In A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse: Part 1, we noted that our number one resident politician, Mayor Howard “Let’s Make A Deal” Frimark, appears to have mastered the technique of telling the voters things that appear superficially truthful but which really aren’t.  In that post, we took on Frimark’s published statements about the current budget deficit and the new police station.

Today we will look at two more of his “Q & A with Mayor Frimark” from his campaign website:

What is your plan to increase revenues?
I am investigating a number of valid proposals, all of which have benefits and consequences. As mayor, I gather all the information and seek the opinion and counsel of local businesses, residents, the city council and subject matter experts in order to fully understand the impacts of any proposal. Some that I am feel have merit include: licensing of bill boards, a special tax on cell towers, increasing non-resident commuter parking prices, aggressive promotion of the Taste of Park Ridge to bring more patrons to the businesses in Park Ridge, corporate sponsorship for Taste of Park Ridge events and festivities, expanded marketing of our successful “shop-local” programs and ultimately continue our business-friendly overtures to attract and retain sales tax producing establishments into the Uptown, Higgins corridor and other city business areas.

Frimark has been mayor for four years, an alderman for two years before that, and – according to his incessant self-promotion – he has lived (and sold insurance) in Park Ridge for 38 years while being a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, United Way, Jaycees and the now-defunct Economic Development Board. 

So why is it that only now is he “investigating a number of valid proposals”?  And for the proposals he has identified, why doesn’t he have some dollar figures attached?  Could it be because he already knows that none of these ideas have any chance in the world of generating enough additional revenue to even merit serious discussion?

Take “licensing of bill boards” – what the heck is that about?  Unless somebody’s hiding them, we can’t think of enough bill boards within the City limits to make a meaningful revenue difference no matter how much the licensing fee might be.  Or is Frimark suggesting that Park Ridge turn into a bill board “farm” – kind of like a “wind farm,” except that instead of a scores of wind turbines you get scores of bill boards all over town.  Now that sounds attractive, doesn’t it?

Or how his proposal for “a special tax on cell towers”?  As best as our research discloses, that’s not even legal – although that probably wouldn’t stop Frimark from proposing it if he thought people might fall for it.

Or “aggressive promotion of the Taste of Park Ridge”?  How much more “aggressive” should the City be with our tax dollars to promote an event run by the private “Taste of Park Ridge, NFP” corporation (“Taste, Inc.”)?  Oh, but wait…it looks like there are some changes going on over at Taste, Inc., because the old Taste, Inc. was  voluntarily dissolved [pdf] just last month and a new Taste, Inc. [pdf] has been formed.  Could that mean another behind-the-scenes sweetheart deal is in the works for whoever the new “owners” are?

What is being done to help control flooding?
We been [sic] working diligently to balance the need for flood control and other infrastructure improvements as much as possible during difficult times. In my campaign in 2005, I promised we would do these things, and progress has been made. New relief sewers have been designed and constructed, and more are on the way. I would have liked to have seen more of these things done, but in a declining economy, which is resulting in a corresponding decline in property, sales and other tax revenues for the city as well; it is simply bad government to raise your taxes to pay for these things to a greater degree than we have.

As we noted in our post New Cop Shop Widens, Not Plugs, Budget Gap, under Frimark’s “leadership” relief sewer installations dropped from a paltry 1,240 linear feet in 2007 (before the economy cratered) to only 940 linear feet – about three blocks’ worth – in 2008.  Of course, Frimark isn’t very forthcoming about those figures, most likely because both totals are outright pathetic for an upscale community such as ours, especially given the chronic nature of our flooding and the adverse effects it has on both our quality of life and our property values.

And only someone as totally shameless as our mayor would insist that it’s “simply bad government” to invest any more in relief sewers while at the same time pushing the pedal to the metal for a big new multi-million dollar police station – or asking the State of Illinois for $20 million in stimulus funding for the new cop shop, but only $3.5 million for sewers. 
To our citizens who are easily bamboozled, Frimark’s pronouncements can easily pass for something akin to the truth. 

But one thing is certainly true: if anybody in Park Ridge is an expert on “simply bad government,” it’s ol’ “Let’s Make A Deal” himself.