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Home My WebLink About10/25/2005 COW minutes Minutes Committee of the Whole October 25,2005 I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. by Mayor Irvana Wilks. Present at the meeting were: Trustees Timothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefert, A. John Korn, Richard Lohrstorfer, Michaele Skowron, and Michael Zadel. Staff members present included: Village Manager Michael Janonis, Finance Director David Erb, Deputy Finance Director Carol Widmer, Public Works Director Glen Andler, Deputy Public Works Director Sean Dorsey, Community Development Director Bill Cooney, Deputy Community Development Director Ellen Divita, Human Services Director Nancy Morgan, Deputy Human Services Director Jan Abernethy, Water Superintendent Matt Overeem, Administrative Superintendent Jason Leib, Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker, Forestry Superintendent Sandy Clark, and Vehicle Superintendent Jim Guenther. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of Minutes from the meeting of October 11, 2005. A motion was made by Trustee Korn and seconded by Trustee Zadel to approve the minutes. The minutes were approved. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Former Mayor Gerald Farley introduced Dr. Terry and Renee Quinn to the Village Board. The Quinns are visiting Mount Prospect from our Sister City, Sevre, France. IV. 2006 BUDGET DISCUSSION Opening Remarks Mayor Wilks began her remarks by stating the budgets for the last several years were caretaker budgets due to the economy. Mayor Wilks stated that due to an upturn in the economy the 2006 budget will reflect several pent up service demands that had been put off for the last few years. Mayor Wilks also encouraged residents to communicate their thoughts on the proposed budget with the Village Board through e-mail, telephone calls and faxes. Budget Overview Village Manager Mike Janonis began his opening remarks by stating that the Village will meet the 2005 budget expenditure targets even with the cost of the recent drought and the increased gasoline prices. Mr. Janonis advised that the proposed 2006 Budget does not include the addition of an Environmental Health Inspector and that a separate calculation showing the effect of the $60,000 additional cost on the General Fund had been distributed. Mr. Janonis remarked that in previous years staff usually presents a balanced budget to the Village Board unless a planned drawdown of fund balance is anticipated. However, the 2006 Proposed Budget has been presented with a $1,111,179 deficit in the General Fund. The deficit includes the last planned transfer of $350,000 for the Village Hall construction, $650,000 in new staffing requests, and miscellaneous expenditures. Finance Director David Erb presented an overview of the 2006 Proposed Budget. The Village's operating budget is $51,170,969 out of a total budget of $80,306,320. Of that amount 44.5% is for Public Safety, 40.2% for Public Works, 8.0% for Administration, 4.5% for Community Development and the balance is made up of other expenditures. Mr. Erb pointed out that the General Fund revenues are estimated at $34,885,912 and expenditures are expected to be $35,997,091 leaving the projected deficit of $1,111,179. 1 Community Development Community Development Director Bill Cooney began his remarks by reviewing some of the department's 2005 accomplishments. These included preparing a community profile, demographics and an available sites database for business recruitment and assisting in the coordination and implementation of additional redevelopment efforts within the Village's downtown area. In 2006 Community Development expects to update the comprehensive land use plan and focus efforts on the remaining redevelopment parcels within the Village's downtown area. The 2006 Proposed Budget of $1,846,595 is 10% higher then the 2005 budget. That increase is due to the request for the Environmental Health Inspector and a request for $10,000 to fund a new nuisance abatement program. The budget also includes an increase of $6,750 for elevator inspections that will be offset with an increase in the fees businesses pay for the inspections. Mr. Cooney said that a new software program called "Black Bear" will be up and running on January 1, 2006. This program will allow staff to record and track building permits much more efficiently. Trustee Hoefert asked if this program would allow residents to track their permits through the approval process. Mr. Cooney stated that the current program does not have that feature but that it might be possible to purchase additional software for that purpose. Human Services Human Services Director Nancy Morgan began her presentation with a brief overview of the Human Services Department. The department spends the majority of time on social services and nursing/health services and a small amount of time on senior activities. The majority of the populations served are geriatrics, immigrants and at-risk youth. In 2005 the Department assisted in the implementation of an agreement between five townships for a new State sponsored transportation pilot program which allows residents affordable transportation in crossing township boundaries and accessing Cook County and Veteran's Hospital. Another achievement was the assistance provided senior citizen residents in understanding Medicare Part D, the new Medicare law dealing with prescription coverage that will go into effect in 2006. The Proposed 2006 Budget is $731,373 or $10,840 over the 2005 Budget. This represents a 1.5% increase. In addition in 2006 the Department expects to generate $80,925 in revenues from such items as home delivered meals, flu shots and other revenue from operating the Community Center. Public Works Public Works Director Glen Andler reviewed some of the 2005 accomplishments of the Public Works Department. Among those he mentioned were the 5.3 miles of street resurfacing in year 9 of the street resurfacing program, implementation of Phase 1 of the multi-year combined sewer rehabilitation program, and the successful completion of a new 10-year refuse collection contract with Arc Disposal Company. The Public Works Department's Proposed 2006 Budget is $21,996,160 which is a 6.78% increase over the 2005 Budget. Of that amount $4,333,538 is budgeted for capital improvements and $534,180 for vehicle replacement. Mr. Andler also mentioned that the amount budgeted for the Vehicle Maintenance Fund reflects an increase of 66% increase in the cost of fuel. In 2005 $183,320 was budgeted and in 2006 it is estimated that $304,500 will be spent. Some of the expenditures proposed for 2006 include booster station 4 rehabilitation of $200,000, $1 million for year 2 of the combined sewer improvement project, $2,650,000 for year 10 of the street resurfacing program, and $250,000 to dredge retention pond #3 in the Kensington Business Center. Finance Commission Comments Chuck Bennett, Chairman of the Finance Commission, addressed the Village Board. Mr. Bennett complimented staff on an excellent budget document. He stated that the Finance Commission wants to wait until the Police and Fire Departments have presented their budgets before making any recommendations. He 2 said the Finance Commission will be looking at revenue enhancements and will be back before the Village Board with their recommendations. V. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Mayor Wilks announced that there will be a TIF Meeting on Wednesday, October 26 at 7:00 p.m. She also announced that the Village had a dedication ceremony on behalf of Velma Lowe, the former Village Clerk in the afternoon. A tree at Village Hall was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Lowe who passed away in June. VI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9: 1 0 p.m. to go into closed session regarding property acquisition. The meeting reconvened into open session at 9:50 p.m. and immediately adjourned at 9:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, G~ f WLbJiU Carol L. Widmer Deputy Finance Director 3