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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/29/1997 COW minutes MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JULY 29, 1997 ~---'~ I. CALL TO ORDER A Motion was made by Trustee Hoefert to appoint Trustee Corcoran as Mayor Pro Tem in Mayor Farley's absence. The motion was seconded by Trustee Clowes. The Motion passed. Mayor Pro Tern Corcoran called the meeting to order at 7:42 P.M. Present at the meeting were: Trustees George Clowes, Paul Hoefert, Richard Lohrstorfer, Daniel Nocchi and Irvana Wilks. Staff present included Village Manager Michael Janonis, Finance Director Brian Caputo, Assistant Finance Director Carol Widmer, Police Chief Ronald Pavlock, Deputy Police Chief Thomas Daley, Fire Chief Edward Cavello, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Figolah, Public Works Director Glen Andler, Deputy Public Works Director Sean Dorsey, Human Services Director Nancy Morgan, Deputy Human Services Director Jan Abemathy, Community Development Director William Cooney, Deputy Community Development Director Michael Blue, Fire Marshall Paul Valentine and Administrative Intern Aric Ahrens. Also present Were Ann Smilanic of the Finance Commission and Brian Weinberg of Suburban Printing and the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce. II. MINUTES None. II1. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Donald Sahagian, 400 W. Milburn informed the Board of his desire to see a Village Appearance Committee created. Mr. Sahagian stated that he has come to the conclusion that the committee needs to be created due to the fact that there are several appearance issues that need to be addressed within the Village. Mr. Sahagian went on to explain that the appearance of the Village has a great impact on property values. He stated that a declining overall appearance 'negatively impacts the property values in the Village. This leads to negative impacts in the overall character of the community. He stated that it is important that the Village address these issues. He stated that the Appearance Committee could address these issues and help to ' , Prospect Avenue and refuse containers put out to the curb prior to the morning of ,,,refuse collection. Mr. Sahagian stated that he would be happy to assist the Village ' in creating such a committee. ,,~ , .~ ,, iV. 1997' MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW - ;1998 PRE-BUDGET WORKSHOP Village Manager Michael Oanonis made an introductory statement regarding the mid year review and pre-budget workshop. He stated that with the Village budget ,o,,~,,,;,.." 5' on a calendar Year,.the mid poin.t,of the 1997 budget yearn, was reached on June ,,,, ,ii .30th. ,. He explained that the p.urp,ose.~of the re, id-year review is to assess the Village's financial status in order to make revisions to,!he bundler'if they,are deemed necessary. Village .Manager: Janonis .explained that th~ ~ec_2:~'nd '~&P,ecl "to~ the evening's .... , , discussions would be the pre-budget workshop. He Stated that alt~o~ugl~ staff would ,-, .be back.before the.Village Board in Qctober,for ~the for, mal. b.udget hearings, the · ~ ~ ~.:.',workshop constitutes an,preliminary step in,t.he,budgeting proce, ss,.,,, By holding ','-,; ~ -~ 'preliminary discussions the Board and staff members, can begin to address the ~' ' issues that will impact the,1998 .budget. Village Manage~ Jan'onis' stated that the , ,:.. ,,Finance Department is foreCasting a $325,000 deficit in the'Gen~al Fund for the , ~,,,: ~,.'1997 budget year, and that sta~ is looking,to t~he Bbard for'~direction in ameliorating ,,~, ' ~the deficit , Village Manager Janonis then introduced Finance Director Brian caputo to present the Finance Department's report on the financial status of the Village at mid:year. Finance Director Caputo stated that his presentation will addres$~ti~;e ~tatus of the four major operating funds. These funds,are the General Fund,.the Refuse Disposal Fund, Water & Sewer Fund and the RiSI~ Management Fund. 