'Disingenuous': Elmhurst Debates 'Nice-To-Have' Trolley

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst alderwoman suggested Tuesday that some of her colleagues may have been "disingenuous" in their attempt to cut the trolley program.

The proposed reduction was about $9,000, small in comparison to a long-term multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, Alderwoman Noel Talluto said at a City Council meeting.

She was responding to a proposal to eliminate the trolley during the holidays, but keep it during the summer.

"I think this much time talking about a $9,000 savings is either disingenuous because it's an excuse for people that don't like the trolley program or it's fruitless because it does nothing to solve the problem," said Talluto, who heads the council's finance committee.

But Alderman Mike Baker said the proposed cut was made in good faith.

"I know it's not millions of dollars, but we do have to be lean and mean wherever we can," he said.

Alderman Michael Bram agreed.

"I think it's disingenuous to make any assumptions on what one alderman is doing and for what reason," Bram said.

The way to solve the budget crisis, he said, was one pot at a time.

He noted that the council was considering delaying long-planned stormwater projects. But at the same time, he said, aldermen were willing to go "full bore" with the trolley, which he called a "nice-to-have" program.

"It's about sending a message. It's sending a message to our constituency that we're willing to do what we need to do to balance the budget," Bram said.

Already, a council committee had recommended reducing the hours for both the summer and holiday trolleys, saving $7,300.

But Bram and a few others wanted to cut the holiday trolley altogether because of low usage. Some also noted that a city survey showed the majority of Elmhurst residents don't use the trolley.

The city launched the trolley more than a decade ago to promote the city's central areas to visitors and residents alike.

The council voted 10-4 to keep the holiday trolley, with Bram, Baker, Rex Irby and Dan Virgil dissenting. The council majority went with the committee's recommendation for this year's trolley, wth the $7,300 in cuts.

After the vote, Mayor Scott Levin spoke up in favor of keeping the holiday trolley, saying that everything is not dollars and cents.

"Not everyone in town uses every service. We have a multitude of services and things that we do for the public that some people use and some people don't. It's the nice-to-have that makes Elmhurst Elmhurst. And if we eliminate all those, it won't be Elmhurst," the mayor said. "That's why people want to come here to shop, to live, to go to school."