All eyes on the mayor's vision

Morton mayor Norm Durflinger sat quietly by himself on the right end of the presentation table about 20 minutes before he was to give his third state-of-the-village speech Thursday afternoon.

As his fellow Rotarians chatted among each other and ate lunch, Durflinger kept to himself -- he was about to give another speech that would tell of Morton progress and the future of the village.

Just days after publicly announcing he would re-run for mayor of Morton, Durflinger prepared to provide a bit more of his and village officals' plans.

He began with the current state of Morton, highlighting a few statistics about the town, including its low real estate and sales tax rates.

He praised previous mayors and leaders of Morton for creating a more affordable tax climate during their terms. As it stands, Morton's real estate tax rate is $6.43, which is $.94 cheaper than the second lowest rate in the area -- Brimfield; $7.37. Morton's sales tax rate is 6.75 percent, also the lowest in the area -- Bartonville; 7 percent.

"Why am I bringing this tax and expenditure information to your attention?" he asked. "Because I want you to know how good we have it compared to other communities in the area. But, some day the village is going to need additional revenue just to keep the services we now take for granted. And, with all of the inflation and state and federal mandates, the time may be sooner than you want."

Durflinger moved on to liquor licenses, something he addressed during last year's speech.

"In last year’s message I stated that I would be studying liquor sales in grocery stores," he said.

"After long consideration, I will be recommending in the near future that wine and beer be sold in grocery stores," he said. "I, also, will recommend allowing liquor stores to sell snack foods and recommend allowing wine and beer gardens for restaurants. But, smoking would not be allowed."

"I truly appreciate and respect the concerns of our ministers and some community members on the growing demise of our society through the abuse of alcohol, but I feel that I must move forward on this issue."

Then he said the village is considering developing legislation that allows for a restaurant tax. However, those taxes would only apply to businesses in the Interstate 74 corridor, not restaurants in town.

"This would let many of the people who drive by on (I-74) help pay for the things we need and want to make this community better, as recommended in the comprehensive plan, yet not increase the sales tax on everything we buy," Durflinger said. "The legislation would mandate that the proceeds could only be used for comprehensive plan recommendations."

"This would allow the restaurants outside the corridor not to have the tax. If you are on a fixed income, you will still have places to eat in town without the tax," he said. "If you are eating in Peoria, you are already paying an equivalent tax."

"I know this will be controversial -- any new tax is. Unlike many politicians, I never said that I would not increase taxes, especially if I felt that it is absolutely necessary to improve this village based on community input and recommendations," he added.

Durflinger later called on residents to stand behind Morton School District 709, financially and vocally, as it begins to study the needs of a new facility.

"If we are not competitive then our property values will go down," he said. "Parents want schools that have high test scores and ones that are new or look new."

"Look around -- almost every other community in the area have either built new schools in the last five years or are planning on building new schools the next five years," he added.

It was not until time came for Rotarians to ask questions that he opened up a bit more on the topic of a new school.

Jefferson School is 80 years old, he said.

"That is a prime location for a community area," Durflinger said. "We need to be proactive on that. We need to make a downtown recreational area."

Durflinger expressed a slight hesitation prior to describing a possible removal of the current Jefferson School.

Continuing from his speech, Durflinger expressed a desire for an indoor pool now that the Morton Park District's outdoor pool will be built next year. He did not add much more information on the topic.

Durflinger then rallied local developers and investors who grew up in Morton. "It is time for all of us to reinvest in Morton," he said.

He also touched a bit on a 19-year-old student's e-mail about her concern for Morton changing if it does some of the things Durflinger mentioned in last year's state-of-the-village address.

"I responded that growth of a community will not change the culture of the community, only the people who live here can cause it to change," he said. "Apathy, the lack of caring for the community and each other, will change this community. And, not volunteering is the start of apathy."

Durflinger wrapped up his speech by officially announcing he would run for mayor again in the next election.

"Being your mayor has been the most humbling and most enjoyable experience I have ever had, professionally, in my life," he said. But, he said he had two concerns.

"The first is my family," he said. "I have spent almost 40 years away from my family and family events because of my service to the schools and now to this community. I am not getting any younger and there are not many more years of family events that I can afford to miss."

"My second concern is, have I been effective enough the last three plus years, and will I be effective in the future? I do not want to over stay my welcome."

But, he said based on advice from his wife, Cathy, and input from a small number of people, he will officially be running for a second term.