Mayor Niebur's opponent is ignoring the facts, distorting the truth, and sadly misleading residents in the crucial area of property taxes. The fact is the city has repeatedly taken positive and responsible action to hold the line on the city's portion of the property tax bills. For example, in 1999, 24.7% (one in four dollars) of your total property tax bill was levied and received by the city. In 2007, the city's percentage actually dropped to 21.6%. In 2009, the city percentage is projected to be even less at 19.9% (less than one in five dollars).

In that same time period, the city's tax rate decreased from $1.74 to $1.45 per hundred dollars of assessed valuation.

Click to display or hide the tax table.

The balance of your property tax bill, approximately 80% in 2009, is set by other taxing bodies and assessment authorities over whom the city has absolutely no control. As Mayor, Gary Niebur has worked diligently to hold the line and decrease the city's portion of your property taxes and he will continue to do so.

The opponent's insinuations that a mayor can control all taxes and that Gary Niebur has not worked to reduce taxes is false and misleading. The evidence is clear. Mayor Gary Niebur has, indeed, held the line on the city's portion of property taxes, reduced the city's tax rate, and lowered the city's portion of your overall property tax bill.

The mayor's opponent has been a member of the City Council Finance Committee for the last four years. He has voted yes for every city tax levy and city budget. The Mayor's opponent consistently failed to step forward and be an active participant in the lengthy processes regarding tax levies and budgets each year. Not once, in four years, during discussion or deliberation of the city's property tax levy did he offer recommendations or changes.

Now you know the Truth.

Many routine police vehicle maintenance chores (tires, batteries, wipers, etc.) are performed by a local Edwardsville business (Madison Service Company – an FS affiliate). The police department utilizes the state's volume purchase program for tires through this very business. Over $10,000 was spent at F-S in 2008.

Unless insurance requires otherwise, all police car body repairs are done locally at Edwardsville businesses - Caulks Collision Center and Southside Auto Repair.

As indicated above, volume purchases of many items – specifically the fleet vehicles themselves – can save municipalities and other units of government thousands of dollars. Our 2007 Ford Explorers listed for $26,250. We purchased them through the state plan at a 28% savings - $19,001.

The manufacturers allow only one dealership in the entire state of Illinois to sell their cars and trucks under this program. These are heavy duty cars with extremely expensive electronic equipment operating 24 hours a day.

So, since all but one dealer in the state are being denied the opportunity to sell the cars in order that all taxpayers can benefit from the savings, it is expected by the manufacturer that fleet maintenance will be done at their authorized dealerships.

The newest police package cars have 100,000 mile engine warranties. Generally, a police unit when replaced is transferred from the "front-line" to investigations, administration or another department. Retied police cars now assigned to Parks or Public Works are generally maintained by our own public works employee.

The manufacturers insist that warranty work be performed by their own certified mechanics. These men and women have instant access to Technical Service Bulletins.

In our own lives, it is always best that our physician and the specialists who see us have a good history of our medications and ailments. It is imperative that those doctors communicate with one another and share that history. There is a parallel with our fleet. At the dealerships, our cars – by serial number – are registered and all activity involving those cars is documented in the same computerized data base. Related to this is the advantage that dealerships have a direct line to the manufacturer's automotive engineers.

Because of this continuous and indisputable record, we have often been able to prove that a recurring complaint from the past deserved warranty protection even after a given car is outside the warranty period. There are other times when a reported problem has been given warranty coverage simply because of the manufacturer's recognition that a certain problem simply should not occur no matter the age of the vehicle. This seldom if ever happens when work is done by a non-affiliated mechanic.

Another important issue: we have never had a problem with dealership "turnaround time". At the dealerships we are consistently given priority attention to our fleet and one of several designated mechanics is assigned even before the car arrives at the shop. Furthermore, they give us a 10 percent discount on parts and a 20% discount on labor.

Finally, there have been distorted reports about a car battery costing $200. The battery cost $89 and was purchased at the dealership as part of what was then believed to be a more involved problem.

