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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/26/2022 FC MinutesFINANCE COMMISSION — REGULAR MEETING MwntPn)spcct MINUTES Thursday, May 26, 2022 Executive Conference Room — 3I Floor, Village Hall Mount Prospect, IL 60056 I. Call to Order Meeting called to order at 7:02 p.m. Commission members present: Kenneth Arndt (arrived at 7:03 p.m.), Pam Bazan, Yulia Bjekic, Trisha Chokshi, Don Ocwieja and William Grossi. Commission members absent: Vince Grochocinski Staff present: Director of Finance Amit Thakkar, Deputy Director of Finance Jennifer Fitzgerald and Assistant to the Village Manager Alexander Bertolucci. II. Approval of Minutes a. Motion by William Grossi, seconded by Yulia Bjekic to approve the minutes of the Finance Commission Special Meeting of March 16, 2022. Chair Chokshi called a voice vote. Motion passed unanimously. III. Citizens to be Heard None IV. Old Business None V. New Business a) Budget Amendments (Kenneth Arndt arrived at 7:03 p.m.) Director of Finance Amit Thakkar began the discussion by reviewing the Village's 1 % home rule sales tax distribution into Village funds. He shared that home rule sales tax revenue was mostly stable, but experienced a 25% increase in the annual amount in FY 2021. He shared the composition of home rule sales tax generators by category. He noted there are some impacts from the COVID stimulus amounts and record high inflation. He explained that the Village has collected more revenue from the Local Government Distributive Fund year over year since 2018. State income tax revenues have tripled, but the Village's income tax revenue has not even doubled. The state allocates revenue per capita and the population of Mount Prospect increased with the 2020 Census. The Village should see higher revenue. He also explained the State's use tax and how a 2022 law change now requires out of state sales to apply the sales tax of the destination to the purchase. He shared that General Fund revenues have outperformed and more funds are needed to support capital improvements, because there are so many projects. He stated staff is proposing to reallocate the 1% home rule sales tax revenue into thirds across the Street Construction Fund, Flood Control Construction Fund and Capital Finance Commission Page 1 of 4 5/26/2022 Improvement Fund. Currently, it is spilt into quarters across the General Fund, Street Construction Fund, Flood Control Construction Fund and Capital Improvement Fund. Staff will review the allocation each year, but is hopeful that this allocation can continue for a long period of time. He explained how the street resurfacing and watermain replacements bids have come in higher than budgeted. If the allocation is modified then there may not be a need to make a transfer from the General Fund to the Capital Fund to support these and other projects. He stated it is staff's recommendation to reallocate a quarter percent of the home rule sales tax from the General Fund to Street Construction, Flood Control Construction and Capital Improvement Funds. He presented staff's proposal for an additional Community Relations Officer position and two sworn officers. He also shared the request to set aside $750,000 from the current revenues towards the 2022 pension levy payable in 2023. The Finance Commission discussed the collective impact of home rule sales tax reallocation, hiring of additional officers, pension abatement, eliminating the vehicle stickers, and other transfers out from the General Fund will affect the fund balance long term. Mr. Thakkar provided additional information in response to questions and comments from the Finance Commission: • The stormwater fee was postponed for one year. $1 million from sale tax revenue surplus was allocated to support 2022 stormwater projects. • The Village of Mount Prospect received American Rescue Plan funds. Build Illinois grants are still an opportunity. HB 62 has several grants to support projects but the state has not yet issued bonds to release funding. • The state has not indicated they would reduce the motor fuel tax. • There is additional information suggesting that 2021 sales tax revenues would hold. • The Village's allocation of state sales tax is $5.5 million and it goes into General Fund; revenues from vehicle stickers is $1.5 million and does not enter the General Fund. • The time to do more capital projects is when revenue is good; apply to one time uses as to not affect operations. • Pension levy increased due to actuarial changes and interest rates. • There is enough surplus