November 13, 1996

I had actually planned today to have a very well-prepared presentation, and I hope that I'm able to get all of my points across.  However, it is clear that I was not able to to prepare this because of the fire in Uptown yesterday.  I did spend a great deal of time outside as did obviously many people from the Police and Fire Department, so before I being, I just want to say that I will look forward to and expect a great deal of whatever assistance or coordination of assistance that the City is able to give the hundreds or what I think is over a hundred small businesses that were affected yesterday.

I look forward to working with the Department of Planning who I understand has been asked to work with me.  But I do want to say that the efforts yesterday by both the Police and the Fire Department especially were actually quite exemplary.  The fire was very difficult, and it was very extensive and very tragic and impacted a lot of people. I would like to convey that statement, but in addition really emphasize the need for assistance to what is a group of almost a hundred very small businesses who have really done everything we say we want people to be able to do.  So now many of them are left without absolutely anything - and many not-for-profit organizations as well who service the people in many different ways.

Having said that, let me talk about the budget.  It is my feeling that arguably the single most important legislative responsibility that aldermen have is voting on the city budget each year.  Most likely, the most important set of activities for all of us here outside of legislative activities is the activity we engage in in our wards, and everyone wants to provide a visual display of accomplishments in their wards.  In the nine years since I've been alderman, there has always been a relationship between an alderman's vote on the budget and what they want for their ward.  It varies for each of us what part of that relationship hold more or less weight.