How would you spend $42,509?

Lisle School District 202 spent $42,509 for UNICOM-Arc to run Five "Community Engagement" Vision 202 meetings in 2014-2015 School Year.

That's equal to the cost of 177 brand new Dell Chromebooks.  (There are only 25 public computers available at the Lisle Library)

Additional expenditures to Unicom Arc are anticipated to cover the PR consulting for Phase 2 of Vision 202 expected to start in Fall 2015.  Phase 2 will advance the issue of facilities and set the final stage for the tax increase referendum. The overview of the Facilities Master Plan prepared by Perkins & Will Architects was already presented to the Board at their July 20, 2015 Board Meeting. The contract for architectural services for the Facilities Master Plan was approved at the August 17, 2015 Board Meeting. The amount of the architectural Facilities Master Plan contract is not included on the Board agenda. 

•   Was this the best use of $42,509 of public funds? 
•   How much more public money will be spent on PR on a "Winning Before You Start"  PR campaign for a "YES" tax increase referendum? 
•   Is it legal for a gov't entity to expend public funds on a "Yes" tax increase campaign?
•   Do Lisle taxpayers know the strategy that is being used here? 
•   How were the members of the "Facilitating Team" selected? 
•   Why did the District abruptly switch the terminology from "Facilitating Committee" to "Facilitating Team?" Perhaps because under State law all committee meetings are subject to the IL Open Meetings Act? 
•  Were any of the "Facilitating Team" meetings with Unicom Arc open to the public? 
•  Why did Unicom Arc recommend not allowing any time for Q & A at the Community meetings?

Tate Woods School 

2014-2015 Expenditures to Unicom Arc:

Unicom Arc: Paid Approx $27/per each enrolled student in Lisle CUSD 202.

Unicom-Arc: Paid an average per community meeting = $8,500

Unicom Arc:  Paid Avg per attendee, per meeting = $57. 

Unicom Arc:  Assuming the same approx 150 people participated in all 5 meetings, this comes to about $283 cost per participant paid to Unicom Arc paid by taxpayers. 

Invoices Paid

       Date   Amount

   7/8/2014 $ 3,750.00 (july services, billed in advance)
   8/1/2014 $ 3,750.00 (aug services, billed in advance)
   9/1/2014 $ 3,750.00 (sept services, billed in advance)
  10/9/2014 $ 3,750.00 (oct services, billed in advance)
  10/9/2014 $   938.35 (hotels, meals, mileage)
  11/4/2014 $ 3,750.00 (nov services, billed in advance)
 11/10/2014 $   512.56 (hotels, meals, mileage)
  12/3/2014 $ 3,750.00 (dec services, billed in advance)
   1/6/2015 $ 3,750.00 (jan services, billed in advance)
  1/30/2015 $   567.75 (hotels, meals, mileage)
   2/6/2015 $ 3,750.00 (feb services, billed in advance)
   3/1/2015 $   462.62 (hotels, meals, mileage)
   3/1/2015 $ 3,750.00 (march services, billed in advance)
   4/2/2015 $ 3,750.00 (april services, billed in advance)
  5/21/2015 $ 1,598.16 (hotels, meals, mileage)
   7/2/2015 $   930.35 (hotels, meals, mileage)

      TOTAL $ 42,509.75

Lisle CUSD 202 Board approved a contract with Unicom Arc for $37,500, plus expenses at their June 16, 2014 Board Meeting. 

Here is how the Board in place at the time voted: 

• McConville (*) - Yes 
• Tarasewicz (*) - Yes
• Narot (*) - Yes  
• Franklin (**) - Yes 
• Corrigan (**) - Yes 
• Ahlmann (*)  - Yes
• Blaeke (*) - Absent 

(*) Current Board Members. 
(**) Term Ended in May 2015.

The PR contract covers the period July 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015. Per the contract, the District "..has the option of extending this contract on a month-to-month basis for the same monthly payment.."

Expenses for hotels, meals and mileage came to $5,010, so far.

Contract extension for 2015-16 has not yet been formally approved by the Board. 

When we asked Lisle CUSD 202's FOIA officer for a copy of all of the public records that contain the work product of Unicom Arc, we were provided with no documents and were directed to visit the Vision 202 website. 

LINK to CONTRACT Approved by Board June 16, 2014 Minutes
LINK to Lisle 202 FOIA Response  (Communications)

Village: "No Smart Meter, No Water."

Village of Lisle Threatens 260 Families with Water Shut Off 

The Village of Lisle issued 260 "Water shut off" notices to 260 single family residences threatening to shut of water in 10 days if the owner did not allow "mandatory" installation of a new Sensus iPerl Smart Water Meter. 

The threat worked. 