'G n ralF nd' ~ ' ..... ' , Finance Director Cap,ut0 stated that the ,1997 budget included about $23.1 Million of revenues for the General Fund and $23.7 Million in expenditures leaving the fund , . -, ~ith a $600,000 expected deficit for the fiscal year. He stated,that due to fortunate .... circumstances,, the deficit will be c0nsider:ably less tha~ expscted..H& stated that , .. ~,due to ,the reduced deficit, the General Fund was expected to be drawn down :; al~proximately $360,000 in, prder't~opay,~0¢ {h~¢ fi~:s! .... / Year. of,the ?treet [,mprovement program rather than the full $600,000th~t?as.expec. ted: , General Fund Revenues .... ;;,~, . , .Finance Director.Caputo then pro, ceeded t6 p, rovi~(~ an overview of, he revenues . associated with the General Fund. He stated that~the Village's portion of the Sales Tax revenue is expected to amount to$6,400,000. He explained that this is on target ,with the estimates from the beginning of the year. ~He also stated that the ~Sales Tax revenues would have been greater, but:that they had been adversely :'affected by the closing of the Mount Prospect Cadillac auto dealership. .~.~, Finance~Director. Caput° stated that the Village's portion of. the Real Estate ~ Transfer Tax is expected to generate about $100,000 more revenue~than expected at the beginning of the fiscal year due to the sale of four large properties. He stated , that three of the properties sold are in Kensington Business Center, and the other 'property is one that~was formerly, leased by U.S. Robotics but ~has now been purchased by the corporation. He stated [hat the Village's portion of the Income ,Tax is'expected tO ,J<ceed budget , estimates by about $130,000. He attributed this increase to the extremely healthy 'economy in the first half of the year.. He also stated that revenues from Circuit Court Fines were expected to come in $55,000 under the budgeted amount. He attributed this shortfall to a lesser amount of budgeted overtime with regards to traffic enforcement .and the Circuit Court imposing fewer fines than in the past. General,Fund Expenditures Finance Director Caputo continued the mid-year review by providing an overview of the expenditures associated with the General Fund. He stated that the Village's legal fees will amount to $75,000 less than anticipated. He attributed this to the fact that theestimates had included the possibility of heavy legal fees associated with collective bargaining negotiations that were never realized.. He explained that Fire Department overtime costs will amount to $35,000 over the budgeted amount.: He stated that a similar overtime expense occurred with respect .... to the Public Works Department due ,to snow removal last winter. This expense could cause the over budget amount of Public Works overtime to amount to around $30 000 General Fund -'1998 Forecast Finance Director Caputo explained that the Finance Department estimated a $525,000 deficit for the ..1997 budget year, but that the strong economy had reduced ~the amount to $325,000. He stated that 1997 would be the last year that the Village would budget for the increa§e'd pension contributions. ~By 1998 the pension funds ~'~would be fully funded and would no longer require the 14% increase experienced in 1997. This increase was necessary in order to bring the Police and Fire pension funds up to the actuarially recommended amounts. Finance D,rector' ' Caputo stated that for.1998 the Finance Department expects an ~'overall 4%' inc~-ease in"Property tax'levies, which~is on'target for,,1997 budget estimates. 'IHe'stated that a 1%Increase in sales,tax revenues, a 6%increase in :tele~mmuni~tions tax revenues, 4.5% increase in natural gas tax revenues and a~3% inbreasein'electricity tax'~revenues are all expected. He.stated that the estimates for the electricity potion of the Utility Tax assume that deregulation o~rs., If ele~ric deregulation does not o~r, the in.ease in the electricity podion ~ofthe'Utility Tax revenues may be higher.': ~ ~ . ' .... :~ Finance Director Caputo stated that overall, the Village Will experien~ a 3.4% in~eas'e in'revenues for the-1997 budget year, while holding expenditures at their budgeted levels. He stated that the $100,000 e~enditure budgeted in ,1997 for the Rand Road Study will not occur in 1998. He stated that for the 1997 budget year, ..... the Village will experience a, 10% to,1,1%'increase in expenditures' in the Risk Mahagement,Fund~asso~iated with ,health insurance, 'and a 14% increase in 'expenditures associated with the pension funds. ~He stated that no new staff or 'se~ices are e~pebted to be' added in 1997. ' ' ' ~. ~, He explained to'the Board that he needed direction from them in eliminating the $325,000 deficit. He stated that a determination would have to be made as to ~ether the ~llage would tW to raise revenues, cut se~ices or some combination of the ~o in order to address the deficit. He stated,that the ,Board had~been provided with a nine year financial fore.st during ~the street re~nst~ction program discussions.