from 2021 that we want to make budget amendments for 2022. • The amount of tax the Village is collecting from the most recently annexed areas is greater than the cost of the additional firefighters. • Growth in property tax revenues from downtown buildings within the Prospect and Main tax increment financing (TIF) district go into TIF Fund. • Federal infrastructure bill funds will go to states and then states will allocate funds to municipalities. • American Rescue Plan is funding the Northwest Water Commission Interconnect Project. Finance Commission Page 2 of 4 5/26/2022 Home rule sales tax allocation will be a part of budget discussions every year. The Village has a contingency planning strategy to implement steps to limit the impact on staffing if economy does a down turn. Motion by William Grossi, second by Yulia Bjekic to concur with staff's recommendation to transfer $750,000 from the General Fund to abate the 2022 pension levy payable in 2023. Yea: Kenneth Arndt, Pam Bazan, Yulia Bjekic, Trisha Chokshi, William Grossi, Don Ocwieja Nay: None Motion passed Motion by Pam Bazan, second by William Grossi to concur with staff's recommendation to fund the hiring of an additional Community Relations Officer and two additional sworn officer positions. Yea: Kenneth Arndt, Pam Bazan, Trisha Chokshi, William Grossi, Don Ocwieja Nay: Yulia Bjekic Yulia Bjekic noted she is supportive of the additional Community Relations Officer, but not of the additional two sworn officer positions. Motion passed Motion by William Grossi, second by Kenneth Arndt to table the discussion regarding staff's proposed home rule sales tax reallocation to the July Finance Commission Meeting. Yea: Kenneth Arndt, Pam Bazan, Yulia Bjekic, Trisha Chokshi, William Grossi, Nay: Don Ocwieja Don Ocwieja noted willingness to support the reallocation, because the Village is not bound to it in future years and can revisit the matter if needed. Motion passed b) Home Rule Sales Tax Analysis Mr. Thakkar stated this information was covered in discussion for item a) Budget Amendments. c) State Sales Tax Analysis Mr. Thakkar provided an overview of state sale tax revenue the Village receives by category. He stated the Village is the 5th highest in the state of state sales tax collection. This increase in state sales tax collection has occurred over the past several years. Previously, the Village's property tax revenue was higher than sales tax, but now the sales tax is higher than property tax. He provided a reminder of the threat from being dependent on variable revenues sources and the importance of having diversification of revenue sources. He mentioned the possibility of staff proposing a rainy day/contingency fund balance policy in the future. In response to questions from the Finance Commission, Mr. Thakkar stated a fund balance report is provided in the monthly finance reports. d) Intergovernmental Revenues Mr. Thakkar stated 2022 intergovernmental revenues total $54.7 million and the Village has collected $7.7 million by the end of April, which is only one month (January) of data. He reviewed state income tax collection and revenue forecast is expected to Finance Commission Page 3 of 4 5/26/2022 outperform budget. Mr. Thakkar provided additional information in response to questions and comments from the Finance Commission: • Intergovernmental revenues include the Village's American Rescue Plan allocation and other grants as well. • Telecom tax only applies to land lines. Currently around $1.2 - $1.3 million in annual revenue, it was around $1.5 - $1.6 million five to six years ago. The increase of cable franchise fees offset the reduced telecom tax revenues. • The Village's utility tax rates are among the lowest in the area. These rates will be reviewed for the 2023 budget process. • The municipal electric tax is based on kWh used and net metering reduces kWh used per billing cycle. • Village Board approved refunding on the 2013 bond, a major portion of the home rules sales tax allocation is applied to this bond's debt payment. VI. Any Other Business None VII. Chairperson Report None VIII. Finance Director's Report a. Monthly Report Mr. Thakkar stated information from the monthly report was shared during the discussion of the New Business agenda items. XI. Next Meeting: June 23, 2022 IX. Adjournment: Motion by Kenneth Arndt, seconded by William Grossi to adjourn the meeting. Chair Chokshi called a voice vote. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m. Alexander Bertolucci Assistant to the Village Manager Finance Commission Page 4 of 4 5/26/2022