The Differences Between Larry Ryles and David Schmidt

The Differences Between Larry Ryles and David Schmidt

[To download a copy of this press release, please visit:http://websites.networksolutions.com/share/scrapbook/71/716864/The_Diffe...  ]

April 8, 2013 – Today, Larry Ryles issued a statement summarizing some of the key differences between himself and David Schmidt as candidates for Mayor of Park Ridge.  

Difference #1:

I Will Lead City Council to Keep  Tax Levies Below the Forecasted Rate of Inflation, Just Like  Our School Districts (64 & 207) and our Park District”

Over the last four years, David Schmidt has voted for tax levy increases that are 55% higher than the rate of inflation:

As your Mayor, the maximum tax levies that I will discuss with our newly elected City Council are as follows.  The forecasted inflation rates are provided by the Federal Reserve.

Fiscal Year & Inflation Forecast

April 30, 2014 - 1.3% to 1.7%

April 30, 2015 - 1.5% to 2.0%

April 30, 2016 - 1.5% to 2.0%

April 30, 2017 - 2.0%

Difference #2:

I Will Be Responsible For All Four Years Of My Term As Mayor, Not Just Three Years Like David Schmidt”

I will accept responsibility for all of the fund balances in the Park Ridge financial statements for all four fiscal year beginning April 30, 2013 and ending April 30, 2017.

This is unlike David Schmidt who is trying to claim he was not responsible for city finances in his first year as Mayor.  

This is after he voted for the 2009-10 city budget as an Alderman, on April 20, 2009.  

- Schmidt’s claim is that a budget that he voted for as an Alderman is not really his when he takes off his “Alderman Hat” and puts on a “Mayor’s Hat”.

- By leaving off a full year during his reign, David Schmidt has tried to tell voters that the balance in the General Fund increased $2.5 million, but in reality it decreased $1.24 million from the fund balance on April 30, 2009. We don’t allow half-truths from our children, nor do we it allow it from our Mayor.

Difference #3:

I Will Personally Lead Our Effort In  Dealing With The O’Hare Expansion At All Levels.

A) I Will Not Issue Misleading Statements About O’Hare Expansion

In David Schmidt’s document, “State of the City Address – 2013” issued on Monday, March 4, 2013 he included two very misleading statements about O’Hare:

Misleading Statement #1:

In this document, he wrote, “After considerable resistance, the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission, which is made up of communities and other governmental bodies surrounding O’Hare, is considering joining our request to the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study.”

I personally talked to the ONCC Chairperson, Arlington Heights Mayor, Arlene Mulder and she told me that the ONCC had never, ever considered joining any request by Park Ridge or David Schmidt.  Besides, she told me, we are a “Noise” commission, not an “Environmental” commission. 

Misleading Statement #2:  

In this document, he wrote, “Rumors of an impending new runway aligned with Granville Avenue are completely untrue. As of now, plans to build such a runway are on hold because the airlines insist they do not need it and are unwilling to pay for it.”

i) First of all, the new runway called 27C/9C will run down Peterson Avenue in Park Ridge, just north of Dominick’s food store, not Granville Avenue by Mary Seat of Wisdom.  
David Schmidt cares so little about the effects of aircraft noise and pollution on Park Ridge residents, that in four years as Mayor, he never bothered to check where the future glide path for the future runway 27C/9C will be.
I did call to check and the Chicago Department of Aviation immediately sent me a photomap, showing the flight path follows Peterson Avenue, not Granville Avenue in Park Ridge.

ii) Secondly, there is no interruption of the joint plan by the City of Chicago and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to build a new runway that will put planes above Peterson Avenue.  Please check for yourself by visiting this current FAA webpage:

www.faa.gov/airports/airport_development/omp/FAQ/Runway_Utilization and

scroll down to Question 27  and read the  FAA’s response 
In fact, by 2020, just 6.5 years from now, when the new runway 27C/9C opens; 

- 45% Of All Flights At O’Hare, Year Round, Will Land Along Both Belle Plaine And Peterson Avenues In Park Ridge

B) I Will Chair Our Park Ridge O’Hare Airport Commission

I will personally chair our city’s “O’Hare Airport Commission” for my first year as mayor.  The important commission has been ignored by David Schmidt and left without direction.  I will fix that immediately and stop the cries of members on the current commission of being ignored by their own Mayor and Aldermen.

C) I Will Attend All O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission (ONCC) Meetings

I will personally serve as Park Ridge’s permanent representative to the ONCC.  We will stop the silly practice of assigning Aldermen to serve on the ONCC who don’t attend. I will personally attend all of the meetings as your new Mayor.

Since I filed my paperwork to run for Mayor on July 1, 2012, I have attended as many meetings of this commission as David Schmidt has since November 2010; two to be exact! 

I attended, along with David Schmidt, the March meeting of the ONCC on Friday, March 8, 2013.  He embarrassed all of Park Ridge, when he tried to use his usual bullying behavior with a room of 45 competent Mayors and School District Superintendents from villages, cities and school districts that surround O’Hare Airport. 

In return, they were quick to shout him down with cries of “Point of Order” and “This is a noise commission, not an environmental commission!”

As your newly elected Mayor, I plan to use my interpersonal skills within the ONCC to identify funding opportunities for more sound proofing of schools, apartments and homes within Park Ridge. 

As Command Sergeant Major of Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, for several years, I dealt with the Mayors of five nearby cities, the two Governors of Kentucky and Tennessee and the Representatives and Senators at both the state and federal level in both states.  

D) I Will Lead The Local, State and Federal Collaboration on O’Hare Expansion Effects

As your newly elected Mayor, I will invite a coalition of the following people to meet in City Council chambers to discuss how we can collectively delay future O’Hare expansion and/or obtain substantial financial investments to soundproof our schools, apartments and homes in Park Ridge.