~ He stated that he had updated this~fore~st for ~the :Board. Hestated that there are in.easing deficits throughout the course of the nine years in both the General Fund and the Capital Improvements Fund. Finance Director Caputo described the status of the Capital Improvement Fund. He stated that the fund was a,kind of general ~pital fund whi~ is used for the purchase of smaller items:' items ~ther than vehicles, street improvements, sewer improvements and the such. He stated that the fund will be depleted by the year 2001 if another funding source is not found. He stated that the fund will have around $700,000 at the beginning of 1998,.with 9~penditures of about $250,000 annually. .~ He stated that the fore.st for 1998 indi~tes that',expenditures will increase about ,,3%~-to 3:5%. 'He explained that,'there would be~no pension funding increase experienced in the 1998 budget year, and that the $100,000 expense associated with the Rand Road traffic study, is not a recurring expense and therefore will not ,be included in,1998. ~.. ,,- . ..... , , ~ ,,~ ~ ,~, ,:, .~ 4 Refd~e DispoSal ~r~d~ ~ ....... ~Finance Director Caputo stated that the revenues and expenditures for the Refuse DisPosal 'Fund a?e ih line with their budgeted'amounts. He Statedihat the Village tipped more refuse thah was exl~eCted but 'that this was (~ffset by lower tipping fees than expected. He stated that the fund will come in very close to budget. Risk Manaqement Fund , · ' Fin;a~ce Director Caputo stated ~'hat in I~(~th'l~udg'~i ~ear' 1996 and ;I 997 the Risk ~Managem~nt fund expended about $250,000'less than expected. He ~ttributed this to increased participation by Village staff in HMo programsi'" ,'He ~tated that this has led to a greater fund balance in the Risl~ Management fund than:neCessary. He stated that it could be possible,to hold contributions towards health insurance premiums to their 1997 levels in thee i 998 budget yea~-. Water & Sewer Fund Finance girectg~ ca'putodescribed ih~, Statu~ of..,the~Water:, & Se~r Fund. He staied that the fund will experience $150,000 less in revenues and $75,000 less in ex~penditures than' anticipated. He explained that this is duet0'the fact that the levies for Special Service Area #5, which prov, ides water to the podion of the Village which receives Village water, are dalculated to kee~ levies eqbal to':'the fixed cost for SerVice from the Joint Action water Agency(JAWA). He stated that'since JAWA COSts ai:e not expe~edto increase, the levies will remaih~ at 1997 levels. However, th& Water &Sew, er. fu, nd overall ~,ilJ exp~:ience a 5;1% increase in'expenditures, before accounting f~)r c0ntfibutions fr0'm heaithinsurance. He Stated that if these costs could be reduced, then the expenses in the ~Water & Sewe~r' Fund coul,d be reduced as well. ' ..... ~' ' ' : Village Debt Finance,Director~ ,' ,, , Caputo described ihe Villag~'s ;d~bt st~tusl~ He stated that the Village will issue'~a $2,000',000 bohd i~,1998. He'also stated that"an additional $1,500,000 bond issue m'ay nbt be necessary due to the fact' that the Public Works Department has obtained an Environmental, P~:ote~tion 'Agency grant for flood control projects. He stated further that an additional bond issue may be:forthcoming to support the downtown i'edevelopmentproject.' However, ,whether Or not the bond will be issued 'will have to be decided by the Village Board asthey determine the priorities'for downt(~wn redevelopment. ~,:~, Finance Director Caputo then ,instructed the Village Board., that a Budget Calendar, Budget sheets and some information ~regarding ambulance fees was , attached to the agenda. He explained that the budget sheets were to be used by the Board in articulating desired changes in fQnding oi' service's.to Village staff. ,Mayor Pro Tern Corcoran then sohc~ted comments on the m~d-year, budget and pre-budget workshop introdu~bon prov!ded by Finance Director Caputo. Village Manager Michael ,l~n0nis stated fha('{h~e bops' Ahead g~ani' used to hire the two Problem Solving Officers in the Police Department has expired and that the Board would need to discuss whether or not tcJ con'tin~e thispr0gram ~s well as the Student Resource Officer p,r. ogram. He.stated that he ~xpected discussion relating "'to ti~se.programs to. ~ak~'place'during