Salary Options for 2009-2010 Budget
March 20, 2009
To: Madame President, Trustees and Manager Neimann
I would like to ask for an option to be placed into our budget as a possible addendum if necessary.
While we have had conversations as to possible layoffs I believe we should explore all possible options before looking at laying off our employees. I would like to see a few scenarios looked at before we get to the point of layoffs.
- I would like to see a budget analysis of all salaried employees from supervisor on up taking a 2%, 5% and 10% pay reduction. This would not be a permanent option but I would like to see how the numbers would run.
- I would like to see an analysis of all hourly employees taking 1-3 unpaid days off throughout the course of the year. Again not a yearly permanent option but still would like to see the numbers.
While these are possible contentious options they may be needed in this struggling economy. There is an 8.9% unemployment rate in America. I don’t think any of us want to be the cause of that increasing.
I also believe that none of us wants to see services decline. In traditional layoffs the line employees are the ones who take the brunt of the hit. All departments are already understaffed! We will lose too many services if we layoff our pothole fillers, our service counter helpers, our CSO’s and our inspectors. I personally could not think of laying off line workers who are in the trenches everyday if we haven’t looked at these options.
Finally if we end up laying off a significant amount of “line” workers we cannot look at management without laying off one or two of them as well. Managers only need a job when they have people to supervise. If a department loses employees then we have to look at which supervisor’s responsibilities have been reduced and consider taking them off the payroll as well.
I reiterate I am not for any layoffs, rather creative thinking! I know it adds a little bit more to do but I would ask before we throw our hardworking employees into the street we look at exhausting every possible solution for us, as a Village, to retain our maximum levels of Service.
Let’s all work together to see this budget process through to a successful resolution.
Trustee Tom Cullerton
Better Vehicle Management and Fuel Efficiency
February 23, 2009
Better Vehicle Management and Fuel Efficiency
One of the issues I have recently raised with the Village staff, and I will work to implement as Villa Park President, is a program regarding Village Vehicles and more cost effective and efficient management of our vehicle fleet.
For example, once a police car reaches about 85,000 miles, we pass that vehicle down to community development or another village department, and purchase a new police car at a cost of about $25,000. This cost can be even higher if we have to replace some of the police equipment such as the emergency light bar.
As Village President I would seek to change this policy. Instead of replacing the vehicle at 85,000 miles, I would instead have the vehicle revamped with a new engine and transmission, suspension and other vital components. This would carry a much lower cost of approximately $10,000. By doing this, along with some enhanced maintenance, we could extend the life of a police car to more than double what it is now, saving the village many thousands of dollars every year.
I would then seek to equip other village departments with electric or hybrid vehicles. The hand me down police cars these departments use are terrible fuel wasters for their usage. By converting the non police vehicle fleet to plug in hybrid or all electric vehicles, we would save a tremendous amount of money in fuel costs, as well as be more environmentally responsible. Additionally, we may qualify for state and federal grants to purchase the “Green” vehicles, further adding to the savings to the village.
We could even install solar panels to act as a fuel source for these vehicles, reducing the operating costs to very low levels.
This kind of forward thinking is exactly what our village needs and what I believe makes me a strong candidate for Village President.
Villa Park tavern patrons can keep on dancing
November 12, 2008
Patrons at Villa Park taverns can keep on dancing on bars, tables and chairs for the time being.
The Villa Park board voted 4-2 Monday night against a proposal to prohibit tavern patrons from dancing on bars and tabletops. Trustees also nixed a companion measure barring bar employees from working while intoxicated.
Village President Joyce Stupegia and Trustee Richard Illian supported the restrictions.
“You now have consent to have whoever dance on the bars,” Stupegia said after the vote. “Your bartenders can be intoxicated.”
Trustee Tom Cullerton countered, “You can run your business the way you want, without government interference.”
The vote followed some public comments and board member discussion.
“If it is a safety issue, then what about jungle gyms, skate parks and bike paths? People get hurt on these things all the time. Should we ban the use of those too?” asked Brendan Fitzharris, who owns Fitz’s Irish Bulldog along St. Charles Road. “I know a guy who broke his hand playing Golden Tee video game. Are you going to ban that, too?
“This rule is absolutely ridiculous,” Fitzharris added. “You are micromanaging business.”
If a customer complains that a beer is flat, how is a bartender or owner supposed to determine whether that’s true without tasting it and then risking a ticket and fine, Fitzharris asked. Also if a new drink comes along, how can bartenders and other employees describe it to customers if they’ve never tasted it, he asked.
“Sometimes it is part of our job to try a drink,” he added.
Resident and former bar owner Scott Shepard agreed, saying he’d never heard of anyone getting hurt falling off a bar or tabletop.
“Dancing on tables and bars has been going on for centuries,” Shepard said. “Where are the statistics (of people getting hurt)? I have a better chance of tripping in one of our streets.”
Illian said he supported the regulations because they aimed to prevent drunk people from tripping down streets and sidewalks or engaging in other improper behavior because they are getting overserved, possibly by intoxicated bartenders.
But, Trustee David Hegland noted, existing laws already make public intoxication and disorderly conduct punishable crimes.
“We can enforce that right here, right now, without reaching into people’s businesses,” Hegland said.
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