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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/25/2011 COW MinutesCOMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES October 25, 2011 CALL TO ORDER — ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. in the Village Board Room of the Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Irvana Wilks. Present at the meeting were: Trustees Paul Hoefert, John Korn, John Matuszak, and Steven Polit. Staff present included: Village Manager Michael Janonis, Finance Director David Erb, Finance Deputy Director Lynn Jarog, Human Services Director Nancy Morgan, Human Services Deputy Director Jan Abernethy, Community Development Deputy Director Brian Simmons, Fire Chief John Malcolm, Deputy Fire Chief Chris Truty, Fire Marshal Brian Loomis, Fire Battalion Chief Don Wisniewski and Intern -Office of Village Clerk Alexander Bertolucci. Absent from the meeting were: Trustee Arlene Juracek and Trustee Zadel. II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FOR SPECIAL JOINT MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 Motion made by Trustee Korn seconded by Trustee Polit. Minutes were approved. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD No citizens requested to be heard. IV. 2012 BUDGET DISCUSSION Mayor Irvana Wilks provided opening remarks to the budget discussion, including the meeting's purpose and the budget review process. She noted the many ways the community could interact with the Village Board during the review process. Village Manager Michael Janonis commented on how staff tries to make the budget process open and transparent. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software improved the accuracy of the proposed budget. Finance Director David Erb presented an overview of the proposed 2012 budget. He covered the current fiscal year's status and described the development of the 2012 budget. He highlighted the 2012 budget figures; total budget increase 0.2 %, total revenue increase 4.5 %; operating budget decrease 1.1%. The 2012 General Fund budget, as presented, is balanced. The initial budget deficit for 2012 was $1.5 million and significant effort was required by all departments to eliminate the deficit. It is projected for 2013 the General Fund will have a deficit of $900,672. Mr. Erb provided an overview of the proposed Property Tax increase of 4.33 %. The General Fund would increase approximately 8.7% with an overall increase of $591,000. Also, the Refuse Fund would increase 3 %, Debt Service would be flat, Police Pension Fund would decrease by 1.3 %, and Fire Pension Fund would increase 0.8 %. Other H: \CLKO \WIN\Alex Projects \COW Minutes 10- 25- 11.docx Committee of the Whole Page 1 of 3 10/25/11 taxing bodies would also benefit from the proposed Property Tax increase. He provided an alternative tax option and property tax options of a 5% increase and a 7.5% increase along with the respective General Fund revenue increase. Mr. Erb proposed a $25 increase in the refuse direct bill and a 5% increase in the water rate. The final water rate amount is dependent on the amount the supplier, City of Chicago, decides to increase their rates. General comments, questions or concerns from the Village Board included the following: • The Village's current level of debt is low compared to other municipalities; • The Illinois State budget is negatively affecting the Village's budget; • The Telecommunication Tax should be examined due to declining revenue. Human Services Director Nancy Morgan began her departmental overview briefly describing the various health and social services offered by the Human Services Department. The 2011 budget reductions created minimal delays in services. Ms. Morgan thanked the Fire Department for organizing the Food Drive at Costco. The response was unprecedented and the donations will help during the holiday season. She highlighted the success of the Medical Reserve Corps program, Masters in Social Work Interns and the two year anniversary of the Community Connections Center. Ms. Morgan discussed the 2012 budget. She indicated 2012 will be a maintenance year and the department is planning on reorganizing some programs. General comments, questions or concerns from the Village Board included the following: The Community Connections Center's rent is included in the line item of "Other Professional Services" on page 141 of the budget book. Commended the department for their tremendous job with maintaining quality services with fewer resources than before. Community Development Director Brian Simmons continued the 2012 budget discussion by describing the department's 2011 accomplishments. He summarized the ongoing development efforts throughout the community. The department's plan to contract out the building inspector service has proven to be an operational improvement. Overall the 2012 total budget has decreased by .08 %. General comments, questions or concerns from the Village Board included the following: • The status of several properties within the community; • The contracted inspector service has provided inspector continuity by assigning three (3) of their employees to the Village; • The inspection scheduling time has decreased because of the contracted service's ability to alter staffing levels based on demand for inspections; • The Building Commissioner occasionally rides along on inspections to monitor the performance of the contracted inspectors. • A survey should be distributed to residents who had inspections completed by the contracted inspectors to evaluate their performance; • Clarified the differences between a re- inspection and an inspection. The number of re- inspections is about 4 times greater than the number of inspections. Re- Committee of the Whole Page 2 of 3 10/25/11 inspections tend to occur more on service calls then new construction inspections; The Business Retention Program is a proactive method of communicating with local businesses and the program should increase the number of business trips. Fire Chief John Malcolm provided an overview of the 2011 highlights and the 2012 objectives. The proposed 2012 budget shows an increase of 4 %. The Fire Union has agreed on a 0% pay increase for 2012. The 2012 budget is estimated at $11,905,304 of which 91.7% is personnel cost and 8.3% is contracts, commodities, and vehicle maintenance. The department has scheduled replacement of all portable and mobile radios, the office furniture in Station 13, and purchasing thermal imaging equipment. The vehicle lease payments will increase 102% to prepare for the purchase of a fire engine which is expected to be replaced in 2014. General comments, questions or concerns from the Village Board included the following: • The 16% increase in call volume is related to several serve weather events and the train accident which occur this year; • General discussion regarding staffing levels in consideration to the community's safety; • Discussion on the increase use of mutual aid and the possible effects of the continuation of receiving mutual aid at current levels; • Reduction in estimated Emergency Medical Service (EMS) training time for 2012 is due to the difficulty of dedicating time for staff training; • The achievements in cardiac arrest recoveries are attributed to the quality of personnel, equipment and training. Finance Director David Erb responded to the Village Board's question regarding the breakdown of the Fire Department's budget for Employee Benefits. Previously the Medicare and Social Security amounts were grouped with different line items but with the ERP software these costs can be examined individually. V. MANAGER'S REPORT Village Manager Michael Janonis noted Monday is Halloween and Trick or Treat hours in the Village are between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; encouraged residents to monitor youth activities VI. ANY OTHER BUSINESS None VII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:36 p.m. Alexander Bertolucci Intern -Office of Village Clerk Committee of the Whole Page 3 of 3 10/25/11