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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/27/1990 COW minutes CO~fITTEE OF THE MOLE Minutes March 27, 1990 I Roll Call .The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p m Present at the meeting were: Mayor Gerald L Farley, Trustees Ralph Arthur, Mark Busse, Timothy Corcoran, Leo Floros, George Van Geem, and Theodore Wattenberg. Also present were' Village Manager John Fulton Dixon, Finance Director David Jepson, Assistant Finance Director Carol Wtdmer, Human Services Administrator Nancy Morgan, Assistant Human Services Administrator Jan Abernethy, Human Services Staff Members Joyce Skurla and Judy Fell, Inspection Services Director Chuck Benclc, Planning and Zoning Director David Clements, Public Works Director Herb Weeks, Deputy Public .Works Director Glen Andler, Fire Chief Ed Cavello, Deputy Fire Chief Del Ulreich, Police Chief Ron Pavlock, Deputy Police Chiefs Tom Daley and Ron Richardson, and Sergeant Dick Draffone. Also present were three persons from the print media and several Village residents. II Minutes minutes of the Committee of the Whole of March 1990 The meeting 13, were accepted and filed III Citizens to be Heard No one present at the meeting wished to address the Committee of the Whole. IV 1990/91 Bud=et Review Mayor Farley opened the discussion on the 1990/91 budget by Istating that the municipal budget process has been likened to the "World Series of Municipal Government" He explained that the budget is a policy tool whtch provides the legal guidelines for the ~ proposed tax levy ordinance and when adopted is the management blueprint for the coming year. Me stated that the request for Village services is growing faster than our purses, and that we cannot begin to provide all the services that are requested. Mayor Farley said that the approach that would be taken during the ensuing discussion would be to receive general comments from Village Board members and then proceed on a department-by-department review. Mayor Farley explained that because the Village levies property taxes for the Mount Prospect Library, the Library's budget request is included in the Village's budget. Mayor Farley then called upon Mr William Blaine, President of the Mount Prospect Library Board, to present the Library budget request. Mr. Blaine stated that the -total Library budget request for 1990/91 is $2,546,920, an increase of $327,520 over the 1989/90 budget of $2,219,400. M~. Blaine further stated that the requested budget would result in a proposed 1990 tax levy in the operating fund of $.23 and the entire 1990 tax levy would increase by only 3.5%. Mayor Farley stated that the Library Board is a *separate elected body and the Library Board is responsible for their own budget Mayor Farley then reminded viewers and other residents who might have questions regarding the Library budget to contact the members of the Library Board. Trustee Arthur stated his concern over the amount of overtime in the budget and the fact that overtime continues to grow each year. Trustee Arthur called for all Village department overtime amounts to revert back to the level of overtime in the 89/90 budget He also asked for a monthly report that compared overtime ,in the, current year with the prior year so material changes could be detected much sooner. Trustees Gorcoran, Floros, Van Geem and Busse supported the position take~ by Trustee Arthur and generally supported the development of a reporting system to monitor overtime, Trustee Wattenberg was,satisfied with the budget ~equests and stated he did not want any more reports. Mayor Farley was reluctant to actually reduce departmental operating budgets and preferred that control of overtime be a goal to work toward.~ ~ Village Manager,Dixon stated that unique activities are often the cause for extraordinary overtime. However, he agreed that control of overtime should be a high priority and that he would accept the challenge to maintain overtime at the 1989/90 level. Mayor Farley then stated his position regarding various budget questions. In regard to revenues, he said that he thought that the budget should impact property taxes as little as possible, and that the State Income Tax Surcharge should be used to finance flood control projects Mayor Farley added that he endorsed the use of a Motor Equipment Pool Fund for vehicle replacement ~ On the expenditure side, Mayor Farley said he supported the Finance Department and the Inspection Services Department budgets as presented He said he did not support the addition of any new personnel in Human Services In the Police Department budget, he recommended deferring the addition of one new police officer for a year. He added, however, that he was concerned about Police response time and he encouraged the Police Chief to come back later in the year with the results of this action. Further he requested the Police Department to initiate a survey regarding Village residents' perception of police services. - Mayor Farley continued his comments by stating he supported the Plannin~ and Zoning budget request with the modification of funding the revision of the Zoning Ordinance over a two-year period., He also stated he would like to see a high priority placed on Economic Development with an emphasis on business retention. In regard to the Public Works Department budget,~he recommended accepting the amounts as presented and including a provision for grading and a storm sewer at Melas Park.