As regular readers of this blog well know, we have actively and consistently opposed what had been a common practice of some of our local governmental bodies: taxing their residents and then using those tax revenues to make donations to certain private charities favored by those public officials with control over that money.
Last year the Park Ridge Library Board voted to discontinue what was known as the Food For Fines program (“FFF”). FFF was a longstanding program under which the Library staff waived overdue book and materials fines – money owed to the Library and, therefore, indirectly to its taxpayers – in return for non-perishable food donations to the Park Ridge Kiwanis Clubs that they forwarded to the Maine Township Food Pantry.
In other words, FFF caused the “donation” of public money belonging to the Library (a/k/a Park Ridge taxpayers) to a private organization (the Kiwanis) for the benefit of a different taxing body (Maine Twp.) that serves a much broader “community” than just Park Ridge.
In arguing against the discontinuance of FFF, certain Kiwanis members contended that FFF demonstrated the community’s commitment to taking care of the less-fortunate.
But according to an article in the current Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (“Park Ridge Kiwanians help families in need buy food for the holidays,” Dec. 20), in the first year that the FFF program was discontinued (2014) the food collection drums at the Library produced a mere 25 food boxes instead of the customary 200 boxes. And although Library staff never bothered to keep track of how many dollars of fines were being waived in return for how many food items, rough estimates based on average monthly fine revenues suggest that it was in the thousands of dollars each year.
So, apparently, many of those FFF participants were motivated more by the personal gain from trading a can of creamed corn for a few dollars of fines than by their commitment to the less fortunate in their community.
Or maybe they just preferred a different way of demonstrating their commitment to the less fortunate, such as donations to the many church food drives, or to various other charitable organizations.
But as the H-A article reports, this year the Kiwanis reinvented its food donation program to rely on its own fundraisers and individual contributions, rather than taxpayer money, to provide $100 gift cards and hams to 35 families whose children qualify for the free lunch program due to their families’ low income.
That’s what true “charity” is: privately chosen, not publicly mandated.
Which brings us to another true “charity”: the Park Ridge Holiday Lights Fund.
In 2009, the City Council – under the leadership of then-mayor Dave Schmidt – cut from the City budget the approximately $40,000 annual holiday decorating expense in order to direct those dollars to essential City expenses. Some residents beefed and whined about that and other cuts, insisting that “a majority” of residents happily paid taxes for such amenities. But we supported Mayor Dave’s cuts because essential expenses should always take priority over amenities. And among those essential expenses were million-dollar increases in the debt service expense of the Uptown TIF, compliments of former mayors Wietecha, Marous and Frimark, and their complicit aldermen who buried the City in long-term bonded debt in order to sweeten the financial pot for the Uptown TIF’s private developers.
In response to the cut of those expenses, volunteers – many of whom were children in the Indian Scouts and Princesses program and their parents, with some assistance from the Park Ridge Public Works Department – took up the decorating. But as time went on, the extent of the decorating declined until many trees were barely decorated and many others not at all.
That prompted this blog to publish a July 22, 2015 post suggesting that a holiday lighting project for the Uptown and South Park business district was something a business organization like the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce should take the lead on, because holiday lights in those two areas make them much more attractive for shoppers. And shortly afterwards, Chamber members Rick Biagi (also a Park Ridge Park District Board member) and John Moran (also a Park Ridge alderman) pitched the Chamber on letting them form and run a holiday lights committee under the Chamber’s auspices, using the Chamber’s not-for-profit status.
The Chamber, however, wanted no part of Biagi’s and Moran’s idea and told them so in no uncertain terms.
Undeterred, Biagi and Moran – with the help of a few other like-minded volunteers – formed the Park Ridge Holiday Lights Fund as an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation with the motto “Lights For The People, By The People” and fully-transparent “open-book” finances. And in less than four months more than 400 of those “People” (and businesses and organizations) came through, helping the Lights Fund raise almost $45,000 in donations toward the $85,000+ 3-year light purchase commitment while creating the most “Bedford Falls”-like Uptown in memory.
Despite all that community support, however, it should be noted that the overwhelming majority of Park Ridge residents did not donate to either the Kiwanis food fund or the Holiday Lights Fund.
But that’s okay, because voluntary individualized charitable donations – not mandatory collectively-taxed contributions – are the kinds of acts that tend to ennoble the givers while inspiring (hopefully) gratitude in the recipients/beneficiaries, as de Tocqueville observed 180 years ago in his “Memoir on Pauperism,” even without having the Kiwanis or the Holiday Lights Fund in mind.
And they’ll have another chance to do so – voluntarily, as their spirits move them, not as government demands of them – next year and the year after that.
