Mayor: Finances, City Management Improved in Park Ridge

Park Ridge Mayor David Schmidt gave his annual state of the city address before a city council meeting on Monday. Schmidt said unlike the previous three years, there were reasons to be optimistic about Park Ridge’s financial health and the ability of the city to provide services.

“The financial condition of Park Ridge is the best it has been in for many years,” Schmidt said. “After several years of multi-million dollar deficits, the city council is on the verge of passing a budget which is forecast to result in the fourth consecutive surplus in the city’s general fund, its operating fund. These surpluses have brought the city back from the edge of a fiscal precipice that had threatened to wipe out the general fund.”

Schmidt said the City of Park Ridge was now in a better position to withstand the burden of the debt created by the Uptown tax increment financing district, or TIF.

“Since my last state of the city address, the city’s auditors confirmed that we generated a surplus of approximately $1.5 million in the 2012 fiscal year,” Schmidt said. “The latest projections show that the General Fund will generate another $1.1 million surplus in the current fiscal year which ends on April 30, 2013.”

Schmidt said changes in city management including the city manager position improved its ability to serve residents.

“For too long, senior management remained insulated and unwilling to accept new methods which would help reign in uncontrolled spending and improve poor customer service in certain departments, most notably the Community Preservation and Development Department charged with facilitating building permits, business licenses and zoning requests,” Schmidt said. “Many other important matters were being neglected, most notably economic development and the collection of funds owed to the city.”

Schmidt said the failings of senior management prompted him to ask city council to confirm his appointment of Shawn Hamilton as acting city manager in July 2012.

“The skills [Hamilton] has brought to the job have already drawn praise from the elected officials, the business community and the people who work under him,” Schmidt said.

Click on the PDF posted with this story to read Schmidt’s entire state of the city address.