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Home My WebLink About02/24/2022 FC MinutesFINANCE COMMISSION MEETING MwntPn)spc t MINUTES Thursday, February 24, 2022 Executive Conference Room — 3rd Floor, Village Hall Mount Prospect, IL 60056 I. Call to Order Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. Commission members present: Kenneth Arndt, Pam Bazan, Yulia Bjekic, Trisha Chokshi, Vince Grochocinski, Don Ocwieja and William Grossi. Commission members absent: None Staff present: Director of Finance Amit Thakkar, Assistant to the Director of Finance Jennifer Fitzgerald and Assistant to the Village Manager Alexander Bertolucci. II. Approval of Minutes a. Motion by William Grossi, seconded by Kenneth Arndt moved to approve the minutes of the Finance Commission regular meeting of January 27, 2022. Chair Chokshi called a voice vote. Motion Passed unanimously. III. Citizens to be Heard None. IV. Old Business a) Approval of the 2022 Work Plan Director of Finance Amit Thakkar stated the draft 2022 Work Plan is unchanged from the last meeting. A discussion on the federal infrastructure spending bill will be scheduled for May 26 and the Village's proposed projects could be finalized at the regular meeting of the Finance Commission in June. There was also a recommendation to cancel the regular meeting in November (Nov. 24). Motion by Yulia Bjekic, seconded by William Grossi moved to cancel the regular meeting of the Finance Commission on November 24, 2022 (Thanksgiving Day). Chair Chokshi called a voice vote. Motion Passed unanimously. V. New Business a) American Rescue Plan Staff proposed an American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant spending plan in 2021. The proposal included an expansion/relocation of the Community Connections Center; however, acquiring a potential site fell through and staff is exploring alternatives. The Villages ARP allocation needs to be spent by December 2024. Mr. Thakkar reviewed the updated ARP spending plan which includes Northwest Water Commission Interconnect project, several Human Services department programs and economic development related initiatives. Finance Commission Page 1 of 4 2/24/2022 There was discussion on the following areas: • Northwest Water Commission Interconnect project and the possibility of the Northwest Suburban Joint Action Water Agency providing funds towards the interconnect • Funding of Aspen Trails Stormwater Improvements and awarded HB62 infrastructure projects that the state has yet to fund. • Mount Prospect businesses' staff and recruitment needs • Redevelopment Agreement and Incentives for Caputo's Fresh Market and the restaurant vacancy at 20West • Allocating additional funds (above proposed $200,000) for the Job Recruitment and Retention Program Mr. Thakkar provided additional information in response to questions and comments from the Finance Commission. • Per APR Grant, `revenue loss' funds may be used for any services provided as a government. This includes promoting businesses for making for green investments. Can be repurposed if needed based on response. • If there was an alternate revenue source for Northwest Water Commission Interconnect project, will repurpose allocated ARP funds. Interconnect is the best use of $5 million at this point • The Village has not provided any funds to the Caputo's Fresh Market project to date. • Village provided $10,000 to restaurants through the COVID-19 Restaurant Assistant Grant Program • Proposed economic development programs qualify for APR funds under the revenue loss provision • A business would be reimbursed after for the signing bonus after they hire an employee. • ARP spending plan may be revised for the 2023 budget • Will present APR funding allocations to the Village Board next Tuesday Motion by Yulia Bjekic, seconded by William Grossi moved to recommend that the proposed Job Recruitment and Retention Program allocation be revised to include existing local businesses and any future needs for Caputo's Fresh Market and eggjam cafe staffing recruitment to be revaluated based on opening timelines. Chair Chokshi called a voice vote. Motion Passed unanimously Motion by William Grossi, seconded by Kenneth Arndt moved to support the ARP programs as presented, except as revised. Chair Chokshi called a voice vote. Motion Passed unanimously Finance Commission Page 2 of 4 2/24/2022 b) Credit Rating Review Mr. Thakkar reviewed the Village's recent credit rating. The Village's rating remains at AA+ Stable. He reviewed the rating process and parameters. An AAA rating could save the Village 25 basis points. He explained why the Village was not awarded an AAA rating. Mr. Thakkar provided additional information in response to questions and comments from the Finance Commission. • South Mount Prospect TIF — The Village is not going to issue $145 million in bonds, report shows infrastructure needs in the area • The rating agency has very high standards • The City of Wood Dale carries 100% fund balance and is AAA rated. c) ERP Update Mr. Thakkar presented a proposal to move the Village's Enterprise Resource Planning software to the vendor's cloud storage service. The Village uses NewWorld ERP for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Human Resources and Payroll, General Ledger, Budgeting, Annual Reporting and Analytics, Misc. Billing and Utility Billing purposes. Currently, the Village maintains the NewWorld ERP onsite. This maintenance is a large task and often IT staff must work odd hours, including weekends, late nights and early mornings to maintain and update the system. Pushing NewWorld ERP into the cloud will improve the work environment for IT staff and allow the Village to capture certain infrastructure costs (servers) in the future. d) Forward Refunding of 2013 Bonds The Village issued General Obligation Bonds totaling $9.8 million for flood control projects in 2013. These bonds have a call date of December 1, 2022. The concern is interest rates will increase during the year making it less attractive to refinance at the call date. Advance refunding would make the bonds lose their tax-exempt status. To overcome the compliance issue with advanced refunding, the Village can approve a bond -refunding ordinance with a forward delivery, which will allow the bond placement agent to lock the interest rate, but the closing on the bonds will occur when the refinancing window opens. The Village may save approximately $613,319 in future interest costs with this refinancing opportunity. Mr. Thakkar provided additional information in response to questions and comments from the Finance Commission. • May lose $300,000 in savings if the Village does not act timely • Call date is December 1, in September we can close on the bonds • Forward refunding current interest rate is between 3.0% and 4.13% The Finance Commission is in support for proposed forward refunding. VI. Any Other Business None VII. Chairperson Report None Finance Commission Page 3 of 4 2/24/2022 VIII. Finance Director's Report a) Monthly Report — Mr. Thakkar provided a brief overview of the growth in revenues. Staff is unsure if this growth is a onetime event or if it will be consistent. In response to a questions on recreational cannabis tax revenue, Mr. Thakkar stated staff was told by the sole dispensary in town that growth in recreational cannabis sales has been slow. Mr. Thakkar reviewed upcoming meeting dates for the proposed tax increment financing district in South Mount Prospect. The TIF eligibility study is available on the Village's website. XI. Next Meeting: Motion by Yulia Bjekic, seconded by Kenneth Arndt to move the next meeting from March 24 to March 16. IX. Adjournment: Motion by Pam Bazan, seconded by Vince Grochocinski to adjourn the meeting. Chair Chokshi called a voice vote. Motion Carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:57 pm. Alexander Bertolucci Assistant to the Village Manager Finance Commission Page 4 of 4 2/24/2022