Part of a five-year, $1.5 Million plan to replace all mechanical water meters with Sensus iPerl Smart Water Meters, this first phase included purchase and installation of 950 new residential smart water meters. 

A whopping 27% of the 950 Lisle residents in the Phase 1 Smart Water Meter installation plan received this water shut-off threat letter. 

(click to enlarge)

In announcing the plan, the Village carefully and intentionally avoided the use of the words "smart meter" and instead called the project the "water meter replacement project." or the "water meter change out program." In addition to avoiding the terminology "smart meter" the five-year phasing strategy also was implemented to control opposition. Had the Village attempted to replace all 5000 meters in a single year, there could have been a big push-back with 27%, or over 1300, shut-off threat notices going out at one time. 

The Village expects to recoup the $1.5 Million cost with income from higher water bills. The number of years to recoup the cost have not been provided. There has been no independent financial study done to substantiate this assumption.  

The new meters, which do not require testing by the Village, are allowed to "over charge" by 1.5%. By this time next year, we will be able to compare the old and new bills for the meters replace this year and we will report back on increased revenue from higher bills. 

Many of the 260 property owners who received the Phase 1 water-shut off threat had ignored the first two notices to call and schedule a new smart water meter installation over concerns of higher water bills, privacy, or health. Records provided by the Village show that among those who received a "3rd and final water shut-notice" was Village of Lisle Trustee Brad Hettich (address per DuPage Election Commission)

Some residents have said they were simply too busy to schedule installation on such short notice over the summer or were intentionally trying to stall the installation as long as possible to avoid receiving higher water bills than the rest of the town. 

There have been a number of stories in the mainstream media lately about overcharging and faulty smart meters in Tinley Park and other communities. Lisle has done nothing to address consumer confidence in their smart water meter project. Heck, Lisle is actually avoiding acknowledgement that the new meters are, in fact, "Smart Meters."

The Village of Lisle does not plan to purchase the software for remote real-time data collection until the completion of the 5-year installation plan. Until then, the Village of Lisle will continue to pay DuPage County $34,000 annually for meter reading. The program for real-time remote data collection costs about $800,000 and is not included in the $1.5 Million water meter replacement project costs.

Lisle Watchdog submitted a FOIA to the Village to obtain information.

 - The Village of Lisle has no "opt-out" plan for residents who do not want a smart water meter.

 - The Village of Lisle has no privacy policy regarding the vast amount of "real-time" hourly/daily electronic water use data that these smart meters are capable of collecting and storing. 

 - The Village of Lisle has no testing policy or plan for these new smart water meters for accuracy. 


FOIA Response. 

Teed Off: Lisle Taxpayers Subsidize $4 Million for Golf

Lisle Watchdog analyzed the Lisle Park District's River Bend Golf Fund performance from 1996 to 2014.

We find that over the past 19 years, expenses exceeded revenues 17 out of the past 19 years. The years that operated in the black, income was only about 25% of the annual bond payment.

Non - golfer taxpayers have subsidized a whopping $3,779,367 in operating losses at River Bend since 1996. 

Lisle Taxpayers could have saved $3.8 Million in cumulative annual losses if the golf course and clubhouse/restaurant were closed, the land allowed to be a prairie/floodplain/natural stormwater management area.  The new preliminary flood maps will re-categorize the 9-hole River Bend Golf Course property from a "Floodplain" to a "Floodway."

Not to be overlooked, taxpayers spent about $2.65 Million in capital expenses to build the 9,600 sf clubhouse/restaurant in 2003, tearing down the home of one of the early Lisle settlers.

Originally called "The View," the facility was renovated and renamed Wheatstack when operations failed to provide sufficient annual income to pay the annual bond payment. The District issued alternative revenue bonds in 2002. Unable to make payments from the operations revenue, the District used funds from the debt service fund in some years - a fund that obtains revenue from property taxes.

Lisle Watchdog was unable to find any plan to repay the debt service fund the money used to pay the River Bend bonds.

In 2010, the District refunded the 2002 River Bend bonds issuing $1.88M in Refunding Park Bond, Alternative Revenue Source in Nov 2010.  At the end of 2014, the remaining principal debt total was $1.255M. The 2014 annual bond payment was subsidized with a transfer from the Recreation Fund because River Bend income was still not enough to make the annual bond payment.

River Bend Bond Payments Remaining: 

  2015  $ 206,100

  2016  $ 206,300

  2017  $ 206,350

  2018  $ 210,400 

  2019  $ 208,200

  2020  $ 210,800 

  2021  $ 208,000

The Lisle Park District continues to operate the restaurant themselves rather than lease it out or contract out the operations. Restaurant part-employees who work 20 hours or more per week can participate in the IMRF pension plan. Where else can a waiter/waitress get a pension?