a Uommitt~e o~.',the whole meeting in ,August..He stated th'at the positions would be included in'the 1998' budget unless ,th~ Bo~r:8 dir'e6t~b otherWise; " ...... ' '" Mayor Pro.Tern Corcoran enqUired.as, to whether th ~ncreased funding of pensions could be ~pread 'over twO ~e,~r~ raihei' thari just 'one.' Finance Director Caputo responded that this could in fact be'accomplished if the ,~,Board ~esired.to.do ,so. He stated that both pensions are close to 100% and that th'e'finan~sial impact of Sprea~i,ng the'increased'funding' ovei' two years would not , e great. "'Re ex a ned that thb 14% in'ease in, funding amdunts to about $80,000. + ' '~"' """:'"-:' '~': '""'" " '" ' : e'cha'rman of the , Mr. Brian Weinberg, owner of Suburban Pnnbng spoke. He ~s th Mount .Prospect¢Chamb~er,of Commerce Governmental Affairs'Committee. He ~ddreSsed the Bo;~:d r~ga~ding the business community'~'con{ribbtion to residential t~lispos~l:'H~ ~at ~lth t$1;100000P ye,~ sco'~nt ibUted'byth ~ef~s s e a , er r.i r e business en' pay ro' '12 mn~ ity t d ~f se di pos I Wh o n owar s r u s a they, ~their,.,P pe. taxes. Mr. l Wei,nberg sta!ed t,hat he desired,tl~8' money t,0, be appropriated towards something tl~t i'hore'tangibly'~is'sists the b'u~ine~s community.': He mention'ed possibilities such as downtown redevelopment, and greater police and fire protebtion for ~.~e business community Ms. Ann Smilanic ,of the Village of Mount Prospect Finance Commission ~.responded to Mr'. Welnberg's comments., s~e Stated th'at the amount'contributed 'by the business cloture'unity towards r~esidential 'refuse disposal varie~! from year to year:, b,~sed, on, .t,he prop. erty yaluations.., , .. She'also,. . stateS, that, ~the refuse, billing helps !o keep track of the properties th'at are being bought and sold in'the Village. She ',~7'state,d !hat due to the fact that'a portion of the Village"recei~es"t~e-ir water from iOitizehs;'Utilities, it is important that the' refuse disposal Gills i'emain so that the ?"-'") Village 6an"'keep track'0f the Sal~of property in'the,Villa~e'and retain knowledge of the ownership of property. M~. s. iiaAic th 'pr,ocee~eU to a dr~ss th~ .Villag6 board ~-ega~din~ I~er concerns 6 about the pr:eposed increase in 'amb'ulanbb fees. She stated th'at in 1996 the Village of Mount Prospect Fire Department handled three thousand, 'one hundred and eighteen (3,118) ambulance calls. She stated that approximately one-third of "thesecallSWere in ~'esPonse t° emergencies involving Senior citizens.'., She stated that unlike most health care providers, the Village would bill residents directly for the ambulance service, requiring the seniors to submit claims t.o, Medicare on their own. She stated that due to the fact that hospitals, 'doctors and 'other health care providers submit Medicare claims on behalf of their patients, many of the seniors would not knowhow to g6 about filing a claim. 'She als~'st~ated that the cost of the ambulance bill would count towards the $100.00 deductible. Ms. Smilanic stated further that the billing of residents for ambui~r~ce sei-vice would caus, e administrative problems f0r.the F-. inance Department. She also expressed concern that residents who became aware that they would be charged for ambulance' se~-vice Would become reluctakt to use`it if they, felt they~C.,°~ld not afford the charge. She'also stated that'the billings would also incur Costs due to postage and,enveloPes. She Stated that she would strongly Oppose' anyi~)rop0sed billing of · residents for,ambulance service. ,At this poinil Mayor ProYeni Oorc0ran's0iicited comments frdm the Board, asking ,; that they, address'the concerns at the apprdpriate !ime:."disdbssion Would begin with 1997 budget concems; move on to 1998 budget concerns ?egar,.ding expenditures, revenues. and conclude with 1998 budget concerns regarding ,,expressed no concerns re ;19~ budget at this point. g the' ."1998 Budq~t EXpek dieU ..... res' ' , The Board expressed the following c0n~ems r~ga~'ding exper~ei(br'~s in the 1998 budget: Trustee Hoefert stated thai the B°~r:d needed'to determin~ whet'her the deficit was ,. indicative of a revenue problem or an expense, problem.' He stated that the Utility Tax.had been created to addre§s tl~elre~/enue problem. He statedthat the deficit ought to be.app¢0aehed frorri'the expense.side of the problem to begin with. He stated {hat if 'possible, e'Xpen~es should be cut rather than revenues increased. Trustee Clowes state~l'ihat he agi'eed'With'Trustee H~efert'S comments. He stated that expenses can not be increased at the rate of 5% to 6% per year when re~,enues a~'9 only, in~easing'at aboyt 3.4% i~er year. He ~,t~t~d !ha.t for a number of years, the Village's expenditures ~ have, increased'at a greater rate than its 7 ,revenues. He stated that the Villag'e',s expenses should not grow faster than its '~'~ .... revenues. ~ .... ; ....