1/13/2009 City Council Meeting

[OakParkSpartan]

This probably should be a whole other thread, but------going back to the fireman
suing the city. This by the way has nothing to do with the fact it's a fireman suing it could be anybody.
How badly was he injured? Was he sucked up under the thread mill and flattened out , like
a pancake, has he lost the ability to walk the rest of his life? Did fall on his face, go blind?  What?
Some people just like to sue, win money, collect workmens comp and not work. I am not saying
this is the case in Berwyn.  Americans love to sue others, I think that can nearly be considered a fact.

It was stated he did not even fall off the treadmill. 

[Bonster]

How badly was he injured? Was he sucked up under the thread mill and flattened out , like
a pancake

lol, BP!!!  Like the Jetsons! 

Yeah, that's the ticket...

http://www.youtube.com/v/lW0JIICBoPs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6
Firehouse treadmill

[AngieBear68]

Chapman felt there could be a savings of $1 to $2 per city sticker.  I think she is nuts. 

So you don't think it's worth it to the city to look at changing to a simple, smaller black-and-white sticker, rather than the large full-color version with seal? Nona works for an art designer, I tend to have to think she knows a little about the cost of a design. Even if it saves us only $0.50/sticker, how many cars do we have in Berwyn? 50,000? That's $25K saved right there from one simple suggestion. That's $100K over four years. Seeing as many households have 3+ cars, I think the 50,000 figure is realistic.

Also, it seems Nona was upset because a city employee drove the design out to the designer, using a city vehicle. Why not just e-mail it or, shudder, mail it??

This is the thing about O'Connor - he micro-manages certain areas that don't need it, yet completely mismanages (or doesn't manage) other things that end up costing the city tens of thousands of dollars.   

I believe the mayor stated that Lovero's statement that Chief Kushner is afraid for his job was dumbest thing he's ever hear in his 12 years of council.

Why would that be dumb? Many of the department heads are yes-men ready to rubber stamp O'Connor's crappy proposals and tell him what he wants to hear. When council actually calls them out on items (think Public Works), they cower away because they don't want to say anything that will reflect negatively on the mayor. The PW salt machine is broken, and the PW director says it's been broken for 5 years, insinuating that it happened before O'Connor was elected. Well, hello, why did you just find out about it now after 5 years? What kind of management is that? Maybe O'Connor should be micromanaging this area instead - is that why we paid substantially more money than many communities for our salt, because we bought it way too late, and why we are already virtually out of salt and mixing it with sand, which will destroy our sewers??

This is what happens when a let a button salesman run your town

[FedUp]

This probably should be a whole other thread, but------going back to the fireman
suing the city. This by the way has nothing to do with the fact it's a fireman suing it could be anybody.
How badly was he injured? Was he sucked up under the thread mill and flattened out , like
a pancake, has he lost the ability to walk the rest of his life? Did fall on his face, go blind?  What?
Some people just like to sue, win money, collect workmens comp and not work. I am not saying
this is the case in Berwyn.  Americans love to sue others, I think that can nearly be considered a fact.

This fireman is not or does not want to sue the city. When he got hurt he reported it to the powers that be and the HR director told him according to the insurance co. it is a workmans comp claim. So to say the fireman wants to sue and collect w.c. is incorrect yet OC cries foul. The last thing this fireman wanted was a workmans comp claim. 

[OakParkSpartan]

Chapman felt there could be a savings of $1 to $2 per city sticker.  I think she is nuts. 

So you don't think it's worth it to the city to look at changing to a simple, smaller black-and-white sticker, rather than the large full-color version with seal? Nona works for an art designer, I tend to have to think she knows a little about the cost of a design. Even if it saves us only $0.50/sticker, how many cars do we have in Berwyn? 50,000? That's $25K saved right there from one simple suggestion. That's $100K over four years. Seeing as many households have 3+ cars, I think the 50,000 figure is realistic.

Also, it seems Nona was upset because a city employee drove the design out to the designer, using a city vehicle. Why not just e-mail it or, shudder, mail it??

This is the thing about O'Connor - he micro-manages certain areas that don't need it, yet completely mismanages (or doesn't manage) other things that end up costing the city tens of thousands of dollars.   

I believe the mayor stated that Lovero's statement that Chief Kushner is afraid for his job was dumbest thing he's ever hear in his 12 years of council.

Why would that be dumb? Many of the department heads are yes-men ready to rubber stamp O'Connor's crappy proposals and tell him what he wants to hear. When council actually calls them out on items (think Public Works), they cower away because they don't want to say anything that will reflect negatively on the mayor. The PW salt machine is broken, and the PW director says it's been broken for 5 years, insinuating that it happened before O'Connor was elected. Well, hello, why did you just find out about it now after 5 years? What kind of management is that? Maybe O'Connor should be micromanaging this area instead - is that why we paid substantially more money than many communities for our salt, because we bought it way too late, and why we are already virtually out of salt and mixing it with sand, which will destroy our sewers??

This is what happens when a let a button salesman run your town

You aren't going to save that much money from a sticker.  The number of stickers is around 30k or so.  In anycase, the fools put us in a deeper hole with the budget.

The chief doesn't strike me as a yes man.  He has been aggressive in his cost saving measures.

Why do you want ANYONE micromanaging?  And if you read the newspaper, you would know that salt prices skyrocketed for just about every community.

