Sangamon Sun

Village of Jerome Board of Trustees met April 16.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order President Lopez called the meeting of the Village of Jerome Board of Trustees to order at 6:34 pm.

Roll Call Present: President Mike Lopez Trustees Kathy De Hart, Leigh Irons, Ralph Irons, Dale Lael, Christina Smith Clerk Linda Wheeland Attorney Jason Brokaw Treasurer Steve Roth

Approval of Minutes

April 2, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes A motion was made by Trustee L. Irons to approve the Minutes of the April 2, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees. The motion was seconded by Trustee R. Irons.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

Approval of Warrant List 20-24 President Lopez stated that Warrant List 20-24 dated April 16, 2020 totaled $67,389.83.

Treasurer Roth added that of this amount $12,184.53 will be paid from the General Revenue Fund, $23,007.69 will be paid from the Water Fund, and $32,197.61 will be paid from the 1% Fund.

A motion was made by Trustee Lael to approve Warrant List 20-24 dated April 16, 2020 for a total of $67,389.83. The motion was seconded by Trustee DeHart.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

President Lopez explained that until the stay at home order is lifted by Governor Pritzker, the board meetings will continue to be held remotely using Zoom. Additionally, employees' schedules have been adjusted to comply with social distancing. He noted that a number of hard decisions need to be made to address the expected decrease in revenues related to business closures. He suggested a proactive response by cutting $148,000 from the FY 21 budget. He believes we are better off than a lot of municipalities and will bounce back. Once a strong, viable revenue stream returns the Board can revisit the budget.

Visitors Acknowledgement President Lopez opened the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting at 6:40 pm.

A. Engineering Firms Presentations Four engineering firms were selected from the proposals submitted to make presentations to the Board as part of the process to select a new Village engineer. They were assigned a 15-minute time frame to make their presentations with the last five minutes reserved for questions from the Board of Trustees. Presentations were made by the following:

Cummins Engineering Corporation by Kim Cummins and Terry Fountain Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick by Tim Sheehan Knight Engineers and Architects by Jeff Antonacci, Chris Reed, and Bryan Martindale WHKS and Co. by Scott Sanford, Rick Allender, and Chad Hodel

After each presentation Trustee DeHart asked the presenters the same short list of questions.

At the conclusion of the presentations Clerk Wheeland noted that during the time period when remote meetings are being held public comments must be submitted in writing to the Clerk by email or by placing them in the deposit slot outside the office front door by 6:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. She stated that no public comments had been received by 6:00 p.m. today.

This portion of the meeting closed at 7:59 pm.

Reports from Village Departments

B. Public Health Trustee L. Irons reported the following:

.She received 12 fire pit permit applications this past week,. There were two fire pit violations.

She sent letters on five cars parked in yards and trash in yards.

Leaf bags without stickers are still an issue.

She will work with Dave on some large branch piles.

C. Public Works Trustee DeHart reported the following:

Dave is working this week and has been repairing broken items. He is trying not to spend much money although he will be replacing some broken lights. Trent will be working next week.

D. Public Property Trustee DeHart reported the following:

Closed signs have been placed at the park and in the window of the Library. People had been knocking on the door of the Police Station asking about the status of these facilities.

E. Building & Zoning Trustee Lael stated he had no report.

F. Public Safety Trustee Smith reported the following:

Tricia Langan accepted the position of Sergeant. She is working well with Chief Estill, helping to take some of the pressure off which will allow him to take vacation time.

A grievance was filed by Thomas Maybury regarding his sick time payout upon resigning. Chief Estill will be meeting with Mr. Maybury and an FOP representative on Monday.

G. Water Department Trustee R. Irons stated he had no report.

H. Village Treasurer Treasurer Roth reported the following:

We have received all normal revenues for April as well as the MFT revenue for March.

We are waiting on the Gaming revenue for February.

Over this fiscal year four revenue sources were higher than last year. The additional for these revenues were – Use Tax ($8,168), Income Tax ($18,703), MFT ($17,826), and Personal Property Replacement Tax ($751).

In FY 20 we saw a substantial loss in sales tax (-$76,278) and the 19

(-$16,848) due to the closure of Shop 'n Save. However, these losses were not as high as anticipated, $146,000 and $36,000, respectively, due to higher sales tax revenues from other businesses.

With departments keeping an eye on their budgets, the overall FY 20 budget is below the overall appropriation.

Telecom taxes continue to decline. Treasurer Roth will look into this for the next fiscal year. With restaurants almost completely shut down and gaming places shut down until the stay at home order is lifted, and business tax payments delayed until July, the first part of FY 21 will not bode well for the Village. Gaming revenue amounts to about $9,000 a month and will be a total loss. The loss in Sales Tax and 1% Tax due to the business closures cannot be estimated at this time. He will continue to monitor the situation but advised that spending needs to be kept at a minimum during the first quarter of FY 21. The surplus account that the Village worked to establish over the past few years will help us get through these difficult times. Additionally, there is money in the 1% account for road projects. A separate bank account has been established for the cannabis revenue we will be receiving from the State. Eight percent of the State cannabis tax is distributed to local communities. We should expect between $1,200 and $1,500 per year. This is different from a revenue source that would occur if a cannabis dispensary were to locate in Jerome. Checks for the April 2nd warrants were mailed out right after that meeting. Payroll was met for April 15th. Checks will be mailed out following this meeting.