~'' ' ' ' ' ~'~' The consensus of the Board xp cut expenSes in order to ~ el---inate'their~' deficit." ~ was , to ,e¢,~,~ ior~ ~ways 998 Revenues ~" ' ~ The Board expressed the following concerns'regarding ~h~ '1998 bu'dget revenues: Mayor Pro Tem borboran '" ' stated t~at h~ is not in fagO¢ of ~n a~bul~nce foe for residents. , ~ , Trustee ~lks ~tat~d'~&~ ~s~ had,initially considered the ambulance fee proposal when ~t was bro~ght~up. She stated that she ~s worried about the results of the ..... a~d ~ h MS~ S~il lc: sh ed th ~ pro~0~l that sh~ agr es wit , an e stat at she did not want ~ td S e' ~lle~ion ~gencihhnht in t0'~lle~ delinqueht ambulaflc~ fo Trustee e es _r_u=_. es. Wdks stated that w~th the turnover experienced ~n both the 'pohb~l and administrative bodies ~ the Village, that it was quite possible tha{ the' fees ~uld be administered in ways not intended by.the current Board of Trustees. She also stated that she would not'w~nt to ~eate any'reasons for residents't0¢h~sitate to ~11 for an amb~lan~ in an emergency.. Trustee Wilks stated that she w~ not in favor ~f ~ a~b~l~nce fee for residents ~ ' " Trustee Clowes stated that he would only be in favor of an in,ease in the ambulance fees if it was tied to the reduction or elimination of other-tax increases used to fund the Street Re~nstruction Program. He stated that since the funding fdr"the Street Rec°h~tCuctidn"Program has been secured, he is n~t in favor of i&creasing the ambulance fees. He stated that other' se~!~ providers such as do~ors and undedakers ~arge fees in tragic Situations, and that he di{agreed the argument that --~v~.¢-" '~m~an!c provided. Trustee Hoefe~ asked whether information was available t~at'~uld give the Trustees an idea of the cost of an ambulance run.,_ Fire' Chief Edward C~veilo stated that the 'nature of ambula~ ~ns'~a¢ied greatly, ,and that ~t would be d~fficult to quanti~ th~ cost of an ambulance run. He stated that ~h~ bstim~t~he~uld ~rovidO ~t the ~ont wo~ld b° spo~ul~fiOq? Ho stated ~that tho noh-~SiOO~tfO0 Of $~25.00 Would lost been ~o anO oquipment required dudg~ an ambulance run. Trustee Hoefe~ ~ed thai t~e h&bulak~'fees could be raised {or nen-residents fr0~ $125.00~o $200.00. He stated that $27,000 cobld be mised'in'{His manner, without charging Mount Prospect residents for~ambulance service. Mr. Weinberg enquired as to whether he would be considered a resident of the '~Village for ambulance fee purposes. He stated that he owned a business in Mount Prospect but did not live in the Village. ~ Mayor Pro Tern Corcoran stated that for the purposes of ambulance fees, Mr. Weinberg would not be considered a citizen of'Mount Prospect. COnsensus of the Board is that the remainder of the 1997 Budget Year should proceed without any majors changes -Consensus of the Board is that the 1998 Budget Year' expenditure~s will need to be examined in order to determine whether they can be reduced in order to eliminate the deficit. Consensus of the Board is to have a measurement of the cost of ambulance service deVelOped So as tO better understand the ambulance fee issue. ' Mayn't'Pro Tem CorCo~an solicited the BOard for any further commehts Trustee Hoefert stated that in Arlington Heights, the residential ambulance fee is $100.00 and the non-residential ambulance f(~e is $150.00~, :~ Viliage Manage,r Mi&hael Jan0riis ~tated that with the general success of the turn re'strictions at Isabella, the Village'Board ma~, want to ~consider whether it is necessary to pursue the traffic study· He alsb stated that he wobld like direction from the Board as to whether there are any services that are off limits when considering the reduction Of e~penditures.' ." ~ '. ~' ~ The following comments were made by the Board with regards to the Rand Road Corr!dor Study: .... '~ ~ ~ '~ ~ ~' ' ~ '~ Trustee'Lohm{0rfer Stated thatit c6dld be a p0ssil:JilitY to hold off on the study until 1999. If it were deemed necessary after~a year of review-of the situation during 1998, then the studY could be budgeted for 1999. Trustee Nocchi concurred wi~h Trustee Lohrsto~fer's position regarding the traffic study.' ~ ' ' ' T~'Ustee Wilks stated that the BOard ~ught to wait before making a decision and 'revisit the iSSue at a'l~ter date, because from' what she~has I'ieard, there are still 9 traffic ~problems to be addressed.,. She.also stated that she trusted the Village Manager's judgement on this issue. %,,.