Sangamon Sun

City of Lincoln Committee of the Whole met July 10.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

The Committee of the Whole Meeting of the City Council of Lincoln was called to order by Mayor Seth Goodman at 7 p.m., with proper notice given. City C!erk Peggy Bateman took roll.

Present:

Alderman Steve Parrott Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman Ron Fleshman Alderwoman Michelle Bauer Alderman Ron Keller Alderwoman Heidi Browne Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

Staff Present:

Treasurer Chuck Conzo City Clerk Peggy Bateman Fire Chief Mark Miller

Police Chief Paul Adams

Building and Safety Officer Wes Woodhall Streets Superintendent Walt Landers

Absent:

City Attorney Blinn Bates

Waste Water and Treatment Manager Tim Ferguson

Presiding:

Mayor Seth Goodman

Public Comment:

Mayor Goodman said item number eight will be pulled from the evening's agenda, he then called upon citizens registered to speak. Mrs. Wanda Lee Rohlfs came forward and started by saying that she wanted to look at a surprise that she saw in Lincoln Daily News this morning. She said American Water had been purchased.

Alderwoman Bauer said, "We know what you know," and there have been no formal meetings with Illinois American Water, they have not approached the city. She said what was released for public consumption is the same information that is available to the council.

Mrs. Rohlfs referred to an article she found on the web and urged the city to be cautionary with the new company. She said it looked like a global company.

She said we don't know if this will impact what is going on with the sewer.

Alderwoman Bauer said Tim did send an email once the article came out and that he would fill the city in once he knew more. She said nothing was changing besides the name change, but it would not impact services to the community. She said they had told him about staffing within his particular area that his folks are supposedly not going to be impacted from an employment standpoint. She said that is honestly all they know at this point.

Mrs. Rohlfs said when reading this she thought that there would have been discussion... and commented,"Oh no-all this work that has gone into the sewer plant..." just what we need something new.

Mr. Philip Gillen came forward and thanked the city councilfor hearing his thoughts, he wanted to discuss the lease with the Lincoln Soccer Committee and the city owns the land behind Walmart. He said the committee does not have a problem with him flying radio controlled airplanes in the field.He would like permission to use the area as a landing strip where there is already a mainfield,where there is parking (pressed asphalt). He wanted permissionto pour a concrete slab on that and he and his group would work on it on their own. It would be about 15-20 feet wide and 100 feet long. He just wanted permission.

Alderman Fleshman asked about the pad. Mr.Gillen said it would be concrete, donated from ready-mix as it becomes available as they get rejected concrete. It would be a 3 inch slab of rolled down asphalt.

Mr. Gillen said most people are a part of a national association-the Academy of Modeling Aeronautics. It's a national association. They have pay a membership and get a $2.5 million liability policy. Alderman Hoinacki asked if Mr. Walt Landers had any concern. He said they do not have any function out there, it would not affect Streets and Alleys at all. He said the soccer committee mows it and maintains it.

Alderman Parrott asked if he would be working with Mr. Tim Ferguson and their group as the forms went up. He said "we can," there is loose milling around. He said they built up three inches to it so people can park on the site. He called it a dual use.

Alderman Welch said he thinks it is a good idea. His questions were about a letter of endorsement from the soccer club, and he wanted to know about leaving the property in the state it was in, when the lease ends. Alderman Parrott said they would be responsible for it, if they were to allow it.

Alderwoman Bauer mentioned verifying something with City Attorney Blinn Bates about a memorandum of understanding. Mr. Wes Woodhall said he would like to work with the group to determine safety, standards, and design etc. Alderman Parrott asked if there are competitions that the group could do with these airplanes. Mr. Gillen said there is one in Springfield, Bloomington at Funks Grove. He said they have to be clubs that have a charter. He said this is just for leisure, even if they go their own club in Lincoln they may not need to sanction anything.

Alderman Hoinacki asked if the council needs to put anything on the agenda. Alderman Parrott asked about parking on it. Mr. Gillen said it would be a smooth surface if someone wanted to use it for handicap parking.

