CITY UNDER SIEGE:

Promises Broken, Taxes Rising, and Power Consolidated

FREEPORT, IL – July 5, 2025

This Monday, Freeport City Council will meet at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, 314 West Stephenson Street, for what many see as another step in the city’s deepening crisis of trust, transparency, and leadership.

A New Tax On Your Groceries

Perhaps the most immediate impact to residents will come from Item #13, a proposed 1% municipal grocery tax – raising food prices across the city.

During last election, Joshua Atkinson warned both the council and the public: Mayor Miller’s promises of outside grant funding were empty words. He predicted a looming financial crisis if her pattern of wasteful spending continued.

His warnings went unheeded.

In 2024, Miller’s MAGA-backed tax hike raised an estimated $3.5 million, money promised for the 2025 street repairs. But as Fighting4Freeport confirmed last month, those funds were spent before a single road crew set foot on the streets – funneled instead toward paying off past checks written that couldn’t be cashed including endless payments to Fehr-Graham for designs never built and many needing to be redone.

Now, Freeport families are being asked to foot the bill again.

Priorities in Question: The Open Bible Water Main

While streets crumble and taxes rise, Monday’s agenda includes approving more payments to Fehr-Graham to run a water main for Open Bible childcare center, a facility that has operated for years without a working sprinkler system – endangering children daily. Yet this urgent issue remained ignored until now, raising questions about leadership priorities and backroom deals.

The Forensic Audit That Never Was

During this year’s State of the City address, City Manager Rob Boyer proudly declared that Freeport would receive a full forensic audit. Another promise made without revealing such an audit requires council approval. Months later, there is no audit, no plan, and no accountability. Just another “trust us” moment from an administration hoping residents have short memories.

Other Business On The Agenda

  • Presentation of the FY2024 Auditor’s Report

  • Approval of $1.7 million in finance bills payable

  • Purchase of a new Fire Department Tahoe

  • Continued engineering agreements with Fehr-Graham despite stalled projects and rising costs

  • Bid approvals for the 2025 MFT crack filling program and water main expansion

  • Closed executive sessions covering employee discipline, litigation, real estate purchases, and more – secrecy remains the Miller administration’s brand.

Public Voices Matter

Residents have two chances to speak up:

  • Early Public Comments (agenda items, 3 minutes each)

  • Closing Public Comments (non-agenda items, 3 minutes each)

With taxes rising, services collapsing, promises broken, and power consolidated into the hands of a select few, your voice matters now more than ever.

—Brought to you and Paid for by Fighting4Freeport