March 3, 2009

Building Inspector and Community Cooperation

Wesley Tippit has failed to ask the mayor, city administrator, the public works director, or the city engineer about the vehicle assigned to a building inspector. Any one of the aforementioned individuals could answer his concerns. Nonetheless, at a recent committee meeting Mr. Tippit reportedly alleged an impropriety saying, "I got a call about a city employee taking a car home. I believe it is wrong and should be put to a stop."

There is NO impropriety. This is actually an exemplary case study of two communities that have a long history of working well with one another.

To understand the situation to which Mr. Tippit alludes, one must first understand that our fire department is a "combined" department. We have 26 career firefighters and paramedics and we have about half that many volunteer firefighters. Because of the nature of our community, we are very often short of volunteer firefighter support during the business week. Our volunteers have regular jobs here and in other communities and are not always available during the week.

The Edwardsville building inspector is a certified volunteer firefighter. He is not subject to residency requirements and resides in nearby Wood River. The City of Wood River has trained our building inspector as a firefighter and provides him with continued training and re-certification. He keeps special firefighter gear in the car to which he has been assigned by the City of Edwardsville. An agreement between the department heads and the administrator with Mayor Niebur's approval, allows the inspector to respond to Edwardsville's daytime fires as needed at our fire chief's discretion. Rather than transferring the gear to and from his personal car when he arrives and leaves work, the inspector is permitted to use the city-owned vehicle and keep it at his residence. All Internal Revenue Service Codes are followed regarding the use of this car, a retired 2003 Ford police car with an odometer reading of 97,000 miles. Sometimes, he is even asked to report at night to evaluate the structural security of an Edwardsville fire scene. In turn, the inspector is permitted to use the vehicle as needed for response to any after-hours Wood River fires. Frankly, depending on the seriousness of a Wood River situation, the inspector would likely be permitted to respond to a plea for help from the Wood River chief even during our normal work hours.

Wood River has an excellent fire department and we are truly fortunate to have their support. This is not impropriety. It is cooperation of the kind taxpayers approve wholeheartedly and we are proud to be part of it!

The Mayor's opponent claims that city government is closed government. That allegation is simply false. This is yet another example of the opponent continuing to mislead the public, distort the facts, and make false statements.

Edwardsville residents have always been welcome to make comments at City Council meetings, committee meetings, and volunteer board and commission meetings. While it is preferred that a resident notify the City Clerk’s Office or the Mayor if they want to be added to the agenda for the purpose of accurately recognizing them, it’s not required. All a resident has to do is show up and raise their hand. That’s been the practice for decades and residents have used both of these methods numerous times.

In addition, the City Council meetings are covered by five area newspapers. Cable television broadcasts all City Council, Zoning Board and Plan Commission meetings “live” and recordings of those meetings are broadcast at later dates for the convenience of residents and the public. All City Council and committee meeting dates and times are published and furnished to the news media and are listed on the ECTV Bulletin Board and on the city website. No other community in the surrounding area offers this kind of service to its residents to make sure they have an open government.

Approximately one hundred residents serve the city on twelve boards and commissions. Their study of issues and recommendations play a major role in the overall policy making process and operation of city government – this is open inclusive local government at its best.

Any alderman may ask that an item be on an agenda and may request or introduce any guest. The opponent, as a member of the City Council for four years, has not once requested that an item be added to the agenda nor has he introduced a guest to speak at a City Council meeting. In addition, at the close of each Council meeting the Mayor asks if there is any “New” or “Old” business. If a resident’s question hasn’t been addressed by this point, this is when they raise their hand … and they have.

Contrary to the opponent’s false statements, the Mayor has never denied an Edwardsville resident the right to address the council.

That’s the truth.

As Mayor of the City of Edwardsville, I believe I have an obligation to the taxpayers and to the city to respond strongly to any false and intentionally misleading statements with the facts.