The final payments on the road project have been made. The balances of various accounts are approximately as follows:

> Illinois Funds General Revenue Account - $345,816 

> Motor Fuel Tax Fund - $3,080 

> INB General Revenue Account - $31,386 

> INB Water Account - $221,074

1% Account - $314,271

► Law Enforcement DUI - $109

► Law Enforcement Vehicle - $129

► Road & Bridge - $17,964

Police Equipment Fund - $344

1. Village Clerk Clerk Wheeland stated she had no report.

J. Village Attorney Attorney Brokaw stated he had no report

K. Village President President Lopez reported the following:

• He thanked everyone for all they are doing during the stay at home order.

• Financial cuts were made in the current year's budget and a couple weeks ago he asked Board members and Treasurer Roth to consider cutting line items from next year's budget. He suggested cutting $148,000 in capital expenditures and other expenses. If the revenue stream returns a piecemeal budget restoration can occur.

• Awarding of cannabis dispensary permits by the State is still expected in May.

Old Business

A. Discussion and Approval of FY 21 Budget Treasurer Roth explained that Board members had received the final FY 21 budget numbers which included several deletions including: leasing a backhoe, leasing a Public Works truck, leasing a third police vehicle, summer help in Public Works, and an additional full-time police officer. The budget includes an increase of 2.59% for IMRF and raises for all employees effective January 1, 2021. The total numbers are:

. General Revenue Fund - $615,381

• Water Department - $628,310 '. Special Funds - $454,400

• Total Budget - $1,698,091

President Lopez expressed a desire to keep the doors open, continue general operations, and maintain basic services going forward. He asked Treasurer Roth if he had registered the Village through IEMA for potential reimbursement funds for expenses over and above what is customary due to Covid-19. Treasurer Roth has registered the Village. Additional funding for public safety is available through the Department of Justice.

Treasurer Roth noted that the expenses for FY 20 will be under the total amount appropriated.

A motion was made by Trustee Lael to approve the FY 21 Budget. The motion was seconded by Trustee Smith,

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

New Business

A. Appointment of Trustee to Vacant Seat This item was addressed after executive session.

B. Discussion and Approval of Ordinance 20-22 Reinstating the Position of Sergeant in the Village of Jerome Police Department Attorney Brokaw explained that at one time some provisions related to the Sergeant position were removed from Village ordinances, Ordinance 20-22 will tie up loose ends. A job description of the Sergeant position was circulated to Board members.

A motion was made by Trustee Smith to approve Ordinance 20-22 reinstating the position of Sergeant in the Village of Jerome Police Department. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lael.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

C. Discussion and Approval of Extending the Temporary Waiver of Water Shutoffs Trustee R. Irons suggested that the temporary waiver of water shutoffs be extended to June 1st due to the unknown financial impacts of Covid-19 on water customers.

President Lopez asked that the Water Clerk provide a list of delinquent accounts.

A motion was made by Trustee R. Irons to approve extending the temporary waiver of water shutoffs to June 1, 2020. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lael.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried,

D. Discussion and Approval of Selecting a Village Engineering Firm Trustee DeHart explained that seven proposals were received and that she, Trustee L. Irons, and former trustee Jake Tripp had reviewed the submissions and unanimously chose four engineering firms to interview. The presentations given tonight were scheduled in alphabetical order by company name.

Board members then discussed their impressions of the four firms.

Attorney Brokaw stated that once a firm is selected the Village can negotiate an agreeable rate for services.

A motion was made by Trustee DeHart to select Cummins Engineering Corporation for the provision of general engineering services for the Village of Jerome subject to negotiations of a mutually acceptable services agreement between the firm and the Village. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lael.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

Executive Session A motion was made by Trustee L. Irons to go into Executive Session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of a specific employee or legal counsel for the public body (5 İLCS 120/2(c)(1)) and the selection of a person to fill a public office, as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a public office, when the public body is given power to appoint under law or ordinance, of the discipline, performance or removal of the occupant of a public office, when the public body is given power to remove the occupant under law or ordinance. Trustee R. Irons seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee De Hart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

The Board went into Executive Session at 8:50 pm.

The Board returned from Executive Session at 9:17 pm.

Clerk Wheeland called the roll. Present: President Mike Lopez Trustees Kathy De Hart, Leigh Irons, Ralph Irons, Dale Lael, Christina Smith Clerk Linda Wheeland Attorney Jason Brokaw Treasurer Roth

Appointment of Trustee to Vacant Seat A motion was made by Trustee DeHart to approve Philip Rathis as trustee to fill an open term until the next municipal election. The motion was seconded by Trustee R. Irons.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

Adjournment

A motion was made by Trustee L. Irons to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee DeHart.

Roll Call Vote: Ayes; Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee Ralph Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.

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