[Bonster]

Yeah, let's make Berwyn even more ghetto with black and white block letter stickers.  
When you go anywhere other than Berwyn you might as well be wearing an orange jumpsuit with block letters on the back: D O C

Lower the quality of the sticker, and we're still effectively paying $1-2 more for.....less.  

Hey, Lovero likes to model Chicago (to a fault) ...their stickers are $75-120.  

[Nazerac]

We have an exercise room at work.  All employees have to sign a waiver before using it.  Maybe we should get the BFP a Wii with some of their excercise games.  Dance Dance Revolution in SCBA anyone?  That would keep them fit (though at risk for a heat stroke!)

[Berwyn Patsy]

I whole heartedly agree the fireman and also the policemen of any city, town, etc., should
have physical fitness programs incorporated into the jobs as part of their job descriptions.
We do not nor does anyone need overweight, FM OR PM.  It is as unhealthy for them as it is
for our safety.
As I thought my statement would be taken wrong by some, please let me say I believe the
Fire and police should have some space in their buildings (what about the new PD?) with workout
equipment to use as part of their daily job routines.  They should have to weigh in every 30 days.
Signing a waiver could be considered. Then suing would not be an option.  The Mayor should be in
support of healthy, physically fit FM and PM.  He has himself struggled with a weight problem, as all
of us have I am sure at one time or another.  Of course NOT Zorba. He is just to perfect!! lol.

[Ted]

How come nobody mentions that when the b-ball team was being honored the Mayor was completly incoherent as to what was going on? Even the boys on the team were asking if he was asleep. What a shame this guy is. If it isn't what he wants to talk about his way then he won't even acknowledge whats going on . The man is a disgrace.

  Huh??  What the heck are you talking about?  The city clerk read the proclamation, then the mayor made a short statement saying he thought part of the team's success was due to the Berwyn rec programs, then Alderman Lovero made a statement saying the parents also deserve credit and that the parents should be acknowledged and then the team's picture was taken.

  What do you mean the mayor was "asleep" ?  And what do you mean that "he won't even acknowledge whats going on"?  The proclamation was read, the mayor made the statement about the Berwyn Rec program being part of the reason for the success, Aldermen Lovero made his statement that the parents should share in the success and then a picture of the boys was taken.

  How does that imply that the mayor was "sleeping" or that "he didn't acknowledge what was going on"? 

F.U.  were you even at the council meeting?  If you were, you must have been in some alternate universe because your description of the honoring of the boys basketball team does not even remotely match what happened.

Ted

[Ted]

Also, it seems Nona was upset because a city employee drove the design out to the designer, using a city vehicle.

I don't remember Nona making that statement.  Maybe you and FedUp were in some other city council meeting that was going on in an alternate DCOB universe that the rest of us were not privy to... 

Nona's long and rambling statement trying to connect the new city letter head to the fee for a vehicle sticker didn't make much sense to me.  I did not understand the connection between the fee for a vehicle sticker and the new letterhead for the city.

  Ted

[Thor]

Ted, Ted, Ted,
remember who you are talking to,,,,,,,
Its not worth getting worked up. People who were present know what happened.  

[tony la]

You know if O'c wanted to get that passed he should have had someone else introduce it.  Then voice his displeasure with the idea, and it would have gotten passed.

[mustang54]

  Just want to mention the mayor must be as excited as the rest of us Morton hoops fans, he was at pack the place last Friday night for the girls and boys varsity games. He apparently has the fever too!!

[ZORBA]

Was he asleep?

[tonro]

The Police Chief a "yes" man! That is a joke.

Reality dictates, though, that Department Heads are subject to their boss, i.e., the Mayor. Yet, the Police Chief
is not a yes man, nor in fear of being fired.

It is interesting Angie how you view things.  Certainly, subjective.  

Digress: the union contract does not force a firefighter to retire after 30 years, but it does reduce a firefighter's
pension if the firefighter remains after 30 years. I call that forced retirement.

We would be much better off with a real estate attorney running the city. Yeah right. Button salesman?  What the heck is the difference
between a button salesman and a real esate attorney?  

Seems to me, the residents should be much more excited about the drama team winning big, rather than the b-ball team.

I now know why our Rec Department is so bad. The coach at Morton has no time for Berwyn. He only has time for Cicero
or his h.s. basketball team.

Punch line please.

[Ted]

You know if O'c wanted to get that passed he should have had someone else introduce it.  Then voice his displeasure with the idea, and it would have gotten passed.

  Tony, what agenda item were you referring to?

[Ted]

Was he asleep?

  No he was not asleep.  He had his picture taken with the boys.  That is why I don't understand FU's post at all, unless one of the boys was confused and thought that someone else was the mayor.

  Ted

[tony la]

You know if O'c wanted to get that passed he should have had someone else introduce it.  Then voice his displeasure with the idea, and it would have gotten passed.

  Tony, what agenda item were you referring to?

The gas tax and the sticker increase.  Im going to add a little speach from Mr. Daley on voting for increases<object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2ashM23pslk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2ashM23pslk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object>

[Bonster]

LOL...great one, Tony.

http://www.youtube.com/v/2ashM23pslk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f

[FedUp]

My bad Ted,
During open forum while a fireman was reading a grievance the Mayor looked to be asleep and completely incoherent as to what was going on. This was noticed by all the boys on the b-ball team. Asking each other if he was sleeping. This is a good way to reflect upon our youth how the grownups handle their city business.