From Auction to Giveaway: Freeport City Manager Recommends Donating Taxpayer-Owned Commercial Kitchen to Construction Workforce Program
July 16, 2026 | Freeport, IL
For nearly a year, the City of Freeport's plan for the former Pretzel City Kitchens equipment appeared settled.
After determining the commercial kitchen equipment was no longer needed, the City declared it surplus and planned to sell the items through an online public auction, allowing taxpayers to recover at least a portion of their value.
That plan has now changed.
On July 13, the Freeport City Council approved the first reading of Ordinance No. 2026-42 after City Manager Rob Boyer recommended donating the equipment to the Young-adults Investing in Employment & Life Development (Y.I.E.L.D.) program instead of selling it.
The proposed donation may ultimately prove to be the right decision.
The question raised by Fighting4Freeport is whether taxpayers were given enough information to understand why the City abandoned its original plan before the proposal advanced.
What Is Y.I.E.L.D.?
According to its website, Y.I.E.L.D. is a fourteen-week pre-apprenticeship program that prepares adults for careers in the union construction and building trades.
Participants earn OSHA 10 certification, CPR and First Aid certification, and nationally recognized NCCER construction credentials while receiving paid work experience and assistance entering apprenticeship programs.
The program also provides transportation assistance, childcare assistance when available, and employment support.
Its mission is workforce development through the skilled trades.
The organization publicly lists partnerships with Goodwill Industries, the Awaken Foundation, and Illinois' Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA).
By all publicly available information, Y.I.E.L.D. appears to provide valuable opportunities for individuals seeking careers in construction.
The Proposed Donation
Under Ordinance No. 2026-42, the City proposes donating an extensive inventory of commercial kitchen equipment, including:
approximately $2,000 in small wares
a 10-burner commercial range
double-deck convection oven
commercial fryer
40-quart mixer
upright refrigerator
commercial microwave
three-compartment sink
food processor
wrap station
shelving units
speed racks
wheeled carts
hand sinks
storage cabinet
label printing scale
While the City has not publicly estimated the market value of the equipment, the inventory represents a substantial commercial kitchen.
From Auction to Donation
Perhaps the most significant question raised by the ordinance is not who is receiving the equipment.
It is why the City's original plan changed.
The ordinance specifically acknowledges that the equipment was previously scheduled to be sold through an online auction before recommending it instead be donated to Y.I.E.L.D.
Neither the ordinance nor City Manager Rob Boyer's memorandum explains what prompted that change.
The public documents do not answer several questions taxpayers may reasonably ask:
Why was the auction abandoned?
Who proposed donating the equipment?
Why was Y.I.E.L.D. selected?
Were any other organizations considered?
Was the equipment appraised before recommending a donation?
Why is donating the equipment a better value for taxpayers than selling it?
Those questions were not publicly discussed before the ordinance advanced on first reading.
A Recommendation From the City Manager
The recommendation originated with City Manager Rob Boyer.
In a July 6 memorandum to the Mayor and City Council, Boyer recommended donating the equipment, writing that doing so would place the surplus assets back into productive use while supporting a local workforce development program.
The memorandum, however, does not explain how the commercial kitchen equipment will specifically support Y.I.E.L.D.'s construction workforce mission.
Perhaps there is a clear plan.
If so, it was not presented during the public discussion.
Another Option
As City Manager, Rob Boyer oversees every municipal department, including the Freeport Police Department.
At the same time he recommended donating thousands of dollars in taxpayer-owned commercial kitchen equipment, the Freeport Police Department was actively asking residents and local businesses to help fund the purchase of a new police K-9.
Those are separate issues.
But together they raise an important question about stewardship of taxpayer-owned assets.
If the City no longer needed the kitchen equipment, would taxpayers have been better served by selling it through the originally planned public auction and using the proceeds to support an identified public safety need?
That question was not raised by City staff or discussed by the City Council before the ordinance advanced on first reading.
Instead, it was raised by Fighting4Freeport Chairman Joshua T. Atkinson during public comment.
Standing before the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, and Police Chief Jacquelyn Frausto, Atkinson questioned why the City was preparing to give away thousands of dollars in taxpayer-owned assets while the Police Department continued seeking public donations for a K-9.
Attempting to confirm that the department was asking the community for $15,000, Atkinson looked toward Chief Frausto and asked his question before offering what he believed was a better alternative.
Chief Frausto did not answer the question. She refused to make eye contact with Atkinson or confirm the amount she was requesting from the people of Freeport. While the chairman of Fighting4Freeport was standing in the middle of City Hall fighting for he new police dog, Chief Frausto had the nerve to ignore him.
Atkinson was unbothered by the police chief’s blatant disrespect and continued, "Let's get that new police dog," Atkinson told the Council, arguing that the City should follow its original plan, auction the surplus equipment, and use the proceeds to help fund an identified public safety need that would benefit all of Freeport.
F4F Chairman's Analysis | Joshua T. Atkinson
This article is not about whether Y.I.E.L.D. is a worthwhile program. By every public indication, it is.
Nor is it about whether the City should ever donate surplus property. Sometimes donating public assets is absolutely the right decision.
The issue is whether City Manager Rob Boyer demonstrated that this was one of those cases or exercised real leadership and fiscally responsibility.
Government has a responsibility to be a careful steward of taxpayer-owned property. When officials decide that giving away thousands of dollars worth of public assets serves taxpayers better than selling them, that decision should be supported by a clear public explanation.
Here, Manager Boyer changed course from an online auction to a donation, yet the public was given very little explanation for why that change served the taxpayers' best interests.
Equally noteworthy was the lack of discussion by the City Council. Before advancing the ordinance, no council member publicly questioned the change in direction, the estimated value of the equipment, the selection of the recipient, or whether recovering the equipment's value through a public sale would have better served the community.
Perhaps there are sound answers to each of those questions.
If so, those answers should be part of the public record before the ordinance receives final consideration on second reading.
Good government is measured not only by the decisions elected officials make, but by the diligence they exercise before making them.
For many residents, that diligence was difficult to see on July 13.