Baldermann Gives Gettysburg Address Type Speech

NEW LENOX, IL - As far as we know, Tim Baldermann does not plan to use his position as New Lenox mayor as a stepping stone to become the next president of the United States from Illinois. However, at last week's village board meeting, Baldermann gave unprepared remarks reminiscent of President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 speech known as the Gettysburg Address. Of course, Baldermann's address was different.

He was warning the community of New Lenox and fellow members of the village board about the ramifications of allowing the New Lenox Fire Protection District to fail.

On March 2o, the voters of New Lenox Fire District voted down a measure to increase their property taxes. The money was intended to provide the fire district with sufficient revenue to keep all four New Lenox fire stations staffed 24/7 and fund several new fire trucks and ambulances that the district maintains that it needs to purchase to replace its older fleet of vehicles.

Within days of the bond referendum's failure, the New Lenox fire district closed Station 2 on Cedar Road and laid off eight people to cut expenses. At the mayor's suggestion, the village board plans to vote on April 23 whether to approve a no-interest loan of $450,000. That money would allow the fire district to reopen Station 2 and bring back the displaced staff. Baldermann said the $450,000 loan would get the fire district through the rest of the 2018 calendar year.

"If and when a referendum passes, that money would be paid back to us incrementally over nine years at $50,000 a year. The reason there would be no interest is because the taxpayers fund the fire protection district," Baldermann remarked at the April 9 village board meeting.

Baldermann expects the fire district will try again, at the November general election, to pass another referendum seeking a tax increase.

Baldermann's passionate, unprepared address began shortly before the 6-minute mark of the April 9 board meeting and lasted 18 minutes. Aside from some minor edits, here's what the mayor had to say:

"I think we've all come to realize over the years, even though we've tried to explain it, over and over, that a lot of people don't quite understand how their local government functions. Here in New Lenox, we have separate governmental bodies, taxing bodies. When people call us and ask why don't you open the library on Sunday, we don't have anything to do with the library on Sunday, the library makes that determination.

"People ask why don't you have all-day kindergarten in the schools. We don't have anything to do with the schools. The school board makes that decision. When people are upset about what happened at Lincoln-Way, that has nothing to do with the village. We don't have anything to do with the decisions that are made at the high school district. So on and so forth. And that includes our fire protection district.

"Our local fire protection district services roughly 50,000 people. We have 27,000 people that live in the village, which means that about 45 percent of the people that are serviced by the fire protection district do not reside in the village limits. So, we do not have control over fire department finances or decisions that are made. Personally, I think they do an outstanding job. We're proud of the fire department and the work that they do, but when people say, 'Well, why don't you sell Santa Claus to fund the fire department?' First all, the fire department referendum, I think, would have brought in about $2.4 million dollars annually.

"Santa Claus, contrary to what people would like to believe, did not cost us $2.4 million dollars. But, that being said, even though we may not have jurisdiction over schools and park district and fire and whatnot, we have an obligation as a village board to make sure that our residences and our businesses are taken care of. And that includes the service that our fire protection district provides.

"So, in this particular case, we have a closed fire station on the north end of town. From a public safety standpoint, that's very alarming. Very alarming. I will speak for myself as mayor but I know I can for the entire board, that's very alarming to us. And even if you don't live in the village of New Lenox, we still care about you. We still care about your safety. And so when the fire department had to make the difficult decision to close that house due to finances and they can be responsible for explaining that situation.

"... there were a number of people who reached out for me, and I'm sure, other members of this board, some of whom said, 'Hey, mayor, I voted no, but I had no idea they were going to close the station. Had I known they were going to close the station, I would have voted yes.'

"Well, in defense of the fire department, when you are running a referendum and you work for that entity, you are restricted on what you can and cannot do, and quite frankly, all you're allowed to do are present facts ... so they don't have the lawful right to go out to the community and make what some might perceive are threats in order to get a referendum passed ... So there are a lot of people who might have buyer's remorse on this. Now, well, you can say, that's the Democratic process and that's the way it goes. And we greatly respect the Democratic process. However, again, speaking for myself, people complain, and rightfully so, that elected officials don't make tough choices. That they do what's politically expedient for them and for their careers.

"I have never wanted to live by that, that thinking, and I am confident that I can speak for the people that I serve with that they feel the same way. We have obligations as leaders in this community to take action. It's easy to be inactive. It's easy sit back and say, 'Well, can't help you. It's not our problem, it's your district, not our problem. I don't operate that way and I'm proud to say that I haven't seen the board members I serve with operate that way.