This past year, the Lisle Park District installed a large concrete pad (impervious surface) for a large outdoor event tent hoping to attract seasonal weddings and similar catered events. The new concrete pad/tent are located on property that is now designated "floodplain" on the new preliminary flood maps.  Wedding in the floodplain, anyone? We didn't think so.

Because the District lumps the golf and restaurant operations together in their annual financial reports, it is not readily apparent if the improvements in net income the past 2 years are due to increases in user fees for golf, the restaurant or both.

** Worth noting - Don Cook has been President of the Lisle Park District Board since 2001. 

Here's a look at the River Bend Golf Fund performance since 1996:

(click to enlarge) 

Annual River Bend Fund Losses since 1996:

(click to enlarge)

Year	Net Income
1996	-$349,128
1997	-$123,648
1998	-$180,163
1999	-$169,757
2000	-$192,681
2001	-$203,118
2002(B)	-$64,806
2003 (*)	-$228,789
2004	-$277,018
2005	-$429,026
2006	-$447,047
2007	-$257,436
2008	-$253,033
2009	-$112,138
2010(BB)	-$295,548
2011(**)	-$286,517
2012	-$10,304
2013	$46,878
2014	$53,912

(B) Alternative Revenue Bonds Issued
(*) The View Restaurant opens.
(BB) Refunding Alt Revenue Bonds
(**) Wheatstack opens.


Would allowing the golf course property to be a natural stormwater management area be a better public benefit to flood-prone Lisle? 

Ref: 
2005 Lisle Park District CAFR
2014 Lisle Park Distrirt CAFR 

What are we going to do about this?

DuPage County Questions Conflict of Interest in Lisle

July 2013, the DuPage County Board appointed Tom Althoff (formerly associated with the Lisle Chamber of Commerce) to the Lisle-Woodridge Fire District (LWFD) Board of Trustees. LWFD is the largest fire district in DuPage County with an appointed, rather than elected, board. The LWFD appointed position pays a total of $4950 per the LWFD compensation disclosure. 

Althoff's appointment to the LWFD Board was one of several by the County after a scathing report by Crowe Horwath issued in May 2012.  The entire LWFD Board has been replaced since 2012. 

In December 2014, Althoff represented the LWFD on the Lisle TIF Joint Review Board.

TIF Joint review boards consist of one representative from each of the taxing bodies impacted by a TIF.  Lisle Woodridge Fire Station #1 is located in the new Downtown Lisle TIF District. The Village of Lisle would like to see that site redeveloped and the fire station demolished to make room for retail, restaurants and entertainment businesses. 

Back to the Crowe Horwath report.... 

LWFD has no money to demolish and build a new fire station to accommodate the desires of Mayor Broda. The LWFD has an underfunded pension plan, has seen their credit rating lowered and has yet to implement the Crowe Horwath recommendation to develop a long-range financial plan. 

Althoff voted in favor of the Downtown TIF in January 2015. The Downtown Lisle TIF includes LWFD #1. The TIF declares LWFD Station #1 "blighted" as defined in State Statutes governing TIF Districts.  

In May 2015, Althoff was appointed to the Lisle Economic Development Commission. 

According the Village Code, the purpose of the EDC is: 

"There is hereby established a commission which shall be known as the village of Lisle economic development commission for the purpose of encouraging industrial development, commercial business, retail and other supporting services which will provide job opportunities, broaden the tax base, and improve the quality of living in the village. The economic development commission (commission) shall develop a plan for proper economic development of the village and shall coordinate its activities with appropriate local and regional organizations. Said commission shall make its findings and recommendations to the president and board of trustees in the manner prescribed herein."  - Village Code 2-12-1

All of this finally caught the attention of Lisle's District 2 DuPage County Board representative Liz Chaplin, who questioned Althoff's conflict of interest and asked Mayor Broda and County Board Chairman Cronin: 

What are we going to do about this?   

           - July 7, 2015, District 2 County Board Member Liz Chaplin.

Email to Mayor Broda and County Board Chairman Cronin from Dist 2 County Board Member Liz Chaplin, July 7, 2015. (Click to enlarge).

Tom Althoff - appointed to LWFD & Lisle Economic Development Commission 

Elizabeth Chaplin, elected DuPage County Board, District 2 (includes Lisle) 


Mayor Broda did not respond to County Board Member Chaplin as of July 17, 2015 per FOIA response from the Village of Lisle. Sources tell Lisle Watchdog that County legal is investigating the conflict of interest concern.

Read more: http://keepingagreeneyeonlisle.blogspot.com/2014/10/alarm-sounds-lisle-woodridge-fire.html

Property Tax Burden Shifts to Residential Owners in Lisle

The property tax burden in the Village of Lisle has shifted significantly since 2001 when Joe Broda was first elected Mayor.