To read or post comments, click on title.
14 comments so far
Needless to say, kudos to the Lights Committee including Biagi, Moran and many others (including this blog editor) for accomplishing the job they set out to do in such a short time after being rejected by the Chamber…which, frankly, I don’t get.
The lights look great, and as I understand it, you all are looking to expand their placement in years to come. Good luck with that, the more the better, but even if they stay as-is the Committee has done a terrific job.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the Lights Committee and congrats on a job well done.
Many thanks to a group of community-minded volunteers who donated time, talent and treasure.
Very nice way of bringing a two century old concept into our modern-day Park Ridge.
I read de Tocqueville’s “Memoir” a couple of years ago in response to your mentioning it in a post, and found it prophetic of what is going on today. True volunteer private fundraisers do not try to squeeze money out of the taxpayers via government, and anybody who does that is not true and genuine.
Thanks for the kind words on the lights but I want to take a moment to give a shout-out to the entire Park Ridge Holiday Lights Fund committee. While John Moran and I may have been the spark to get things going with our group, it was the entire team that really made it all happen. Park Ridge really owes a debt of gratitude to Jackie Matthews, Fred Sanchez, Roger Shubert, Tony Svanascini, Mel Thillens and Bob Trizna for getting all of the moving parts together and making this a reality. And, as you already noted, none of it would be possible without the 400+ people (and businesses) that donated nearly $45,000. Seeing this all come together as it did has been both gratifying and rewarding for me personally and has reaffirmed my belief that Park Ridge is a very special community made up of generous and caring folks from all walks of life. Merry Christmas.
The lights looked great. Nice work.
PD:
Suggestion for next year. If you are so concerned about a person being “motivated more by the personal gain” than what the are actually donating toward (as you suggest was the case with FFF), why not remove the tax exempt status for next year? I mean all those donations for the lights represent money that would have been collected (kind of like fines) but is now kept by the donor by being tax deductible.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Are you high…or just an idiot?
If you’ve got a problem with tax deductibility, take it up with the IRS.
8:57
I donated to the Holiday Lights Fund and don’t plan to take the deduction because I won’t be itemizing this year. But even if I were, my deduction would be nowhere close to the benefit I would get under FFF of donating a dollar’s worth of food and wiping out $1-2-3 (or more) of fines.
The drop in Kiwanis donations from 200 boxes to 25 boxes after the FFF special deal was discontinued shows that it was the deal rather than the donation that motivated most late returners. And that also shortchanged the Library. The people running the Library had no respect for the taxpayers so it was easy for them to give away public funds and expect the taxpayers to make up the difference.
EDITOR’S NOTE: True enough, but that was a common perversion in City government as well: over the years prior to then-mayor Dave Schmidt’s decision to start vetoing donations of tax dollars to private community groups in 2010, it appears that millions of tax dollars were “donated” by mayors Wietecha, Marous and Frimark – and by a majority of the various aldermen that held office since at least 1990.
When Mayor Schmidt first vetoed community group appropriations, I recall them running close to $200,000 a year not including whatever the library was writing off on FFF. So even scaling for inflation, from 1990 to 2010 the city could easily have burned through a couple of million dollars in giveaways.
What became known as community group contributions peaked, if I am not mistaken, at some $350,000 back in the 2008/2009 timeframe. A “couple of million dollars” in the 20 year timeframe you’re referring to, Bnonymous, is really low balling the total that was given during that time.
Hindsight is 20-20 but it would sure be nice to have had that moola to put toward infrastructure during those years.
Or, probably better yet, to put toward the millions in deficits that were rung up in several years leading to when Dave took over as Mayor and began his reign as Mayor No.
EDITOR’S NOTE: To that point, this editor remembers back in the 2001-2005 time frame – during the last Wietecha and Marour years – when the Council would budget a few hundred thousand dollars a year for “relief” (storm) sewer construction, but then cut those out of the budget when the funds were needed/used elsewhere…like for community groups.
Great job, lights fund volunteers and glad you are being honored as community stars.
I contributed to the fund this year and will do so again nest year, but I agree with your point about the volunteer effort allowing taxpayers to choose to contribute rather than have that choice made for them. It also sounds like the deal you guys cut will end up costing a lot less than the City was paying for lights back in 2009, which I assume is becasue of you don’t have to pay prevailing wage.
Looking over the list of lights contributors I didn’t see many of our Uptown merchants and chamber of commerce members. I wonder whether they contributed under different/individual names or whether they chose to sit this one out. All I can say is, if its the latter, too bad they don’t have the same commitment to the business district that those of us without businesses there have.
