If you have ever attended a city council meeting, you know the public has the right to address it's city leaders. This Rockford citizen says it all and is ignored.

Rockford Citizen Nancy Gdowski recently took the time to address the Rockford City Council to address the concerns she has about the City of Rockford in front of Mayor Morrissey and the city council.

Gdowski points out:

  • Rockford's $5 million dollar budget shortfall
  • Rockford ranks in the Top 5, nationwide, for highest property taxes
  • The city's sneaky way of shifting of street sweeping costs from property taxes into garbage fees (while still retaining the amount in the property taxes)
  • The 1% infrastructure sales tax the citizens voted for for road repairs have been diverted for other uses including a 36% pay hike for Mayor Morrissey
  • the $10 million dollars wasted on the bridge to nowhere
  • The City Council took away street lights, leading to much higher crime
  • The Mayor and city council made city loans to politically connected individuals

She makes a lot of sense, and now Mayor Morrissey wants to raise property taxes, again, and raise utility taxes.

Ironically shortly after Gdowski made her remarks to the Mayor Morrissey and the Rockford City Council the Mayor, in an open letter to the Editor of the Rockford Register Star defended his positions on many of the points Gdowski brought forward.

It is a shame that the mayor did not respond to Gdowski's comments at the January 9th meeting. It is quite a common practice for city officials to not respond or acknowledge citizens who come forward.

We applaud Ms Gdowski for her thought and her willingness to tell it like it is. We wish Mayor Morrissey had the guts to do the same.

You can watch the full video HERE.

For those who would like to have your say in front of the city council keep in mind the Rockford City Council meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 5:30 p.m., unless the Monday falls on a holiday (in which case the meeting generally falls on Tuesday). Meetings are held in the City Council Chambers located on the 2nd floor of City Hall, 425 East State Street.

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