WICKER PARK — Citing a lack of details and time, an idea to use $100,000 of surplus tax money collected from Wicker Park/Bucktown's commercial districts to hire private security patrols was tabled by a panel Wednesday.
The unanimous decision was made by six volunteer commissioners who oversee the money collected in the Special Service Area district, which levies a special tax on property owners for communal services such as snow removal, landscaping, sidewalk cleaning and graffiti removal.
The plan to hire security, which Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) had announced via a news release Tuesday, had taken the group by surprise.
"It was somewhat disappointing to hear about this [through] a preemptive press release prior to the meeting," David Ginople, a volunteer commissioner, told Hopkins during the meeting.
Hopkins apologized to Ginople and said, "Ideally, we could have had these discussions without our friends in the media." But, he added, the idea had already been "out there" floating around in community groups and it could "not have been kept under cover for too long."
The $100,000 that Hopkins and Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) were seeking to use to hire private security firms would have been taken from an approximately $190,000 in surplus money that was unused from 2015.
The surplus money from 2015 will be carried over to a 2016 amended budget, the panel decided at a special budget meeting to vote on the amended Taxpayer District No. 33's 2016 budget at the group's office at 1414 N. Ashland Ave.
After the meeting, Brent Norsman, chairman of the Special Service Area Taxpayer District No. 33, said he couldn't comment on the security idea that was presented. However, Norsman said it is not unusual for money to be carried over and allocated to programs waiting to be implemented, such as permanent art installations.
"We are always open to having a conversation about effective programs but the SSA cannot appropriate funds to any idea without a proposal or plan. We can't commit to an idea," Norsman said.
Hopkins had wanted to see the group add two line items to their proposed 2017 budget that could have a nominal amount on them, perhaps $1,000, to be amended later — one for "security force enhancement" and the other to assist business owners buying surveillance cameras.
The group ultimately decided not to add the line items to the 2017 budget without further details, a decision that Hopkins said he understood.
"I think it's appropriate to find some more time to study this idea. We were up against a deadline of Friday [when the SSA's amended 2016 budget and proposed 2017 budget needs to get approved] and for me to come at the eleventh hour, I understand, [the rejection] was an acceptable outcome. If they do decide to support this idea, there is money there [to do it]."
Hopkins added, "It is to their credit that they have an available surplus; they are good money managers."
Michael Taus, owner of Taus Authentic, a restaurant at 1846 W. Division St., said while he would like to see more police on the street, particularly bike cops, he agreed with the decision to table the topic for now.
"They are right. This needs to be digested. It happened too quickly," Taus said.
David Stearns, a business owner along Milwaukee Avenue, in the heart of Wicker Park's bar and entertainment district, came to the meeting Wednesday as both a supporter of the Special Service Area district members' work and of the Chicago Police, he said.
"It went well. It was a rational and intelligent discussion. Whatever the [Special Service Area] does, it has to be reflective of their constituents," Stearns said.
The taxpayer district's proposed 2016 budget of just over $1 million is overseen by the six volunteer commissioners, the SSA, which brands itself as WPB for "Wicker Park Bucktown."
The boundaries of the district where the private patrols could be used include several main streets such as Damen, North and Ashland avenues as well as Division Street.
Taxpayer Special Service Area No. 33 is one of 53 active improvement districts in Chicago. Citing an East Lakeview taxing district that spends about $300,000 of its budget on safety programs, Hopkins had suggested that the surplus be allocated for security patrols in the Wicker Park and Bucktown business districts.
Moreno was not at Wednesday's budget meeting but had said Tuesday that he supported Hopkins' idea.
"We need every possible resource in our neighborhoods to commit to stopping crime. It can't rest on the police alone. We have money in the SSA in Wicker Park, let's use it for the security of our residents," Moreno said Tuesday.
Recently, the Shakespeare District saw its long-running "Wicker Park Detail" of eight late-night officers disbanded, so those officers can respond to crime issues in the entire district and not just the neighborhood's bar and entertainment areas.
After the meeting, a spokeswoman said that while the amended 2016 budget was approved Wednesday, the proposed 2017 budget approval has been pushed back, "pending additional information on possible security plans from [Hopkins]."
"The carry-over funds are included in the amended 2016 budget. All of the carry-over has been allocated and will be used this calendar year," the spokeswoman said.
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