Burns Pays Tribute to City Staff During Swearing-in Ceremony at City Hall

Mike Bruno joins a veteran City Council as Mayor Kevin Burns takes the oath of office for the fourth time—becoming the longest-serving mayor in Geneva history.

As he took the oath of office Monday night at City Hall, Kevin Burns made history as the longest-serving mayor of Geneva. Burns began his fourth term with a four-minute speech that thanked his supporters but also centered on his deep appreciation for the work of the 142 staff members of the city of Geneva. "These men and women, particularly the leaders in the city of Geneva whom you just reappointed, and their entire teams in every department are consummate professionals whose chosen careers are rooted in the very best of public service," Burns said. "As elected officials, we chip, carve and cut consensus out of stone. That stone has veins of differing opinions, passions, visions and concerns, and one false strike risks causing a pile of …

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McQuillan Gets Bristly at Budget Hearing

The former mayoral candidate objects to the city's budget like a prosecuting attorney during a public hearing Monday night.

Bob McQuillan, who on Tuesday lost an election for mayor, came on like a prosecuting attorney at Monday night's city budget hearing, cross-examining the staff and council members over details of an $85 million budget. McQuillan first asked how the city could call its budget balanced when it showed revenues of $79.6 million and expenditures of $83.7 million. But city officials said the numbers McQuillan was referring to were incorrect—an early version of the budget presented for about a week on the city's website until it was replaced with a corrected version. Assistant City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said the corrected document was published on the city's website for about 15 days prior to the public hearing,  "Who realized there was …

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Sandra Ellis

5:38 pm on Sunday, April 21, 2013

What makes you sad then, John?   more ›

Election 2013: Michael (Mike) Bruno — 'A Voice Experienced in Historic Preservation'

"I have lived 30 adult years in the 1st Ward." Michael (Mike) Bruno says. He faces off against Zachary Ploppert in the April 9, 2013, race for Geneva 1st Ward alderman.

MICHAEL (MIKE) BRUNO — GENEVA 1ST WARD ALDERMAN CANDIDATE Name: Michael (Mike) Bruno Position Sought: Alderperson – Geneva’s 1st Ward Campaign Contact Information Home Address: 522 Fulton Street, Geneva, IL Family Members Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Engineering College), 1987, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Current Occupation and Employer: Owner of technology consulting firm, 1st Layers Consulting Corp. Political Party Affiliation: Independent Why are you seeking office? I have been serving the city and working with staff for some years now and wishto extend that level of service. After years of friends saying that I should run for office, it seems that now is the time to make that commitment. What will …

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Rick Nagel

9:56 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Just a reminder that, for this election-related article, comments have to be signed with a full name. That can be either the username or simply adding it to the end of the comment, like this: Rick Nagel.   more ›

Geneva Resident Asks for a Fairer Way to Charge for Sewer Service

A Fourth Street resident says his sewage bill increased in 2012 by almost $600 for water that went into the ground and not into Geneva's sewer system.

It's February and still a long way from summer watering season, but one Geneva resident is questioning why the city of Geneva charges a sewer fee for water that goes into the ground. That's an issue city officials have been grappling with for some time and hope will be resolved via a new billing system scheduled to go on line in May. Sewer bills generally are based on the amount of water a resident uses, as measured by a meter. The idea is that the amount of water a resident or business uses is the same as the amount that goes into the sewer system.  But John Rittenhouse, a resident of Fourth Street, says that's not fair or accurate. Last spring, Rittenhouse and his wife invested in a new sprinkling system and found to his dismay that his …

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Election 2013: Burns Vs. McQuillan; Ploppert Vs. Bruno for City Seats

Barring any petition challenges, the slates are set for city of Geneva Election 2013.

