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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/23/2010 COW minutesCOMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES NOVEMBER 23, 2010 I. CALL TO ORDER — ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. in the Village Board Room of the Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Pro -Tem Steven Polit. Present at the meeting were Trustees Paul Hoefert, Arlene Juracek, John Korn, John Matuszak, and Michael Zadel. Staff present included Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, Finance Director David Erb, Public Works Director Glen Andler, Assistant Deputy Director Sean Dorsey, Administrative Superintendant Jason Leib, Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker, Streets and Building Superintendent Paul Bures, Water Superintendent Matt Overeem, Vehicle Maintenance Superintendent Jim Breitzman and Forestry Superintendent Sandy Clark. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 9, 2010 Motion made Trustee Korn seconded by Trustee Juracek. Minutes were approved. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD None IV. 2011 BUDGET DISCUSSION Mayor Pro -Tem Steven Polit provided some opening remarks regarding the budget process and gave the information to the listening audience regarding the call in or e-mail address in case they wanted to pose questions live during the meeting in which they would be answered as part of the budget discussion. Public Works Department Budget Overview Glen Andler provided an overview of the Public Works 2011 Budget. He stated the Budget has been reduced by 9.18% or $2.46 million less than what was budgeted for 2010. He stated 26% of the Public Works budget is General Fund monies. He stated several funds contribute to the overall Public Works budget of $24.8 million. He highlighted the commodity accounts that were reduced in 2011 and were held at 2010 levels. He stated the General Fund impact has been reduced by approximately $492,000 and overtime expenses had been reduced between $150,000 and $200,000 based on actual overtime used during that period. He stated the department has eliminated three full -time positions, nine seasonal positions, and another $210,000 in commodity accounts that were eliminated. He stated the elimination of the Administrative Assistant position has required the duties to be shifted to several other positions. He highlighted the funding of the Street Division and where the funds come from and how they are used. He stated the new sidewalk program and the shared cost side walk program have been eliminated. He said the reduction of the two full -time maintenance workers are currently vacant positions which would not be filled. He stated these vacancies could impact snow removal operations based on the reduced number of personnel available for snow removal. He stated the reduction in staff will impact response times. He also stated this reduction in staff will impact the ability to respond to infrastructure repairs. It was noted that with the reduction of staff as proposed the employee count would be the same as it was 27 years ago even though the work load levels and responsibilities have increased substantially over that same period of time. Committee of the Whole Page 1 of 3 11/23/10 He stated some of the Capital Project items slated for 2011 include the replacement of the pay stations for the pay parking lots at the train station. He stated these pay stations are paid for through the parking fund. He stated the Forestry Division has been reduced substantially through reduced plantings and the shared cost tree program has been eliminated and the removal and replacement of trees has been substantially reduced. He stated the Water and Sewer Operations are funded through an enterprise fund and includes a small increase in the water rate to keep the fund in the black. He stated as part of the water and sewer fund expenditures is the plan to install approximately 1200 readable meters for commercial accounts in the Village. These meters will communicate with Village staff through radio frequency and provide the readings in a real time basis for billing purposes. He also highlighted the proposed replacement of two roof top units of the inventory of nineteen throughout the Village that the department is responsible for. He stated the roof top replacements would be based on need and age of the units and felt it was important to schedule replacements periodically. He also stated that the CIP includes the replacement of the ramp to the underground parking at the Police and Fire building. He stated the ramp was originally installed with electrical coils to heat the pavement and melt the snow and ice however, that system is no longer functioning and the ramp would need to be replaced with a water coil system which is much more reliable. General comments from the Village Board members included the following items: There was general discussion about the CIP items and where the funding for the Capital items comes from due to the budget limitations. There was also general discussion regarding the trees and associated programs related to tree programs and reductions including the possible long term impact. There was a general discussion regarding the snow removal based on the number of available personnel proposed in this budget. Peggy O'Connor of 40 E. Northwest Hwy. spoke. She wanted to thank the Village Board for considering a balanced Budget and the sensitivity they have shown regarding the taxpayers. She stated that she has a concern about the impact of budget reductions upon tree replacements and would encourage residents to donate into a tree trust fund for the replacement of trees. She also stated that there should be no further reductions in the holiday decorations. Non - Departmental Budget Overview Finance Director David Erb provided an overview of the civic services and budget. It was noted that the Winter Festival and Blues Fest have been eliminated from the budget for 2011. He also highlighted the Debt Service for payment schedule and the option to refinance the Library and Village Hall parking deck funds to achieve some savings for 2011. He stated the Village's debt ratio to EAV is 1.9% which is significantly less than most other communities. He stated that if the refinancing were to go through it would save the Village approximately $40,000 annually. He provided an overview regarding the insurance program including the worker's comp portion of the Budget and highlighted a reduction in claims over this past year. He provided an overview of the health insurance cost increases that were reduced due to the reduction of staff. He provided a summary of the pension cost increase of 4.7% for the Fire pension an increase of 4.7% showing a levy increase at 23.5% and a funding level at 65 %. The Police pension increase of 10.3% with a levy increase of 22.4% and that fund is funded at approximately 60 %. He highlighted the impact on the property tax Committee of the Whole Page 2 of 3 11/23/10 H:\VILM \Cow \2010 \MINUTES \COW Minutes 11- 23- 10.docx levy and with the no increase as recommended by the Village Board there will be fewer dollars available to General Fund Operations with the majority of the Police and Fire pensions absorbing new monies and a larger portion of the Tax Levy. V VI VI. General discussion from the Village Board members included the following items: • There was a discussion regarding the use of the ERP for structural changes and long term reduction in expenses. • There was also a general discussion regarding the Public Safety pensions and how those pensions are mandated by the State through legislation. Mr. Joseph Sonnefeldt of 715 N. Fairview spoke. He stated he has concerns about the crossing guards and felt that they should be retained and those expenses not shifted to the school districts. He thought that there should be some cost sharing between the Village and the school district to maintain those positions. Finance Commission Comments Vince Grochocinski Chairman of the Finance Commission spoke. He stated the Commission concurs with the Village Board direction to staff to prepare the Budget with a zero increase in the property tax levy and is supportive of the staff proposals showing reduction in personnel. He stated that the commission would like staff cuts to be considered as permanent and he stated the commission is concerned about the property tax increases even if there is no increase in the levy by the Village itself. He also stated the commission is hopeful that the deferred wages are not made up at some future date and pension cost increases should be shared with the employees that are benefiting from the pension enhancement. MANAGER'S REPORT Village Manager Michael Janonis stated Village Hall would be closing on November 24 at 3:00 p.m. and would be closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday on November 25 and 26 ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Korn stated that there is a Jaycee's Turkey Trot at the golf course this coming weekend. Mayor Pro -Tern Polit wanted to remind the listening audience that the leaf program is over and all leaves need to be placed in bags for removal at this time. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:36 p.m. There was no need for a Closed Session therefore it was cancelled. DAVID STRAHL Assistant Village Manager Committee of the Whole Page 3 of 3 11/23/10 H: \VILM \Cow\2010 \MINUTES \COW Minutes 11- 23- 10.docx