Mr. Chuck Fink came forward next to discuss his property at 520 North Logan Street. He said he has lived there since 1997, he said at that time, there was not a lot of train traffic. He said since recent rail renovations, it seems the train traffic has increased dramatically. His concern is the noise the trains make when they come through town. He said someone he had spoken with the city had reached out about making Lincoln a quiet zone. He wanted to know if that was on the table for discussion.

Mr. Wes Woodhall said he and Alderwoman Bauer talked about it a few months ago when they were dealing with The Lincoln Depot renovation project, he has done a lot of research on this and has talked with the Mayor of the City of Normal about it too. He said it can be done, with high-speed rail the crossings are already where they need to be at. He said staff has discussed it, his biggest concern is safety though. He said trains are loud, he brought up Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) standards. Union Pacific is again a quiet zone from a safety standpoint. His opinion personally is that he has seen people run under the barriers.

He said a train was recently uptown and going through a crossing, but the barriers were not down, the conductor had to lay on the horn. He said there's never been an accident in the five year span he had researched. He said it is up to the council. He said keep in mind that there is work to be done, it's a time consuming process, they could address that as it comes. He said keep that all in mind.

Alderman Parrott asked Mr. Woodhall if it was possible to only have passenger trains go by the rule versus freight trains-to allow freight trains to continue to blow their horns. Mr. Woodhall said it is all trains on a particular line. They start roughly a quarter mile out, north...Alderman Parrott asked if most passenger trains stop in Lincoln.

Mr. Woodhall said the trains will slowly start getting faster. He said if there is a dangerous situation, they are going to honk their horns and they will honk horns at platforms, they will still do that, if the train is coming/going. He said they don't really like to refer to it as a quiet zone, it is a relief zone, where they have every ability to honk the horn as they see fit. He said as this is going on, his biggest concerns are malfunctions in the gates. He said they are the highest grade gates. He said it's something to be weary of.

Alderman Keller asked if Mr. Woodhall has seen if there are more incidents of accidents in these quiet zones. Mr. Woodhall said he was reading something about quiet zones today. Alderwoman Bauer said she wanted to see the item placed on the agenda, regarding the process and procedurally what the city would have to do to apply-all of the nuts and bolts, along with some data. She wanted to see this brought to the council. Mr. Woodhall has gone through a lot of the preliminary steps, but said it's attainable. Alderwoman Bauer said she'd be happy to reach out to Normal's mayor too. He said it is a functioning option out there, no matter what, but there is a lot of information that impacts all the railroads, IDOT, the FRA etc. He said anyone on the line has to come through each crossing. He said the hard part is getting all the officials into one bus, to go from crossing to crossing.

Treasurer Chuck Conzo said he knows something about trains and railroad operations, he said Union Pacific is opposed to these zones because of the safety issues. He said Florida East Coast Railway has done this too and they've seen some increases in accidents and he said one thing you have to remember is that people at night-walk around the gates, and the city would not want to see anyone get hurt and killed. He said locomotives have whistles on them for a reason and it's not just for the cows in the fields, it's also for going through cities. He said liability of this may be far greater than the benefit of cutting down on the noise.

Mr. Woodhall said in his research-the final rule, when it comes to the quiet zone, it's not 100%, it's a case by case issue, but the federal government is trying to make it so that the lack of horns is not "why" something happens. He said that's just what they've tried to do with the final rule act. He could not speak to liability on this.

Mr. Fink referred to the treasurer's Florida reference, he said recently there was a death on the rails, the train whistle was blowing, but it did not stop the accident. He wanted to see a comparison. He said at 3 a.m.in the morning you don't nave to blow your whistle the entire time you're passing through Lincoln. The item will be placed on the next Committee of the Whole agenda-in two weeks.

There being no further public participation, Mayor Goodman moved down to other agenda items.

Presentation: Zach Kennedy University Of Illinois Extension, Programs Incommunity And Economic Development:

Mr. Zach Kennedy, Extension Specialist from the University of Illinois came forward. He wanted to share a series of case studies that the group has done. He said he'd be happy to follow up with anyone after the meeting.

He said the extension has four different development areas. They have county based educators and then people on campus who are willing to work anywhere depending on what the project is. His team has looked at what cities/towns in rural areas are doing right. In Illinois, they've looked at Canton and Farmington.