So, the candidate choices for city of Geneva elected positions played out without a bang or a whimper since filing began Dec. 17. The filing period officially concluded at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26, and since no last-second hats landed in the ring, the ballots are set—barring any petition challenges. For city offices, the boxing card looks like this: It's Kevin Burns versus Bob McQuillan for the office of Geneva mayor. And in the 1st Ward race, Zac Ploppert lines up against Mike Bruno. The whistle for the final deadline means that some folks who showed interest in running decided they weren't quite interested enough to make a go of it. Among those names was former 2nd Ward Alderman Bill Barclay  According to an article in the Kane County …

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Jeff Ward

A Tale of Two (Geneva) Candidates

Or better put, why I'm suddenly happy with Zac Ploppert and Bob McQuillan

Wow! I should’ve dared our young 1st Ward aldermanic candidate Zac Ploppert to give us a glimpse of his campaign platform ages ago. (And don’t worry Zac — despite the insistent internal goading — I generally don’t respond to me, either.) His most recent Dec. 10 Patch blog entry titled, The Issues as I See Them has to be one of the best political responses to a column challenge I’ve ever had the pleasure to peruse. For what can be said in a thousand-word piece, our aspiring city councilman was clear, concise and generally to the point. That doesn’t mean I agree with everything he said, but that’s not the point! Now, if we could only get the rest of those dais denizens to follow in his footsteps. I’m not sure if Zac and challenger Mike Bruno…

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Jack

1:45 am on Saturday, December 15, 2012

You meant, "...worth noting" I believe.   more ›

Jeff Ward: Despite Some Merchants' Protest, Bike Race Likely to Move Through Third Street

Some of the tactics used to try and scuttle the annual bike race, the City Council COW made the right call.

Please allow me to preface this piece by stipulating that members of the City Council Committee of the Whole did the right thing when they voted to bring the July 8 bike race back to Third Street on a Sunday. The citizens love it, it puts thousands of new eyes into our unique downtown businesses, and hosting an event with international Olympic-caliber athletes certainly doesn’t hurt our image. Unless something sinister happens, that 8-to-1 margin will most likely hold up when the full council makes its final decision tonight. Ah! But as always seems to be the case with Geneva, this no-brainer event couldn’t move forward without the appropriate dose of drama. I suppose Ian Anderson was right when he reminded us that “nothing is easy.” Yes! …

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Justin Eggar

11:01 pm on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I'm excited about the event - I haven't been ale to swing it in past years, but will do my best to make it this year. These little events bring some variety and spice to our lives... And we're lucky to have them (I'm including the wonderful events the Hamber puts together each year). I would like to encourage all of you to get behind this and have fun with it. If you're worried about your retail …   more ›

Here's the List of 2012 Street Improvements in Geneva

Are you ready for summer construction season? The City of Geneva has invested more than $2 million on 2012 road improvement projects.

They say there are really only two seasons in Illinois—winter and road construction. One of the pieces of information you'll want to have and keep track of this season is when and where road construction is happening here in Geneva. That's the roadwork that hits closest to home—sometimes on the street where you live. The Geneva City Council approved a $2.26 million 2012 street improvement plan Monday night that includes major work on 24 Geneva streets. The streets are listed in the chart below and on the PDF attached to this story. You can find additional information here on the city's website. (The story continues after the graphic.)   Dunstan First Ward Alderman Chuck Brown reminded residents who live on these streets that the …

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QuickStory: $73 Million Budget Flies Through City Council

With no comments at the public hearing, Geneva's $73 million 2012-13 budget wins unanimous approval.

Geneva's 2012-13 budget is up from a year ago, but not by much. The total expenditure for the 2012-13 budget, approved unanimously by the City Council on Monday night, is $73,275,060. The budgeted expenditure in 2011-12 was $72,927,321. City Administrator Mary McKittrick pointed out that the city only accounts for about 9 percent of your property tax bill. She also noted that a higher total budget expenditure does not necessarily translate to a higher tax payment to residents.  "The total number is up a little bit, but that includes 36 different budgets," McKittrick said. "If we collect more in revenues, we invest more in capital, that raises the bottom line." Highlights of the budget include some paying down of the debt, improvement of …

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Bob McQuillan

10:09 pm on Monday, April 16, 2012

At first glance, I would agree with Alderman Marks, it appears the city administrator and her staff have done a good job living within their means. The $61.3 million in debt is a little scary but yearly repayment $3.4 million is livable. I do agree that there should be no increase in debt. As long as the city has asked for an increase in their tax levy from last, you property taxes due on June 1…   more ›