~, ; ~. ;: Trustee Hoefert stated that the residents are generally satisfied with the Village's traffic solution from the comments he,has heard. ' ' .., .. i~ , ~¢., ~, Mayor'Pro Tem Corcoran solicited comments from the Board regarding whether they felt any budget issues were ."off limits"with regards to cutting expenditures. The Board made the following comments: General comments by the Board included: Several Board members remarked that the basic services provided by the Village should not be,drastically affected. , ~, , , Trustee CIoWes stated that he does not regard any areas as being "off limits". Mayor Pro Tem Corcoran stated that he wo~Jld like to a~,0id cutfinga~y personnel within the Police Department, ir~ light of the successes that have occured recently. :~ Trustee Hoefert enquired as to whether any,funds would ,be, budgeted fo~: Village Hall improvements in 1998. Public Works Direct0~' Glen Andler resp(~nCied that ab0ut $50,000 t~ $60,000 will be budgeted to adcJress critical probiems Such as tl~e HV/~C'$ystem'a~d the roof. He also stated that it is important that the Village Hall question be.answered before they. start to spend the funds. He stated that this appropriation was scheduled for Fiscal Year;!999, not.Fiscal Year 1998.~ ,,, Trustee Hoefert stated tlia{ 'significant;mor~ey;shoul~l :n0('be Sp'eni on the building unless the Board is ready to commit to that building. Trustee ¢i0wes stated ihat he agreed Witl;i' Mr. Weinberg's commehts that the business community is unfairly impacted by the refuse disposal 'ls~'rtion of the property tax levies. He stated that he doesn't necessarily support the elimination of the,levy altogether, but adrnittedt,hat it is an unfair burden on b?siness. Trustee Hoefert stated' that he felt that Mr. Weinberg g~ve the impression that the ,business ¢community does not receive, its,. fair share of services. He stated that business and ~:esidents'both receive equitable service* from the Village. He also stated that the idea of a con, tingency fund needs to be brought back in 1998 .budg~.t...He 'sta~ed that the $30,009 in excess ove~ime 'for~'.~now remOgal is a good ~. ].0 example' Of why the Village needS"~such a contigency plan .... ~Mayor Pro Tern Corcoran 'solicited comments regarding the garbage collection issue ...... The'Board provided t~e folldwing comments: , "'~ Trustee ~lks enquired as to ~ether SWANCC would begin to provide se~ice to 'the business dommunity ' ' ~:' ' ~ ....... Mayor Pro Tem Corc0ran,re~pp, nded that the Village has been able to provide rwaste disPOsal 'se~ice to businesses through the u~e of ~ntracts. He stated that these codtracts ~n help the busi~e~s Community to'save money, and that the ~Village c~uld revisit the issue., *," , -" ,* ~, .' Trustee ~lks stated that waste ~llection is often viewed as a municipal function. She stated that the Village ought to look into helping business address their solid Waste problems. "She stated that any of the'shifting of some of the $1,100,000 toWards Other areas needs to be'~refully considered." "' She stated that the last time the Village considered changing the refuse disposal se~i~,'She plaid h&r home, hone numberin the paper in order to re~ive input from citizens. She rstated that she received si~y-seven ~lls from citizens who wanted the status quo to ~emain. ' ':: ' ' ~¢ ~ ' :', She st&ted that t~e~mmuhity really'wants the system to remain as is. She stated that the Village should explore the possibility Of providing assistan~ to business with regards to solid waste ~isposal. Trustee' CI0wes Stated that the reason that the residents would like the refuse disposal to ~emain the same is that it is ~ently subsidized by business. He stated that the issue needs to be looked at from'an equity standpoint. He ~tated that the least that should be done is to explore how mu~ it would ~st for the Village to pick , up the business c0mm~nity's waste as well as the residents' waste.