Back in 2001, residential property owners carried 51% of the total property tax burden and commercial and industrial property owners carried 49% of the tax burden. 

In 2013, residential property owners carried 62% of the total property tax burden in the Village while commercial and industrial property owners only carried 38% of the tax burden. 

This overall 22% shift in the property tax burden to residential property owners is due to both a reduction in the total assessed valuation for commercial and industrial property and an increase in the total assessed valuation of residential property in the Village.

Sadly, under Mayor Broda (now in his 4th term of office), the Village of Lisle has been focused development of new residential. The commercial and industrial tax base has eroded leaving the residents to pick up the slack and pay more and more tax. 

• 2001 Commercial + Industrial EAV  = $ 373.5 Million
• 2013 Commercial + Industrial EAV  = $ 350.0 Million  (6% reduction)

• 2001 Residential EAV = $ 392.7 Million 
• 2013 Residential EAV = $ 566.0 Million (44% increase)

(click image to enlarge)

Lisle's 1st TIF District Continues to Decline in Value

In December 2010, the Village of Lisle Board of Trustees approved the single-parcel 2600 Warrenville TIF District and a Redevelopment Plan for Navistar's renovation of the 88-acre multi-building 1.2 million square feet office campus formerly owned by Alcatel Lucent.

The property purchase price in 2010 was $33 Million.

The most recent assessed value has not come close to the $188.5 Million that Mayor Broda presented at his State of the Village address in 2013.

The TIF Redevelopment Plan identified a $130 Million investment.
        $110 Million in private investment
          $20 Million in publicly funded investment from the TIF.

The 2014 Fair Market Value, per the County Assessor is $115 Million; $15 Million less than the reported total investment. (Ref: 2012 TIF Report filed with the IL Comptroller)


History of the declining taxable value:

The project area has only seen a $2 Million increase in EAV as a result of a $20 Million TIF Redevelopment Agreement. (EAV is 1/3 of the fair market value)

The TIF has failed to spur development in the surrounding area and surrounding property values have fallen significantly since the completion of the redevelopment - most notably the decline in assessed value of the nearby hotels and office buildings.
(click image to enlarge)

Ref: PIN 08-04-100-022

                                                           Ref: PIN 08-04-101-015 

Ref: PIN 08-04-101-012

DuPage County Property Lookup:  https://www.dupageco.org/PropertyInfo/PropertyLookUp.aspx

Lisle: Employee Total Compensation Not Disclosed.

Not Complying with State Law

Under Illinois Law, governmental bodies are required to post online the "Total Compensation" of employees with a "total compensation package" exceeding $75,000/year. In addition, the law requires that for total compensation packages equal to or in excess of $150,000, the employer must post the total compensation package for those employees within 6 days before that employee’s total compensation package is approved by the employer. The law was designed to detect "pension spiking."

The Village of Lisle posts a "compensation report," but fails to post "total" compensation as per State Law. The Village fails to report: vehicle allowance, additional deferred compensation, and health insurance.

Let's take a look at the FY 2014-2015 "Total Compensation" vs. the "compensation" reported and posted for Village Manager Jerry Sprecher.

Here is what the Village of Lisle Reports as his 2014-2015 Compensation: Budgeted Salary $157,502.
(click to enlarge) 

Here is the actual 2014-2015 "Total Compensation Package" that should be reported:

$ 157,502       Salary
       3,150       2% Deferred Compensation Paid by Employer, per contract.
       2,908       Car for business and personal use. (1)                    
     18,666       Employer Paid Health Insurance
          162       Employer Paid Vision Insurance
       1,083       Employer Paid Dental Insurance
     21,570       Employer Paid IMRF Contributions (2)
$ 205,041       Total Compensation Package.


In addition, Sprecher gets nearly 9 weeks of paid time off - ANNUALLY!!!
Unused time is accrued and paid out.... eventually.
Pension-padders like to accrue this time for end of career pension spikes.

208 hours     Vacation
104 hours     Sick Leave
  40 hours     Incidental Illness
  64 hours     8 paid holidays
416 hours     52 days Paid Time Off (paid out if not used)


Link to an example of properly reported "Total Compensation":  LINK 

Lisle Village Manager Jerry Sprecher at the 2014 Lisle Chamber Dinner-Dance Gala

Tickets paid for by Lisle Taxpayers. (facebook, fair use) 

Supporting Documents 

1. Vehicle Use. 

Report shows an average of 80 miles per week for business use. 
Exactly 50% for personal use/50% for business use. 
Exactly 50%. Really? 

No logs were provided in FOIA response. 

2. IMRF Contributions. Employer contributions. The Village of Lisle contributes $21,570 per year to Sprecher's pension. Note that the 2014-15 wages do not match the State mandated disclosure that was posted online (see above). There is a discrepancy of nearly $6,000.