"When controversy comes up, it's easy as an elected official to hide in the shadows. And just let it pass, and pass the buck. I will tell you that in this particular case, even though there are some that are upset by me bringing this to the board for consideration, I will err on the side of public safety every time.

"Now, there have been other failed referendums in this community that dealt with parks or schools, referendums that I thought were valuable, ones that I thought would have been good for our community, but they did not involve matters of life and death. On a secondary point ... we are responsible as a board to promote our community, to develop our community, to make sure that people want to come here, live here, open businesses here, when you start hearing about shuttered fire stations, that makes that job that much more difficult. So there are a number of factors that go into a decision like this.

"Every single one of us will tell you that we are sick of the property taxes here in Illinois. It's not just here in New Lenox. It's throughout the state. We are a property-tax driven state. It's horrible. It's deplorable what's happened in Springfield for decades to get us to this point ... I know where I came from, I came from the South Side, kept moving south, through Cook County until I landed here in New Lenox in 1994. And I came out here with my young family because I wanted them to attend good schools in a safe community, that was affordable."

"If schools and safety and services were not important to me, I would have stayed where I was. And many people in this town, I know, were in the same boat ... So, when you live in a growing community like ours, the fastest growing community in Will County, you have to pay for these services. And we know it's tough. None of us like paying more for our property tax bills. None of us do. None of us like paying more for water and sewer. But, what's going to end up happening if we don't take care of our community is we're going to end up being known as penny wise and pound foolish. Because you're going to save a hundred dollars or two hundred dollars on your property tax bill, your going to save one hundred dollars or two hundred dollars on your water and sewer bill, but your home value is going to be about $40,000 less because nobody's going to come want to live here.

"Our obligation is not just to do what's popular today, so we can get re-elected. Our obligation is to look and see how can we set the table for the future of our community. That's important to all of us who live here now and it's going to be important to our home values in the future, to our safeties of our community in the future and to those that come after us.

"It's important that we have that legacy ... This town will be around a lot longer than any of us. There's no question. So, I have no problem with somebody who disagrees with the concept of trying to assist the fire department on this. I get it. If you completely understand how taxes work, how services are funded, and you have a fundamental disagreement with this proposal, I respect that. I do. I don't take issue with that.

"But, as long as I am the mayor of this community, my focus is going to be on what's best for our entire community. And if that should cost me votes in the future, as I have said on other occasions before, quite frankly, that doesn't concern me. I will do what's right as long as I'm here. Because if I'm not going to do what's right, then what is the point of me being here? And that goes for everyone that sits up here ... We will always try and do what's best for the people that we serve but I can sure you ... that the minute that I would consider making decisions based solely on who's going to vote for me the next election, I will quit the next day. I will not serve that way. So, people can agree or disagree with the fire department's need for funding, that's a battle to be won in the upcoming months, won or lost, but personally speaking, I'm bringing this proposal before the board tonight because I don't think we can sit on our hands for an issue that is that important.

"Now, I did talk with the fire department. I have talked the president, I have talked with the chief, I have talked to other members, I have asked questions, I've asked about finances, questions about the need that they have asked for ... because if the village is going to extend a helping hand, we need to have done our homework as well. And I'm confident that the move I'm asking this board to take ... to vote on in two weeks, is the right move for our community. Or else I wouldn't have brought it to you."

"Now, I was asked by the press today or else I wouldn't have brought it up, within five days of that station closing, we had two house fires, unfortunately, a fatality from one, and another very, very, serious injury in another, with minor injuries to a third. I don't want to politicize tragedy. And had the station been opened, I don't know if it would have made a difference or not. But I'm not willing to gamble when it comes to people's lives. Personally speaking, and I will politically live and die with that philosophy."

The mayor ended his speech by saying, "I personally will be involved in the next few months .... hopefully we have a successful conclusion in November. But if we do not, this village, in my opinion, cannot continue to extend this type of assistance to keep this open. We can't. Because it does not serve one hundred percent of our residents. We cannot be on the hook for subsidizing an agency that fifty percent or forty-five percent of the people are not our taxpayers. The funding from this would come from the property tax rebate. So there's no services that will be lost by us. We'll still be able to continue all of our services, our budget is the same as far as that goes ... but it would be a one time take from there ...

"In this particular case, I don't feel comfortable going beyond this and the only reason I feel comfortable proposing this is because we did have so many people who felt like that they did not know the severity of the consequences of this and it was a primary election with lower people turnout, we'll have more people in November. Agree with me, disagree with me, that's why we live in the greatest country in the world, I'm OK with that, but you at least need to know what the facts are."

Main image via John Ferak/New Lenox Patch Editor