Lessons from Canton: Canton is successful at engaging people, being collaborative, having open channels of communication, and having a mentorship program for entrepreneurs. He also said regionally-they're good at working with neighboring communities, building the public realm through programming, and recruiting past community members to come back and invest in the town.

Lessons from Farmington: Farmington is good at private investments, historical capital, marketing and communications, small business and main street retail, public events and programs.

The extension team can provide data, demographics, GIS-special analysis, commuting patterns. They can also provide Retail Market Place Data, psychographics, and business location mapping. He said this is a baseline. He said he'd be happy to work with the city and provide them this information and explain what this means and where next steps will go.

The extension also has Live Webinars on various topics. It allows the audience to ask speakers questions about various cases in their specific communities. He said these are also archived.They try to make them topical and timely.

They can do customized planning processes for a fee. As a public body they are not in it to make a profit. There is no profit motive. They can also match graduate students with a community, it's a win-win in a sense that the community gets a good product and the students get good experience. He then gave examples of communities that have utilized these services.

Alderman Hoinacki thanked him for coming. Mayor Goodman moved onto other agenda items.

Compliance Review Of Motor Fuel Tax accounts-Resolution:

Streets Superintendent Walt Landers said the city was recently notified by IDOT that the city is going to have to go through a compliance review of the various MFT accounts. He said he and the City Clerk have supplied them with information and they are under review to see that funds were spent appropriately. Money has been spent from the fund without a resolution. Money has been spent from the MFT fund without a resolution passed by the council. Some funds have been spent from the MFT account that were not eligible.

He said this resolution is for a bill back in 2011 for the Fifth Street Road project. He said there will be several other resolutions, because in the last year and a half, two years there has been money spent out of this MFT Fund and there have not been resolutions on them. Refunds will need to go back to the MFT account. He said they'rejust getting started reviewing items from 2010 to 2017. He said it's going to be a working process. Mayor Goodman called for further questions and discussion, there being none the item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Appropriation Ordinance Fiscal Year 2018-2019:

Treasurer Chuck Conze said he has made a couple of revisions to the Appropriation-Fiscal Year 2018-2019.

The document he shared reflects a lower amount and he wanted to cover what those changes were.

He said he would point out that there's a difference between an appropriation and a budget. He said the document the council has, there have been changes to the legal services contract. From $85,000 to $87,000 in case the city needs this.

On page six of the document there was a change to the Building and Grounds, Utilities-Electric line item, from $12,000 to $15,000. There is now a General Revenue Fund total listed.

Under the Sewer Plant there was a change from $75,000 to $100,000. This increases the total sewer plan operations amount.

Lastly he touched on Capitol Projects, on page 13 of the document-he added in $75,000 for possible use of land acquisition.

He said this is still subject to change, up until the time the councilvotes on this. That was scheduled for July 24.There will need to be a regular voting meeting following the public hearing and prior to the Committee of the Whole meeting etc. He called for the item to be placed on the agenda. Mayor Goodman called for questions, there being none, he moved to other items on the agenda.

Replacement Of Alderman Ward 4:

Mayor Goodman opened discussion saying everyone knows Alderman Hoefle resigned last week, he welcomed Mr. Dayne Dalpoas to come forward. Mr. Dalpoas said Alderman Hoinackileft some big shoes to fill and if given the appointment he would work hard every day to try to fill it.

He went into this background, he works at State Farm, he said he returned home about three years ago and immediately got involved in the community. He said about six months ago he decided he wanted to get involved on a larger level and wanted to run for the Lincoln City Council in 2019. He said he's passionate about the City of Lincoln. He welcomed questions.

Alderman Parrott asked what his fundraisers were. It was a Toss for Harley bags tournament in 2017, his team raised $2,500 for the Humane Society of Logan County, with a second annual happening in 2018-with a goal of raising $8,000.

Alderman Keller asked what Mr. Dalpoas would like to achieve on the council. He said economic development, beautification, and civic engagement. He said these areas would drive him every single day. He said he's learned a lot about problem analysis at State Farm and said this could serve him well in this role.

