No $1M 'Gas Post Pounder' In Elmhurst

ELMHURST, IL – Deep inside Elmhurst's proposed budget for next year is an item that is increasing by nearly $1 million.

The justification for the hike: It includes the purchase of a new "gas post pounder."

That caught Alderman Jacob Hill's attention at Monday's City Council meeting.

"Maybe you can just tell me what that is. Does it drill to the center of the Earth?" he jokingly asked city officials.

Elmhurst's public works director, Stan Balicki, quipped, "You've heard about the $5,000 toilets on the airplanes in the military."

Seriously, Balicki said the $1 million increase was not for the gas post pounder, which drives posts into the ground. Such a tool costs a few thousand dollars at most.

It appears the city used the copy-and-paste function, transferring the justification for the "small tools" line item to the much more expensive "roadway improvements" item, which is just below small tools.

Hill joked that he was a little disappointed the city wouldn't spend $1 million for a gas post pounder.

"But we can't afford two of them, Jacob," Mayor Scott Levin said.

Hill asked the administration to provide a corrected sheet, adding, "If we do purchase the gas post pounder, I'd like to try it out."

It was a moment of levity during an otherwise dry two-hour budget meeting.