City Clerk

Today's News-Gazette:

The bonus payments, which all regular city employees get, are part of a worker's compensation self-insurance program in which city employees share 50 percent in overall savings when worker's compensation claims are lower than expected.

The bonus payments were made in November. The News-Gazette recently requested information about the payments, after learning about them, through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

For both Prussing and Clark, the bonuses represented two years' worth of payments, $450 for 2006 and $490 for 2007. Prussing and Clark had not received the bonus in 2006 and Prussing said she asked officials last fall why she and Clark were excluded.

"I checked it out with the (city) accountant," Prussing said. "I asked the question and the answer was we should be included."

Huh?

What happened last night at the Champaign City Council meeting?

At tonight's City Council meeting, Mayor Jerry Schweighart is going to circulate a proposal in an attempt to avoid an outright smoking ban.

The Mayor's proposal, as I understand it:

• Require signage on the outside of restaurants and bars clearly indicating if smoking is allowed inside: The Coalition to Protect People From Themselves (CPPFT) isn't going to support this, because it relies on the assumption that people are intelligent enough to make individual decisions about whether to avoid secondhand smoke.  From a "Property Rights" and "Individual Choice" perspective, I think increased signage is a good idea.
• Charge smoking-allowed establishments a licensing fee, with proceeds to fund cessation programs:  Again, the CPPFT isn't going to like this, as it still allows business owners to have a choice, and choice is an unacceptable solution when controlling other people's property is at stake.  Frankly, I'm not all that pleased about what amounts to a tax increase, but at least it's an optional tax increase that business owners can choose to pay or to avoid.
• Create penalties for underage possession of tobacco:  non-controversial fluff.

And I don't see anything on tonight's agenda, so this proposal may be for discussion purposes only.  We'll see, we'll see.

Sources say that, despite a pair of defeats in study session earlier this month, Champaign City Council Member Giraldo Rosales is going to push for a city-wide, all-public-places smoking ban.  Again according to sources, Rosales has asked the city staff to draft a proposed ordinance for consideration at a meeting in early October, and is telling people that he has the support of four other Council Members.

I'm unclear whether Rosales is working in conjunction with Council Member Ken Pirok on his proposal to consider adding non-smoking sections to bars.

I'm also unclear on whether Rosales' proposed ordinance affects the timetable of Urbana's consideration of a smoking ban. 

Once again, we see that nanny-staters never go away, they just re-group to find new ways to create unnecessary overregulation.

The Phyllis Clark vs. John "J.J." Farney contest for Urbana City Clerk in April got interesting when the incumbent City Clerk's delinquent tax bill became an issue. Clark somehow held on to win won anyway because she's a Democrat running in Urbana.

But the spending in the race was pretty uninteresting. Clark's never even created a committee, meaning she raised or spent less than $3,000 and doesn't have to disclose anything. (Her old committee for her Circuit Clerk run is still inactive.)

And Farney created a committee and spent $4,687.93, but filed on paper, so we cannot examine his donors or expenditures in detail.

Still, Farney quite clearly outspent Clark, by at least a 3:2 ratio, and still lost. Clark, however, had the advantage of being able to run as a ticket with an unopposed Laurel Prussing, who had won the Democratic Primary for Mayor and had a very active, enthusiastic organization that probably shifted to helping Clark after the Primary.

The campaign of Republican John Farney, who's running for Urbana City Clerk, sent me (in a very roundabout fashion) some interesting documents last night.

I've spent all morning trying to figure out what I should do with these, and I've decided that I'll just let the documents speak for themselves:

Phyllis Clark is deliquent in payment of Urbana Sewer Benefit Tax; Farney calls for immediate action and investigation into possible misconduct

For Immediate Release March 22, 2005

Contact: John Farney 217-637-5468

URBANA – John Farney, Republican candidate for Urbana City Clerk, today called for immediate action and an investigation into the possible official misconduct committed by current City Clerk Phyllis Clark after it was learned that Clark is delinquent in payment of her sewer benefit tax.

“I am appalled that Phyllis Clark continues to collect a taxpayer supported salary when she doesn’t pay her own taxes,” said Farney. “If Phyllis Clark going to live off of the taxpayers, she should be one herself.”

According to a memorandum from Liz Walden, a Finance Department staff member, to City Attorney Steve Holz, dated March 3, Ms. Clark’s taxes are “extremely past due”. The memorandum also states that at least five notices, including one personally delivered to Clark in her City Hall office, have gone unanswered. “I am unable to get payment” and “I have not received any communication or payment from her,” Walden contined.

Urbana City Attorney Holz confirmed that Ms. Clark was deliquent in payment of her tax as of 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 22.

Furthermore, a review of Clark’s account activity shows that the City Clerk received late penalties for her 2002 tax (due June 2002, paid January 1, 2003), her 2003 tax (due June 2003, paid October 23, 2003), and the currently deliquent 2004 tax (due June 2004, still unpaid).

Farney said that Clark’s tax issues call her candidacy and ability to serve into question; “Phyllis Clark published qualifications to run for office in before the December filing period. She doesn’t meet those qualifications, and hasn’t for most of her current term of office.” Those qualifications include that the candidate “must not be in arrears in the payment of any tax or other indebtedness due the municipality.” (65 ILCS 5/3.1-10-5)

Farney also questions the legitimacy of Clark’s signed Statement of Candidacy where she states that she is qualified to hold office. “Phyllis signed a document that was false. She lied.”

There is also a scanned copy of what appears to be a memo from Liz Walden to City Attorney Steve Holz asking for help in collecting the delinquent amount. The memo:

Questions:

• Is the memo authentic? It looks real enough to me, but all I've seen is a scanned copy, although it's pretty high-quality, and I can email it to anyone who wants to inspect it.
• Is Phyllis Clark really failing to pay her "Sewer Benefit Tax" promptly? If so, it appears to be a chronic problem.
• How much is she in arrears?
• Most importantly, if being behind in these payments is a disqualification for office, why did no one challenge her candidacy for office when she filed her petitions?

If anyone has a response from Phyllis Clark, please email it to me.

Any other thoughts?

(Who'd have guessed that the Urbana City Clerk's race could get this interesting?)