Finally, I don’t see the names of many of PubDog’s loudest critics from the Concerned Homeowners blog, and of many of the tutors who were quoted in the newspapers or in library board meeting minutes. As my mom used to say, some folks are a whole lot better at grabbing than giving.
Happy new year!
Congratulations to the Holiday Lights Committee. The lights look spectacular and all the volunteers and supporters should be applauded for their efforts. It takes a lot to impress college students, but both of my kids were very excited to return from school and see their home town in full holiday spirit.
I would like to clear up one point regarding the Chamber of Commerce. I spoke to members of the Holiday Lights Committee and to fellow members of the Chamber of Commerce about the letter you site in this post and, the Chamber did reconsider its previous position. However, the Chamber is not a 501(c)(3) and therefore cannot collect donations on a tax-deductible basis. This information was conveyed to the Holiday Lights Committee along with an offer for them to use the Park Ridge Lions Club’s 501(c)(3)designation for collection of the funds. Holiday Lights declined this offer because they had already done some work toward establishing their own non-profit status. That turned out to the perfect solution to this problem and the folks that worked hard to get that the 501(c)(3) designation are also to be commended.
The Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce made their own donation to the Holiday Lights Fund as did most, if not all, of the Chamber’s board of directors. The Park Ridge Chamber also sent out several email blasts and promoted Holiday Lights on social media. Not only that, but the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce will be awarding the Holiday Light Committee with a “Community Star Award” at their “Night of Stars” banquet February 20th. I am quite sure that the Chamber will continue to support the Holiday Lights in the years to come.
I hope this clears up any misconceptions that the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce was unwilling to support this admirable endeavor.
Happy New Year.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Matt: Thanks for your comment and some of its clarifications.
However, the e-mail embedded in this post is the only one we’re aware the Chamber sent out; and, therefore, it must speak for itself. As for the Chamber’s tax status, it hold itself out (on its webpage) as being “a private, nonprofit organization” without identifying under what section of the Tax Code it claims such status; and it mentioned nothing about its tax status in its e-mail.
As for determining the scope of the Chamber’s and its individual members’ support, without a roster of Chamber members all we can tell for sure is that the Chamber donated $100 and that several members of its board of directors also donated – with your firm and Mary Wynn Ryan’s firm being “Gold Sponsors” (thank you very much).
Finally, the Lights Fund appreciates whatever support and recognition it receives as a reflection on the generosity and support provided by the community that made this effort so successful.
How kind of 6:58 to add a “happy new year” to his shaming of those he thinks didn’t contribute to the lights fund. How do you know the people you’re looking to vilify didn’t donate under a spouse’s name? This whole enterprise looks less like holiday spirit than sanctimonious political posturing. And nice job patting yourself on the back.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Spoken like a typical freeloader who doesn’t like being shamed, even anonymously, for his/her freeloading.
Toooo funny!!! This must be you dream PD!! You have managed to “shame” the entire town except for the approximately 400 that did not donate. N
Here is what the “shame” is. You appear to be linking the Lights Fund with charity. Sorry but based on my own gut feel and experience as well as a little research, it just does not seem to fit.
If you look at the Merriam-Webster definition you will find phrases like “needy or suffering”, “those in need”, “relief of the poor”.
Another source (Wiki) states “Most forms of charity are concerned with providing basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, healthcare and shelter, but other actions may be performed as charity: visiting the imprisoned or the homebound, ransoming captives, educating orphans, even social movements. Donations to causes that benefit the unfortunate indirectly, such as donations to fund cancer research, are also charity”.
By these definitions, if raising money for holiday lights (a luxury) for what is far from a poor community is considered “charity” that is a shame.
Put another way, I would hope one would find it much more “ennobling” to give to a food bank or a coat drive or a shelter etc than a lights fund……of course those organizations tend not to publish lists for you to review. Oh well!!
I am not generally one to quote the scriptures but Matthew 6:1 seems to apply.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Toooo ironic!!! The shameless anonymous freeloader pontificating about not only “charity” but also Scripture. A Festivus miracle!
But the good thing about that is it suggests that your conscience might be getting to you despite your anonymous freeloading, otherwise you would have easily understood our point that there’s nothing wrong with the fact that only a shade over 1% of Park Ridgians made “voluntary individualized charitable donations – not mandatory collectively-taxed contributions” that all taxpayers used to be REQUIRED to make, via their property taxes, back when holiday lights were a City project.
And it also justifies our continued allowance of these kinds of silly and selfish comments from anonymous trolls like yourself, thereby giving our readers an insight into the freeloaders and whiners who walk among us, albeit without declaring or otherwise identifying themselves as such; and that they may even hold public office, or draw public paychecks.
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