I have both the temperament and the collaborative skills to bring together the following elected officials to deal with the plan for a new runway, 27C/9C that will land planes over residents from Lake Michigan in the east to Des Plaines in the west.

Federal - Congresswoman, Jan SchakowskyState

Senator Dan KotowskiState

Representative Marty Moylan

State – Representative Michael P. McAuliffe

City of Chicago – 39th Ward Alderman - Margaret Laurino

City of Chicago – 40th Ward Alderman - Patrick J. O'Connor

City of Chicago – 41st Ward Alderman - Mary O'Connor

City of Chicago – 45th Ward Alderman - John Arena

City of Chicago – 48th Ward Alderman - Harry Osterman

City of Chicago – 50th Ward Alderman - Debra Silverstein

Village of Lincolnwood – Mayor (TBD on April 9, 2013)

City of Des Plaines – Mayor TBD (TBD on April 9, 2013)

Together we will tackle the negative affects of the expansion of O’Hare airport on all of our residences, apartments and schools, in all of our communities.

Collectively we will bring the City of Chicago, the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Transportation to the table to discuss:

- Nighttime fly quiet programs

- Early phase out of airplanes with older and louder engines

- Opportunities to cancel any plan to build runway 27C/9C that lands over Peterson Avenue in Park Ridge.

Difference #4:

I Will Personally Lead our Economic Development Effort to Attract New Retailers to Park Ridge

David Schmidt continues to assume there is a cause and effect between the post recession growth in sales tax revenue in Park Ridge and something he has done.

All he has done, in reality, is attend a few ribbon-cutting events over the last four years, while actively supporting the most difficult new retailer approval process in the Midwest.

Don’t take just my word for it.  Park Ridge has been described by the senior management of Whole Foods Market as the most difficult city they have ever dealt with, within eight states in the Midwest.

Many of you have noticed that the future Whole Foods site at Touhy Avenue and Washington Avenue in Park Ridge was completely ready for construction on October 1, 2012.  

However,  the store will open six months later than itshould have because of the difficulty of our approval process for a new retailer.

I will personally take the lead in recruiting new retailers to Park Ridge.   I will:

1) Attend the Global Retail Real Estate Convention or “RECON” on May 19-22, 2013 in Las Vegas at my own expense.  I will spend several days introducing the many attractions of Park Ridge to many retail brands while explaining the strategic location of Park Ridge for the 5.2 million shoppers of Cook County, Illinois. 

2) Attend the “Chicagoland Retail Convention” at McCormick Place in Chicago on August 7, 2013 at my own expense.  I will spend the day greeting over 130 retail brands and explaining the benefits of locating a retail store in Park Ridge. 

3) Reconvene the Economic Development Task Force that Mayor Schmidt recently disbanded and ask the 22 dedicated, local residents on this Task Force to recommend ways to implement the recommendations they presented on January 15, 2013 after a solid year of research and analysis.  

4) Direct the members of the Economic Development Task Force to interview both local and national retail development and consulting firms and recommend the best firm to work closely with the City of Park Ridge in identifying the best environment to attract top quality retail brands that will be with us for decades.  

In addition, I will work closely with our consulting team throughout the entire retailer recruitment process to: 

- Acquire Park Ridge and Chicagoland market research information 

- Assemble of a list of targeted retailers to be recruited - Directly contact the targeted retailers 

- Directly contact the key people affiliated with the targeted retailers 

- Refine a pro-active and comprehensive approach to our future list of targeted retailers  

Also, I will lay out a comprehensive “Economic Development Plan” with three key areas of focus: 

1) To keep the business home 

2) To bring new business home 

3) To market our great city to our own residents and to residents of the surrounding cities 

Difference #5:
I Will Personally Lead Our Effort to Create aFinancing Plan for City Infrastructure and Flooding Investments

Over the last four years, David Schmidt has asked a citizen volunteer team to recommend a flood control project for Park Ridge.  But as this year’s election approached, he realized that he forgot to create a financing program for such a project.

As a result, he hurried to sell $5,415,000 of bonds at the rate of 2.30% in January, 2012 which immediately triggered a downgrade in the city’s bond rating by Moody’s from Aa2 From Aa1.

In their decision, Moody’s stated:

“Moody's Investors Service has downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1 the city of Park Ridge's (IL) general obligation unlimited tax debt and assigned a negative outlook. Concurrently, Moody's assigns a Aa2 rating and negative outlook to the city's $5.4 million General Obligation Bonds, Series 2012A and $2.1 million General Obligation Bonds, Taxable Series 2012B.

The Aa2 rating and negative outlook apply to $45.6 million of outstanding GO debt, including the current offering.
Secured by the city's general obligation unlimited tax pledge, the Series 2012A bonds will finance capital improvements to the city's sewer system as part of a larger capital improvement plan to reduce flooding.”

David Schmidt willingly triggered the first downgrade ever of the city’s bond rating, by selling bonds for some small sewer projects.

What he should have done is emulate the Village of Elmwood Park, just south of us, that applied for and received a $5.2 million grant from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for their sewer projects.  

As your mayor, here is what I plan to do to respond to flooding in Park Ridge neighborhoods.

1) I will immediately hire a grant writer to issue a number of proposals to local, county, state and federal government bodies to secure grant money for flooding projects.

2) I will immediately recruit Park Ridge residents who currently serve in their organizations as Chief Financial Officers, Chief Operating Officers and Chief Executive Officers, to create the “larger capital improvement plan to reduce flooding” that David Schmidt has ignored.  

The total capital plan is estimated to cost $27 - $30 million.  David Schmidt has borrowed $5 million to make it look like he is doing something, in an attempt to get re-elected.

(End of Posting)