Commissioner Fischer

Recently, a commenter on Facebook responding to a City Council meeting agenda that I had posted asked for a status update on some ongoing projects.  Instead of struggling with Facebook's posting format I decided to dust off the blog here and add a little background commentary.   Disclaimer up front, any opinions expressed here are wholly my own, and not official statements or positions of the City Council or the City of Zion. Here we go. Where is the Popeye's?   At last report, the Popeye's is still on track to open, but exactly when is totally in the hands of the franchise owner.  The City for it's part, has completed everything that needs to be done on our end.   Here I think an important lesson learned has been learned; don't make a public announcement of a new business or other project until either construction starts, or there is a grand opening scheduled.  The natural inclination is to share good news, to show that there is progress and...

At this evening's meeting of the Zion City Council, there was a discussion regarding the possible prohibition of sales of recreational cannabis.  The following is the text of my statement on the subject, as written. The most frequent request I have received from homeowners has been to find a way to lower their taxes. To that end, I have consistently advocated every effort to obtain; alternative revenue, grants, matching funds, and nuclear storage compensation. I have also been a strong proponent for economic development through the establishment of TIF districts and an Enterprise Zone. All of these efforts have the primary objective of restoring balance to the city’s finances, reducing the city’s portion of the tax levy, and ultimately to provide direct tax relief to homeowners. I believe that all members of this Council share this goal. The city budget ideally is a balance between operational costs and available revenue. As stewards of the public trust we are regularly implore...