By Igor Studenkov | Bugle Staff
nweditor@buglenewspapers.com
@NilesILNews
When Park Ridge Acting Mayor Marty Maloney delivered his first state of the city address last week, he started out by recognizing his predecessor.
On March 2, 2015, Mayor David Schmidt delivered his sixth state of the city. But it was soon overshadowed by tragedy, as Schmidt passed away only two days later.
“Last year was one of the more positive addresses that Mayor Schmidt had given, due in large part to the great things that happening a year ago and the trajectory the city was on,” said Maloney, who is serving out the remainder of Schmidt’s term. “We remain the benefactors of those difficult decisions as we stand here today and look forward.”
Maloney described 2015 as a difficult year due to Schmidt’s death, as well as the death of Third Ward Ald. Bob Wilkening and Park Ridge Senior Civil Engineer Nick Weber. However, the overall tone of the March 21 address was optimistic. While the mayor said the city faces many challenges, he said that Park Ridge was heading in the right direction, and he expressed hope that it could overcome the obstacles that lie in the path to a better future.
Maloney highlighted improvements in Park Ridge’s financial situation, noting that the city continues to see budget surpluses that it has used to address the financial losses of the Uptown tax increment financing district.
And while he acknowledged that the city has raised taxes, he pointed out that the 1.1 percent increase was the lowest in a decade. Maloney added that there has been progress in finding ways to use tax revenue more efficiently.
“While an increase is still an increase and nothing to brag about, our taxpayers can rest assured knowing that every dollar spent is scrutinized,” he said. “Our procurement process has been refined to the point where we are seeing very positive returns on our bidding events, resulting in savings and projects coming to a lower than projected costs.”
Maloney also noted that the city approved four of its five municipal labor union contracts. The public works employees contract is the only one that’s remaining.
An update on a major potential infrastructure project that the city has been considering for more than two years – switching water suppliers from Chicago to Evanston – also found its way into Maloney’s address. As previously reported by the Bugle, the project was originally supposed to be a collaborative effort between Park Ridge, Niles and Morton Grove. However, those two villages decided to study an alternative water delivery method that would not be able to meet Park Ridge’s water needs.
“We will remain with the city of Chicago as our supplier and continue to enjoy high-quality water and delivery – with redundancy – to which we have become accustomed,” said Maloney. “I wish those other communities well. In the end, we did our due diligence without any cost – other than time – to the taxpayers.”
The mayor also touched on the future, talking about a proposed stormwater utility fee. On March 16, the public works-public safety committee of the whole voted to place the proposal on the city council agenda at some point in the future.
“We stand on the verge of being able to implement something that will allow the city to continue to manage our stormwater and put plans in place that will outlive this council and myself,” said Maloney.
He also took pride in the number of business openings that he attended in the last year, which he said were a good sign for Park Ridge.
“We have seen our Uptown transform from one where we previously could have rolled up the sidewalks at 7 p.m. to one where we have people out and enjoying themselves much later than that,” Maloney said. “One of the challenges in looking back at the year is that we have too many new businesses to name in this speech, but the trend is a good one.”
He praised the city council for balancing the needs of the businesses and the needs of residents. Maloney then thanked the city boards and commissioners, as well as volunteers and local cultural and civic organizations, for their contributions. He added that, while Park Ridge means different things to different people, it’s the spirit of community service that brings the city together.
The acting mayor also touched on a number of issues facing the city, such as finding space to build more parking and the ongoing controversy over increasing O’Hare International Airport development and the resulting increase in airplane noise. He also touched on potential cuts in Park Ridge’s share of state income tax revenue. As previously reported by the Bugle, city manager Shawn Hamilton had prepared plans for the city to deal with different levels of cuts.
“While these plans are not set in stone, they do ensure that the city of Park Ridge will not be caught flat-footed,” said Maloney. “Frankly, none of these scenarios are ideal, and all would translate to a loss of service and/or some impact to our residents. But by planning ahead, we have positioned ourselves as best we can while we wait for the uncertainty in Springfield to play out.”
The mayor ended the speech by saying that, while the city faces many challenges, he was optimistic about the future.
“I never would have thought I would be in this position, but being in this position, I can say that I couldn’t be more excited about what is coming, and the future of Park Ridge,” said Maloney. “Honesty, integrity, transparency and accountability – it’s what you should demand of me, and it is what we all should demand of each other.”