Regrettably, one of our own aldermen, Wesley Tippit, is distributing reports about various Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts in the City of Chicago and St. Louis County, Missouri. His repeated and irresponsible claims that our school district is losing more than a million dollars annually due to our TIF districts is without regard to the public record and facts. As we all know, Chicago is hardly comparable to Edwardsville and the Chicago TIF District agreements are not structured in any way similar to what we have in Edwardsville. Nonetheless, he continues to compare “apples and oranges” and refuses to acknowledge what has been accomplished with the support and encouragement of other taxing districts and our residents.

The fact of the matter is that the tax increment financing districts in Edwardsville were established by the city council, endorsed by Edwardsville School District No. 7 authorities and proven with visible evidence to be successful. That visible evidence started many years ago with the demolition of vacant, derelict, and dangerous buildings in our downtown area, the completion of vital infrastructure improvements, over $35 million dollars of private sector investment in new buildings, completion of the downtown streetscape program, and the overall revitalization of our downtown area. The completion of those new buildings, paid for by private sector investment, will generate significant new tax revenues for the school system.

Because of these actions, downtown Edwardsville has been restored as an economically vibrant and successful centerpiece of our community. The construction of new buildings, the many aesthetic improvements of the area, and the opening of new downtown businesses have increased the overall employment base in our downtown area resulting in more than 400 jobs.

Many of those new employees and business owners purchased or built new homes in our school district creating hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue annually for the district. Those employees shop in our stores, dine in the many new restaurants, and help keep our economy strong; the entire community benefits. Through the downtown TIF districts we have generated new tax dollars, paid only by those property owners within the boundaries of the districts, in public infrastructure to rebuild a great downtown Edwardsville.

Mr. Tippit’s statements that all property owners in Edwardsville are funding these improvements through property taxes is nothing less than outrageous and factually incorrect.

Mr. Tippit is attempting to confuse the public by significantly exaggerating the numbers and falsely implying that our TIF districts are detrimental to the community and the school district. He is, just plainly speaking, wrong.

Frankly, his inaccurate representation of the facts is apparently based on his lack of knowledge or understanding about the appropriate use of TIFs.

Somehow Mr. Tippit has decided that these successful projects and the resulting significant, new private investment would have occurred without the city’s assistance. The positive financial impact is clearly beneficial to the school district, city, and taxpayers.

Mr. Tippit has conveniently ignored the fact that the School District receives increased – yes, increased – revenue from the state due to existence of these appropriate and responsible Tax Increment Finance districts. Based on the values of those properties in TIFs today, the School District receives over $1.1 million in increased funding from the State of Illinois.

Alderman Tippit has intentionally, or due to his lack of knowledge, or both, ignored the fact that 77% of the TIF taxes are restored to the School District by an increase in state funding. Including the 10% tax revenue pass-through we created with the TIF 3, over 83% of the TIF taxes were restored to the School District. Combine that with the fact that 100% of the TIF taxes stay in Edwardsville, and there is an overall increase of $2.7 million as a direct result of our TIF program that goes to support the improvement of an excellent School District and a thriving and successful community.

The school district and other taxing bodies have and will continue to receive the same amount of tax money each year that they received the days before the TIF Districts were established. Increases, or increments as they are called, over those basic amounts are still paid by property owners in the TIF Districts.

Edwardsville’s exemplary use of TIF has even been heralded by Les Sterman, Executive Director of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments. A copy of Mr. Sterman’s letter is available to anyone who would like a copy. Our use of these special TIF funds for the betterment of the community has obviously had a positive impact.

For Mr. Tippit to suggest we are less than fully supportive of our schools – especially one who has witnessed the current administration’s strong advocacy for School District 7, the faculty, students and staff – is a senseless and baseless verbal assault on our community and our school district.

As Mayor, I find it extremely unfortunate that Mr. Tippit continues to distort the truth by attempting to mislead the citizens of Edwardsville for what can only be considered political gamesmanship.

Gary D. Niebur

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