Alderman Welch asked what some of the biggest issues are the city faces at present. He said the sewer mandate, as it impacts taxpayers. He said no one ever wants to pay more for an essential service. He also said the City Administrator position.

Mayor Goodman called for further discussion. There being none, Mayor Goodman called for the item to be placed on the agenda.

Announcements:

Mayor Goodman asked if anyone had any announcements.

•Fire Chief Mark Miller brought up a land acquisition-a neighboring lot by City Hall is on the market and the price has been reduced. The city did make an offer, agreeing upon a $70,000 purchase price for the property. The city would like to do a short-term finance on the property. He said they got a good deal on the four lots. They've made an offer and he'd like this to be put on the agenda next week.

•Police Chief Paul Adams said the open house for the new police station will be tomorrow, Wednesday, July 11. It will be from 6-8 p.m. The ribbon cutting will be at six.

oMayor Goodman asked the councilto send nominations for Home of the Month by the end of the day Sunday, July 15.

Executive Session I 2 (C)1:

There being no further announcements to come before the council, Alderman Welch made the motion to move into Executive Session under 2 (C)1, personnel seconded by Alderwoman Browne. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.

Present:

Alderman Steve Parrott Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman Ron Fleshman Alderwoman Michelle Bauer Alderman Ron Keller Alderwoman Heidi Browne Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

Yeas:(7) Alderman Steve Parrott, Alderman Tracy Welch,Alderman Ron Fleshman, Alderwoman Michelle Bauer, Alderman Ron Keller, Alderwoman Heidi Browne, Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

Nays: (O)

Absent: (o)

The council recessed from the Committee of the Whole meeting at 8:00 p.m. in order to enter Executive Session. Mayor Goodman announced that there may be more city business to follow.

The City Council returned to the Committee of the Whole meeting at 8:42 p.m. after adjourns in Executive Session. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.

Present:

Alderman Steve Parrott Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman Ron Fleshman Alderwoman Michelle Bauer

Alderman Ron Keller Alderwoman Heidi Browne Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

Discussion Of Cityadministrator Position:

Mayor Goodman wanted to discuss the current City Administrator ordinance, agreement. He asked how the council would like to see the positon moving forward.

Alderwoman Bauer established that in Executive Session, there was a potential candidate identified and she had asked that the council come out and clearly define the position if such an appointment would be made.

She said she is pro City Administrator in a full-time capacity with the duties that role currently has. She did not see a necessity for needing to alter it, given the candidate that was brought forward, she thinks they would be able to fulfill the needs of the city as the current position is outlined. She did not see a necessity in renaming the position.

She said she does think the city needs someone in a full-time capacity.

She said all of these are necessities within the city that need to be filled. She feels confident in the person and that they would be able to fulfill those. She said she wanted the council to discuss the specifics with the candidate.

Alderman Parrott said he has a different slant, he said looking at it long-term for this position, he said the candidate seems to fit this going forward, if they are going to have other candidates come in for two to three years, if you look at comparable City Administrator positions, you'll see the pay salary is lower. He said you change the position title and some of the duties, hours associated with the position. You go full-time with the exception that there will be a lower salary.

Alderwoman Bauer said she does not care if it is a three-five year position, if what the city is offering is an opportunity for someone to come in and participate in the community in a way that they feel compelled to do so.

She said when we hired Clay, he came in with the expectation, of where our salaries are, and that the city was new to the idea of a City Administrator position. She said if they are coming to this community, they are coming here for the opportunity that they are able to be impactful. She said if this is what we're looking for, then this is what we're looking for. She said we've been very transparent about what the city is willing to pay and what the city has as far as benefits and deficiencies.

She said particularly for this candidate, maybe they're in a different spectrum of their life scale where they have been in a position for a long time and are looking for opportunities in their community.

She said we don't know, I hate the idea of bringing in a 30 hour position, for the sake of bringing in a 30 hour position when the city could use someone for a full-time capacity. She said I think it warrants a full­ time position, she said I don’t know why we would go back and upset the apple cart, or reinvent the when we have a candidate that fits the role as it is now.

Alderman Keller said he guesses he was always in favor of a City Administrator because he saw what Clay does and because he knows it can and should be a very efficient form of government.

