, or stop by on Monday evenings from 5pm - 7pm during my open office hours to discuss your ideas."

6 comments:

  1. To paraphrase Royko: "Don't tax me, don't tax thee, tax that guy behind the tree."


    Here's the IrishPirate plan for taxes and reviving the city:

    1. Higher property taxes. However, I'm open to reducing the tax burden on properties owned by me or my family. Let's say anything owned for more than 20 years will get a tax reduction. Smiles............Added Bonus for 25 and 30 years. More smiles. Really smiling now.

    2. Zoning Czar to take power of zoning away from aldermen. I'm available for 180K a year, two staffers, and a car. I will do the job and do it well. Then we'll see some appropriate zoning in Lincoln Park and downtown. I also will declare any of the graft I take and pay my fair share of graft related taxes.

    3. Casinos at O'Hare, Midway, downtown and near McCormick Place.

    4. Reduce the mess and bureaucracy involved in opening a new business in Chicago. When it takes multiple months or years to get approval to open a small storefront bar something is wrong. Right now the system is set up to benefit "expediters" who fill the mayoral campaign coffers.

    Now how likely is any of that in the short term? About as likely as Donald Trump not being an embarrassment to the body politic.

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  2. Charge $5.00 for 8 hours of parking at Montrose Harbor.

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  3. Reduce Spending? How about we get rid of more than half of these aldermen? Chicago does NOT need 50 of these parasites. NYC and Los Angeles have far less than Chicago. Think of the savings we get from reduced staff salaries and pension, less taxes to pay for their offices and perks, and we get less big City government meddling in our businesses.

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  4. Hmmm, the topic is how to save an average of $15 million per ward. Over how many lifespans shall we accomplish this?

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  5. Getting rid of all 50 alderman would only save about 10 million. (Back of the napkin math) The problem is with the past administration and the great recession hitting at the same time. It is not good. We have a structural deficit. We are looking at a massive tax increase. There are only two options. A) Cut services, which will never happen under democrats, or B) Raise taxes.

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  6. Raising taxes will only drive more middle class, and business away from the city, and of course Uptown--who wants to pay as much as we do, let alone more, to see thousands of denizens too lazy to work getting to live in free housing, get free food, free healthcare, etc.? We need to cut taxes and lure business, jobs, and middle class families back into the schools etc. Its simple economics folks, and the breaking point is near.

    Lets cut the unneeded services, revise the pension program as we know it, and make the welfare system start working for their free handouts. ( at the very least they get a sense of what its like to have a work ethic and build experience for a resume).

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