~ ConsensUs 0f th~ Boa~ is to lea~e the waste disposal billing as it is cuffently Oonsensb's of the Board is to explore the possibili~ Of using t~e Village's purchasing power to h~lp the business communi~ obtain be~er waste disposal rates. Village Manager ~ichaei d~n0niS rema~e~ that some fairly drastic buts are going to have to be made to bridge the $325,000 gap,for.1997, and that the Village is currently looking at a $500,000 deficit in 1998. He stated that the Village remains at the bottom of the Park Ridge Survey in cost of government per, capita, i' He stated that the Village also remains substantially lower in manning levels than the Park Ridge Survey communities and also substantially lower than the nearest community to Mount Prospect in terms of manning among the Park. Ridge.Su~ey,c. ommunities. He stated that the Board should not be"surprised when they §ee the cuts. Trustee Wilks'requested that'the cuts Be enLJ'~erated so tha!.~the,B0ard can easily identify where the cuts are coming from. Trustee Nocchi ag(eed with Trustee Wilkes' comment reg,ardingthe enumeration of cuts. He suggested thati~a' binder be developed, such as,the one used in the discussions regarding the Capital Improvements Plan. He stated ti~'at it'~vould be useful to have such a binder to help the Board determine the empaC;ts of the various proposed cuts , . , ,- .... Trustee Nocchi enqbired as to whether the variance between estimated ahd actual expenditures for the-1996 budget year'regarding Capital,aqd Property' insurance, which amounted to about 40%, could be anticipated for the 1997 budget year. Finance Director, Brian Caputo responded that be expected. He stated that the worker's .compe~satioh~claims for 1996 came in significantly lower than expected. He e,xp!ai..ned that this accounted foi' a great portion of the variance, and could not be counted on in the future. He stated that the line items indicate that the estimate.for the Capital and, Property Insurance expenditures for 1997~ is still valid., . Trustee Clowes stated that the Village s~aff needs to make a serious attempt to make cuts:,, He stated that the purpose o~ a..,budget is to provide a constraint to spending.. He stated that it,doesn't su~rpr!se him thattl~e, cuts, will be difficult, but that the Village needs the constraint. Trustee,.Lohrstorfer stated that art Of th I m hes With~the fact that the Village is a growing community that would like to continue t8 growand to continue to provide, the se~ices necessary to the com~munity.. He stated that it is important to look at non-personnel items first of all, and he concurre;d with T~:usteeWilks that the Board needs to have some idea of where the cuts are going tO come from and their impaqt on the Vi!lage pr!or to making a ~er!ous consideration of them. Trust~e Hoefed:'&i&ted ' ' that the Boa~'d needs to piace trust in the staff io'come up with viable proposed cuts. He concurred with Trustees Wilks~and Lerhrstorfer with regar, ds t~ having the proposed cuts clearly outlined.. Mayor Pro Tem Corcoran stated that a budget is a plan on how to spend money in order to obtain goals. He stated that if there was any pain involved with budgeting process, it would be the Board's pain due to the fact that the difficult decisions will fall to them. He stated that the Board would have to determine whether to spend less money and provide less service, or to spend more money in order to maintain service levels. V. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT None. VI. OTHER BUSINESS ,Trustee Wilk$ stated that she attended the dedication to the CETA Northwest Self- Help Center at 1300 Northwest Highway. She stated that Social Worker April Foley was in attendance as well. She stated that April Foley formerly was a member of the Board of Directors of CETA Northwest. She stated that she enjoyed the dedication and that it was her pleasure to represent the Mayor and the Board of Trustees at the event. She wished CETA Northwest the best of luck with their new facility. Trustee Wilks stated that she would like to have an open house in mid-December. The open house could coincide with the Teddy Bear walk, and possibly could be coordinated with the Chamber of Commerce. The open house could help to bring people downtown at that time of the year. Trustee Wilks stated that she would like to see the Mayods cable television Holiday Greeting expanded to include the Trustees and their families as well. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Mayor Pro Tern Corocoran at 9:15 p.m. ' ResPectfully submitted, ARIC AHRENS Administrative Intern /aa 13