He said even from a cost analysis, this position pays for itself and in agreement with Alderwoman Bauer, this is a job that is very much warranted for. He wanted to ask to be sure to understand everyone's thinking. He wanted to know Alderman Parrott's position, if it was a financial aspect.

Alderman Parrott said in the last budget-he said he realized how much they've gone up in salaries, we're getting heavy on salaries, but we're not bringing in a lot of dollars into the city. Mayor Goodman said the benefit could outweigh the cost. Lincoln is not growing, but we need to put in every effort to make Lincoln grow. He said if we had someone in that position, we could really pull some of these people in.

He said when I ran for Mayor, he ran with the expectation that there would be a City Administrator. He said there will be a small group that doesn't want one, but he said we need the help full-time and not part-time.

Alderwoman Bauer said we don't have anyone actively pursuing grant dollars, or opportunities for economic development in any way, shape or form. She said we haven't gone back and revisited our strategic plan. She said we're not doing anything to help ourselves. She said we're the same and we're missing an opportunity and we need somebody in that seat that has a vested interest.

She said we have to have someone with branding, marketing, economic development experience. She said Ijust feel like we're missing opportunities every day she is sure of it and she said she just feels like we're spinning our wheels, or reinvent something.

She said we're still utilizing 90% of the job description. Why not hire for this positon? She said we know it works, when they were here, they were impactful.

Alderman Parrott asked when Clay was here, how much economic development was accomplished through his efforts.

Alderman Hoinacki said economic development is not cut and dry, he said it takes quite a bit of time and commitment. You have to massage it a bit. You can't just reach out to XYZ company.

Alderman Parrott said we gave out a contract to the alliance, he said that went nowhere. Alderwoman Bauer said they worked for us for a year. He said we did not get much from it. He said it did not bring any economic development in. Alderwoman Bauer said there was an active economic development effort, from McDonald's and St. Clara's Manor. She mentioned Cricket Wireless and Factory Connection. She said we had economic development and it was done in part with the alliance and the City Administrator.

Alderman Hoinacki said I think the mayor is saying that there isn't someone to answer that call.

Mayor Goodman said without a Chamber of Commerce. He said the options are limited and people don't know where to go. He said what are we offering them? He said we're not doing anything to increase revenue or do anything in this community. He said people are going to continue to leave unless, and businesses are going to leave unless we have that dedication. He said he understands that expense is a concern, but you can't pay half for a part-time effort and get a full-time result.

Alderman Parrott said if economic development is a big thing people are talking about where is it in the job description. Alderman Keller said it is number six, indirectly. Alderman Parrott said it that is a big point that people are talking about then it should be evident in the duties.

Alderman Keller said this person cannot be a savior for Lincoln, this person is not going to be the economic development director, but this person could take the lead and be a visionary, have a strategic plan. This person could be the face of the city in making some of this happen.

Alderman Parrott said to Alderwoman Bauer's point, if it is not in the description, we're not going to have individuals coming in here and ask them to do stuff that is not in here because we're going to set them up to fail.

Alderwoman Bauer said all of those things drive economic impact. She proceeded to list off items within the job duties. She said if economic development comes our way, that person is the person who leads that, that person is the person who sits here.

Alderman Welch asked who can they contact now-what can one person do to spur and drive economic development.

Alderman Welch said I think the community is tired of dumping money into this with no vision or plan. Quite honestly. He said he'd share his opinion as he was the last one to talk. He said he thinks it needs to be part-time, 30 hours, or full-time with limited scope in the job description and reduce the salary to $40-$45,000. He said he truly believes that candidate can come into the community, can come into City Hall, start addressing the problems that are critical in keeping things running. He is all for economic development... and seeing the community grow, but right now we have a City Clerk's office that is drowning. Alderman Welch said we need another body.

He said you yourself Mayor said you're not in favor of someone coming in, taking over the reins and going over the heads of the council. He then brought up the spending authority saying it needed to be reduced. He said that topic constantly came up with the previous City Administrator.

Alderwoman Bauer said I think since we pulled this from the agenda, thinking there was an opportunity to appoint someone, now we need to put this back on the agenda for public discussion, and we need to discuss this and push this out a couple of weeks. Discuss everything line by line.

