The 2012 edition of Taste of Park Ridge (“TOPR”) opens tonight with one major change from past years’ events: Taste of Park Ridge NFP (“Taste Inc.”), the private corporation that has had a no-bid monopoly on TOPR since the summer of 2005, will be reimbursing the City of Park Ridge for all of the City services Taste Inc. had previously been getting for free.

Based on prior cost reports, this new arrangement could put between $10,000 and $20,000 in the City’s treasury, rather than costing the taxpayers that same amount, as in past years.

Four years ago (in “Time For A Transparent ‘Taste’,” 07.07.08), we began questioning how TOPR was being operated.  Since then, we’ve endured various slings, arrows and invectives from the Taste Inc. crowd and its supporters in response to our efforts to gain transparency and expense reimbursement of the City by Taste Inc., efforts Taste Inc. vigorously and successfully resisted while Howard Frimark was mayor and continuing while his alderpuppets remained on the Council following his re-election defeat in 2009.

That’s one reason why we take a certain amount of satisfaction from seeing those efforts finally produce a little bit of “conscience” in the Taste Inc. operators – even if that conscience had to be “coaxed” out of the Tastees by the City Council’s imposing a first-ever TOPR bidding process and a bidding requirement that the City be reimbursed for all its TOPR-related expenses.

While that’s a big step in the right direction, it still leaves a number of unanswered questions about Taste Inc.’s operations during those early years it claimed to be a not-for-profit corporation while actually being a for-profit one.  And it still leaves room for improvement in the areas of TOPR transparency and first-dollar profit sharing with the City.   

But progress is progress.  And $10-20,000 in the City’s treasury is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Just to show there’s no hard feelings on our end, we wish the Tastees all the best when it comes to weather, turnout and revenue for this year’s event.  That’s because, according to the terms of Taste Inc.’s first-ever contract with the City, if TOPR generates more than $20,000 of profit this year – thereby boosting Taste Inc.’s bank account balance to a cool $100,000 – Taste Inc. is required to split that excess with the City on a 50-50 basis.

So we encourage our readers to have a great time at TOPR these next three days, secure in the knowledge that for the first time in 8 years you won’t be footing Taste Inc.’s bill.

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