~ He then stated that due to the ruling on the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District, the three additional personnel in the Fire Department budget should be eliminated along with other related costs. Mayor Farley concluded by saying he supported a matching contribution of up to $30,000 to the Historical Society and adding funding of up to $5,000 for Omni Youth Services Trustee Van Gees proposed that the Committee discuss expenditures before considering revenues in order to have a better idea of the level of resources needed to support the 1990/91 budget. The Committee concurred with this proposal 2 Following is a summary of the discussion and actions taken on the departmental budgets. Administration Approved as presented Finance Department - Approved as presented Motor Equipment Pool F~nd Recommended inclusion in the budget Inspection Services Department Approved as presented. ~n Services Division Trustee Arthur We cannot do all things for all people, I believe we must draw The llne some place; I do not support the requested increase in personnel. Trustee Corcoran I do support the whole budget as presented and I concur with the recommendation to fund Omni Youth Services. Trustee Wittenberg I would like to offer some suggestions' 1) We do not need a bi-lingual social worker; 2) Whenever possible we should accept donations for the services provided; and 3) Whenever you have a problem send it to Wheeling Township Trustee Van Geem The Employment Counseling Program has been very successful and resulted in receivln§ the Governor's Home Town Award. support the request to make the Employment Counselor position a full-time position but I do not support the request for an additional part-time social worker Trustee Busse The Human Services Division does a fine job and I support their budget as presented. Trustee Floros I support the change in the Employment Counselor but not the new part-time position. Village Manager Dixon added that the part-time position was recommended to replace the services that had previously been provided by Forest Institute. He still supported the recommendation After further discussion, the Committee voted to approve the change in the Employment Counselor position but not to support the addition of a new part-time social-worker position. Human Services Administrator Nancy Morgan was asked her professional opinion regarding the funding of Omni Youth Services. She replied that in her opinion, the Human Services Division personnel can provide the same services that Omni Youth Services provides to Mount Prospect residents. The Committee then voted not to add any funding for Omni Youth Services. Police Department Police Chief Ron Pavlock s-mmarized his request for an additional police officer so that an experienced officer could be assigned to the Gang Crimes Task Force. Trustee Wattenberg stated that he thought the Police 3 Department should have at least two more police officers.~ The balance of the Committee approved deferring the addition of a new police officer and accepted the ) Police Department budget except for the new police officer and the other associated costs fdentifxed in the Police Chief's report of March 7, 1990 Total reductions amounted to $61,400. The Police Chief was encouraged to report back to the Village Board in six months regarding Police Department staffing needs Planning and Zoning Department Trustee Corcoran recommended that the emphasis of the Planning and Zoning staff during the coming year focus on redevelopment of the Triangle Area west of Main Street, and accordingly, to postpone making changes in the Zoning Ordinance Trustee Arthur concurred with Trustee Corcoran's recommendation. Mayor Farley again stated his support of economic development activity in the Village. The recommendation to include $40,000 to update the Zoning Ordinance was defeated by a 4 to 3 vote. The Planning and Zoning budget with the exception of the $40,000 for the revision of the Zoning Ordinance was then approved Public Works Department ~ Trustee Corcoran asked Public Works Director Herb Weeks if he had looked into the possibility of entering into a contract for emergency towing services Public Works Director Weeks stated he had talked to the 'owners of towing services and they would not commit themselves to an agreement giving priority to the Village. He explained that due~to the nature of the business, the tow truck operators respond on a first-come first-served basis. The Committee approved the request for a tow truck by a vote of'6 to 1 Trustee Van Geem stated that he would like to see the provision for street resurfacing increased. He cited the example of the Village of Elk Grove which ~ resurfaces 10 miles a year out of a total of 129 miles of streets He mentioned that he would like to use some of the State Income Tax Surcharge money for this purpose. Additionally, he mentioned that the Village vehicle license fee had not been increased since 1985, and an increase could be allocated for street resurfactng The concensus of the Committee was to defer any allocation of the Surcharge until a separate Committee of the Whole meeting ,~ Trustee Oorcoran stated he was concerned over the amount of overtime in the Public Works budget and asked if the overtime problem could be solved with more personnel 4 Village Manager Dixon stated that there had been a request for additional personnel, but because of the nature of overtime you cannot staff for emergency situations. Public Works Director Weeks added that ~dditional staff will not necessarily reduce overtime. Mayor Farley stated he was in favor of including a provision for grading at Melas Park. Trustee Van Geem stated he was leafy o~ budgeting amounts for Melas Park without a specific plan and timetable from the Park Districts. He then asked when the work would be done Village Manager Dixon responded that the work on the storm sewer should be started as soon as possible, but any grading work would not start until after the 4th of July Festival. Trustee Corcoran questioned the amount the ~illage would be committing to this project. He said that he understood that originally the estimate was $130,000 but now it appeared to be $255,000. Finance Director Jepson confirmed that $80,000 is estimated in the current budget and a total of~$175,000 estimated for 90/91. Trustee Corcoran commented that he thought we were proceeding down a blind path. Mayor Farley stated that he thought we should include $100,000 for grading ~'~! and $75,000 for the storm sewer in the budget, but that no funds for grading - ~ should be expended until more information is received from the Park Districts. The Committee agreed with this approac~ and approved the Pubiic Works Department budget with the addition of $175,000 for Melas Park. Fire ~epartment ~ Mayor Farley stated that a ruling had been handed down invalidating the agreement with the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District. A schedule showing a reduction in proposed Fire Department expenditures for 90/91 of $5?9,265 was distributed to Committee members. Finance Director Jepson explained ~hat the schedule reduced each line item associated with providing service to the District. The three new flrefighters that had been requested were eliminated and an assumption was made that three of the seven positions added in 89/90 would be vacated through retirements or turnovers. The Fire~ Department budget as ~evised to eliminate the costs associated with the Elk Grove Fire District was approved by the Committee. community and Civic Services Jay Fritz and Dolores Haugh of the Historical Society appeared before the Committee and requested that the Village provide matching funds to help renovate and restore the building at 101 South Maple Street. Mr. Fritz stated that $125,000 had been raised by the Historical Society to purchase and repair the building but that an additional $125,000 would be needed over the next two years to complete the project He ~ald he th6ught that they could raise $30,~000 per year and they wet6 requesting the Village to match the donations they received After discussion of the request, the Committee voted 4 to 3 not to provide matching funds of up to $30,000. An alternate proposal to provide funding of up to $15,000 was approved by a vote of 5 to 2 Revenues The discussion then turned to the Revenue Section of the proposed budget. Finance Director Jepson summarized a number of changes that had occurred since the budget had been presented ~Sales tax revenue had originally been projected to increase by 9% in the 89/90 fiscal year, but based upon more current information, that percentage has been revised down to 7% The net effect is an expected reduction of $120,000 in sales tax revenue for the 90/91 budget year. Additionally, recent changes in the method of distributing sales tax receipts by the State .of Illinois will result in the loss of $60,000 in accelerated payments and interest. Other changes include the elimination of the Elk Grove Rural Fire District service charge of $850,000 and Recycling Grants of $137,500 Mr. Jepson then summarized the cumulative revenue and expenditure changes that had been approved for the General Fund. Revenues had been reduced $735,500 and expenditures $262,385. He explained that when the revenue reduction and the State Income Tax Surcharge were subtracted from total General Fund revenues, it left a revised total of $17,994,000 Total revised expenditures amounted to $18,379,105 for an excess of expenditures over revenues of $385,000 Trustee Van Geem proposed an increase in vehicle license fees from $20 to $25, an increase in the cigarette vending machine license from $50 to $150, and an increase in the Real Estate Transfer Tax from $1 per $1,000 to~$3 per $1,000 It was pointed out that an increase in the vehicle license fee would not take effect until May 1, 1991. Accordingly, consideration of increasing this fee was deferred The increase in the cigarette vending machine license was approved by a 6 to 1 vote During the discussion on the increase in the Real Estate Transfer Tax, Trustee Wattenberg stated his opposition to the increase and Trustee Floros said he could support an increase to $2 but not to $3 Ben Ceaser, Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the~Northwest Suburban Association' of Realtors~ and Helen Dahlberg of Starck and 0ompany Realtors addressed the Vlllge Board and expressed their opposition to the proposed increase The increase was ~ubsequently approved by a 5 to 2 vote. A Hotel/Motel Tax of 3% was briefly considered but was rejected by a vote of 4 to 3 Trustee Corcoran then requested consideration of allocating $175,000 for the work at Melas Park and an additional $300,000 for street resurfaclng from the State Income Tax Surcharge monies. The motion was defeated 5 to 1. Trustee Van teem stated that the Village Board had taken a significant ~ste9 to ~reduce the burden of property taxes. With the additional revenues from the Real Estate Transfer Tax~ the 1990 tax levy will be reduced so the overall increase will be less than the rate of inflation Trustee Floros expressed his appreciation to the members of the Finance Commission for their input into the budget process. He asked Chairman Richard Bachhuber to extend the thanks of the Village Board to each Finance Commission member. Mayor Farley concluded the review of the 1990/91 budget by announcing that the ordinance adopting the 1990/91 budget would be introduced at the Village Board meeting on April 3, 1990. V Recall Ordinance Mayor Farley asked that this item be deferred until a later date VI Vllla=e Manager's Report Village Manager Dixon reported that the suit brought by the Elk Grove Fire Protection District against the Village had been decided in favor of the District He mentioned that we had not received the written ruling, but it appeared that our chances of overturning it would be minimal. VII Other Business Trustee Corcoran requested that a procedure for handling complaints or problems of residents or businesses be established. Trustee Busse added that possibly an evaluation form for positive or negative comments could be developed. Other Trustees asked the Village Manager to develop a plan for handling complaints and deferred the idea of an evaluation form until they had an opportunity to review the Manager,s plan. Trustee Van Geem informed the Committee that an update on the TGI/Perkers complaint would he available for the next Board meeting VI I I Ad~ ournment The meeting adjourned at 11:35 p.m. Respectfully Submitted David C. Jepson, Finance Director DCJ/sm