Mayor Goodman said we are not getting anywhere and the help needs to come now.

Alderwoman Bauer said we can't possibly appoint someone to a position now if the council does not know what that position looks like.

Alderman Welch said why given someone with the correct skill set, could they not come in and help us build the job description.

Alderwoman Bauer said by law, can we hire someone when we don't even know if it is a full-time or part-time position, or a City Administrator position? She said if not a City Administrator position, it's a new position.

She said if we're not in a space where we can hire anyone.

Mayor Goodman called for more insight from Treasurer Chuck Conze, Fire Chief Mark Miller, and City Clerk Peggy Bateman.

Alderman Parrott said if the idea is the hire a City Administrator to help the clerk's office-that is not a City Administrator.

Alderman Welch said we can use that resource to help the office now. He brought up a new potential software contract. He called the software garbage, saying it's the root of 67 calls to Chris today.

Alderman Keller said there's a situation that has been a nightmare, and that is putting it nicely. He said with this software, we're going to have to have something in place soon. He said this person does have to work with the City Clerk, because they're going to have to get the software in place. He said this is why a full-time positon is going to be necessary-another reason why.

Treasurer Conze said this has become a chicken and egg scenario, he said he can still see this as a part-time positon, but if you have the right person, it would be advantageous to have them be full-time. He said this makes a lot of difference when you take the approach. He said the software problem the city is having is the number one priority. He said this job description is a piece of paper, and you can do anything you want with a piece of paper. It can be amended.

He brought up Walmart and said it was expanded to a Super Walmart and he mentioned Dollar Tree and said a lot of this happened because of the leadership that was had at the time. He said he can see both sides of this, but they need someone and someone soon.

Fire Chief Mark Miller said just from listening, he said right now he does not feel he has someone to go to talk about Human Resources (HR). He said right now it's in limbo. He said recently with the purchase of this property, he has no idea what some of the aspects are, he had never dealt with this and reached out to Chuck and Paul about the police station acquisition.

He said that day-to-day interaction is very important. He said they used to do weekly meetings and they are so helpful to department heads. He said his working relationship with Mr. Wes Woodhall is 100 times better because of having a City Administrator. He said we still see things developing on a small scale. Small steps. He said the small steps count too.

Alderwoman Browne said, obviously we're causing a lot of hardships by dragging this out and causing things to get further behind here." She said I would like to see you appoint this person for this role, but I would like to revise this piece of paper. She said they could even define it as 50% of duties are this, 20% of duties are this.she said you could base their responsibilities in that direction, and then identify things that the councils missing. She said there are some things councilmembers may not have to do. She said there are some councilmembers that won't step away from the things that they're doing. She said she feels bad because Peggy is here 7 days a week and until

She said Ithink that without causing further stress, we need to move forward. City Clerk Peggy Bateman said personally Ifeel like this candidate has a lot of knowledge and education that they can come in and pickup in the clerk's office because we're so far behind, but this person would do their duties as expected and see that people needed help and would help them out. She said this person is not going to walk away while we're all up here into mail. She said the software is not the only problem in the clerk's office, the monthly billing is drowning them. She said daily-all month long, they're putting payments in. She said the checks come in,"this big," on Sunday.She said Ashley is just putting payments in. She said then you have software that doesn't work right half the time.She talked about Chris putting in adjustments.

She said we let Julie do payroll.

She said the trash is pulling us down, between the trash and the monthly billing. She said she is not saying anybody is at fault, she said we're all at fault. She was at fault for not thinking it through.

Alderman Hoinacki asked about doing an interim City Administrator, a 90-day assignment and then come back an revisit, or revisit the job description during their interim placement... go with these for now and then go with a reduced rate of pay. That would be something they would have to agree to.

Alderman Parrott said he would not use that title necessarily. Mayor Goodman said the individual we're speaking about would have to make major life changes.

Alderman Hoinacki said maybe after three months, the person won't want to be here.

Alderman Keller said he is still looking at full-time or part-time. He said we're divided over something that's not in his opinion being that divided over. Alderman Keller said I think we're all in agreement that we need to get someone in here and that we can modify this after the fact. He said I think that's what we need to decide, right here and right now about full-time or part-time.

