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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/23/2025 FC MinutesFinance Commission Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 23, 2025 Village Hall Council Chambers Conference Room 50 S Emerson Street Mount Prospect, IL 60056 i. Call to order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. Commission members present: Mary Rath, Sam Cannizzaro, Sinan Khamo, Ken Arndt, Vince Grochocinski, Don Ocwieja, and Edward Derfler Staff Present: Director of Finance Amit Thakkar, Deputy Director of Finance Jennifer Fitzgerald, and Assistant to the Village Manager Josh Attain ii. Approval of minutes a. Motion by Ken Ardnt, seconded by Don Ocwieja, to approve the minutes of the Finance Commission meeting of October 24, 2024. Edward Derfler called a voice vote. Motion passed unanimously i i i. Citizens to be heard None iv. Old Business None V. New Business 5.1 Welcome — New Finance Commissioners Director Thakkar welcomed all new members of the Commission to the meeting and thanked them for the interest in village finances and for accepting the responsibility their position holds. New members contact information was shared amongst all members. Corrections and updated were made to new and existing members contact information. 5.2 Selection of Vice Chair Director Thakkar explained that the Vice Chair position and the Secretary position are appointed annually. A basic overview of responsibilities was discussed. Edward Derfler offered to accept the position of Vice Chair. Mary Rath seconded the appointment of Edward Derfler as the Finance Commission Vice Chair Mary Rath called a voice vote. Motion passed unanimously. 5.3 Selection of Secretary Director Thakkar repeated his earlier statement that this position is not held indefinitely, only for one year. Don Ocwieja offered to accept the position of Finance Commission Secretary. Edward Derfler seconded the appointment of Don Ocwieja as the Finance Commission Secretary. Ken Arndt called a voice vote. Motion passed unanimously. 5.4 2025 Work Plans Director Thakkar explained that the proposed workplan for 2025 is not "set in stone" and can be adjusted as need be. The workplan was then explained to the Committee and the members were walked through the timeline of what the year will consist of. The possibility of any meeting dates changing was also brought up. Ken asked when the joint meeting with the Village Council will occur. It was explained to Ken that the meeting with the Council will occur during the first quarter of the year. That meeting will provide an opportunity for the Board and the Commission to meet and discuss the full budget. Ken asked about the possibility of meeting with Directors in the Village and having them present at Finance Commission meetings. Director Thakkar was supportive of this idea and will look into it. 5.5 Finance Updates/Monthly Report The Committee had it explained to them that there is a three-month delay in all revenues, and that this can impact the monthly budget review. Director Thakkar explained to the Committee that the Finance Department will be meeting with auditors soon. The differences between variable revenues and known revenues, the state of Village funds, and the background of many other budget items were explained to the Committee by Director Thakkar and Deputy Finance Director Jennifer Fitzgerald. Edward asked how incomes and expenses for the Village are looking for 2025. Director Thakkar explained that revenues for 2025 do not reflect what will be spent in 2025 and that this will impact what is being spent in the following year. Director Thakkar explained the Village's investment incomes posted in the Monthly Report as well as Village practices. It was reported that investment incomes have been outperforming initial estimations. Ken asked about the Incomes from Dispensaries as well as the potential upcoming changes to the grocery tax. Director Thakkar explained that the revenues from dispensaries has been significantly lower then estimates that were originally given to the Village, and this is the situation for most other communities. Director Thakkar explained that the Village will be monitoring changes related to the change in grocery taxation from the State. It was explained that their will be a local option that the Village would be able to implement. The Village will be monitoring all taxes related to groceries and determine what a loss in the grocery tax would mean for the Village. Ken also asked about revenues the Village is seeing related to slot machines. Director Thakkar explained that these numbers are listed in the monthly report. It was also explained that these revenues can only be spent for specific purposes. Mary Rath asked about the licensing that goes into slot machine implementation. The process for how business register for slot machines was explained to Mary. Ken asked about impacts the Village has seen from removing the vehicle stickers. Director Thakkar explained the changes the village has seen by removing the vehicle stickers. Part of this included the cost benefit analysis the Village has gone through to determine that it was costing more to administer vehicle stickers, then it did to sell the vehicle stickers. Vince Grochocinski asked about the emergency fund transfer list in the monthly report. Director Thakkar confirmed that the transfer was the item that the Finance Commission had previously discussed in 2024. Vince also asked about the Village's water interconnect project. It was confirmed that the project is moving along as planned. Ken asked Director Thakkar about the Village's use of ARPA funds. It was explained that these funds were used for one-time purchases and water system improvements. Funds were also given to Community Development and Public Works for special expenses. Director Thakkar finished his presentation of the monthly report. Mary asked about the COLA's that staff will be receiving. Director Thakkar explained how the Village handles COLA and what was considered when allocating this to staff. The Committee talked about the issues residents have been experiencing with water bills. vi. Any Other Business None vii. Finance Directors Report None viii. Next Meeting — February 27, 2025 The next meeting will be held on February27,2025 ix. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Arndt, seconded by Commissioner Derfler, to adjourn the meeting. Mary Rath called a voice vote The motion was carried unanimously The meeting adjourned at 7:56 P.M. Minutes Compiled By: Josh Allain, Asst. to the Village Manager