Alderwoman Bauer said Ithink the Mayor wants to appoint someone to a full-time position. She said we can mess with the job description, but we put it on the agenda and we vote yay or nay on a full­ time/part-time position.

Mayor Goodman said the people here every day have made it very clear and with this individual, full­ time makes the most sense.

Alderman Parrott said his expectation is that if we said 30 hours, then Iwouldn't want this person working more than that because it wouldn't be fair to them. He said it seems to him it will be 40 plus hours. He said if they're putting 40 hours in then it's not fair to them.

Treasurer Conzo said Ithink City Clerk Peggy Bateman puts in 70 hours. She said she quit counting. He said he's sympathetic with not making them work more than 30 hours, but it's a leadership position, it's a management positon, so you just have to agree upon a salary. He said the job description-you can wrangle over that. He said it's what's expected out of the City Clerk, the mayor and him. He said it is real important that we have a City Administrator that does not lead the council, but takes direction from the council and mayor. He said ultimately you control over how that's done. And you establish that at the start of the appointment.

Alderwoman Bauer said currently what is represented, the expectation is a 40 hour work week is not very likely. She said it talks about being active and a participant. She said which is the other reason I feel this is a full-time positon. She it's full-time because what they are asking of this person is that it's not going to be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Monday through Friday. She said you get this person in here by valuing them, and giving them a full-time salary. She said that person will do above and beyond the expectations. She said if you go to a 30 hour or a 29 hour, you get an hourly person and that does not help anyone either.

Alderman Hoinacki wanted to back up to his use of the term "interim." He said he assumed that it would be placed on the agenda that they would hire a candidate at XXX number of dollars.

Alderman Welch said he agreed that this job description was very fluid. He said the right person, and I think this candidate is, could help us tailor this job description to what we need now and based on their past experience. He is okay if we go to 40 hours, but we still need to keep the salary..and he said he would come up to $50,000 to $55,000. He said it is hard to stand here and let someone walk in the door and start making $70,000 a year... and he understands that she is an elected official, but when Peggy would make half of that.

Alderman Keller said the salary should represent that and be lower. Alderman Welch said he threw out two numbers-$40-$45,000 and $50-$55,000. Alderwoman Browne said she liked $50,000 and there should be a quarterly evaluation. Or probationary period.

Alderman Welch said within 90 days or six months. Alderwoman Browne said she has a four month probationary period.

City Clerk Bateman said this person would still receive insurance, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)--everything.

Alderman Fleshman said as far as the duties, he would hate to restrict a potential City Administrator from doing something that might be a strength for them. He said in fine-tuning these duties, you might pull something away from them that they might particularly like to do and have a strength there so he would be cautious with what they do with that side of things.

He said to bring them in at $55,000, he thinks the $50,000 with a six month evaluation would probably be a good starting point there. He said we really need someone in here for 40 hours a week. He said sometimes when we have to handle certain situations and they might not have missed the opportunity, but they have extended the time that it took to finalize. he brought up the fitness park.

He said he just thinks that they will be asking a lot of a part-time person, coming in here...there is going to be a lot for them to do. He said he had a couple of notes... he said the Fifth Street Road project is coming up, the safety complex is still incomplete, he said Mr. Conze did an excellent job on the budget this year, that being said... we've appropriated $18 million dollars. He said Idon't see where bringing in a City Administrator at $50,000 if a deficit.

He said he really wanted to move forward and look at salaries for department heads. He said Ithink it needs to be a full-time positon, he said Mayor it's your appointment, ultimately it's going to be your decision to appoint who you want to appoint. And he knew the he wanted the council's blessing on this, but he Mayor Goodman said he wanted to place the item on the regular agenda for the vote and approval of extending the offer of the position to the unnamed individual for $50,000 for the full-time City Administrator position. He called for further city business.

Adjournment:

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderwoman Browne motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Parrott. Mayor Goodman adjourned the meeting at 9:33 p.m.

https://www.lincolnil.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=911:july-10-2018-committee-of-the-whole&catid=50&Itemid=82