Sangamon Sun

Village of Jerome President and the Board of Trustees met April 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER: The President and the Board of Trustees held a special meeting at the Jerome Civic Center, 2901 Leonard Street, Jerome, Illinois via Zoom. The meeting was called to order at 6:31 pm by President Lopez, followed by Roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance.

ROLL CALL: The following were present:

Mike Lopez, Village President

Kathy DeHart, Trustee of Public Property & Co Trustee Public Health

Leigh Irons, Trustee of Public Safety

Ralph Irons, Trustee of Water Department

Christina Smith, Co-Trustee of Public Health

Dale Lael, Trustee of Building & Zoning

Phil Raftis, Trustee of Public Works

Also Present:

Lisa Cave, Village Clerk

Jason Brokaw, Attorney, Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, P.C.,

Steve Roth, Village Treasurer

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

President Lopez opened the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting at 6:35 pm.

He noted that during the time 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.

Clerk Cave stated she had received no emails.

This portion of the meeting closed at 6:35 pm.

President Lopez thanked everyone for coming to the special budget meeting.

President Lopez asked Treasurer Roth to proceed in discussing the Fiscal Year 2023 budget.

Treasurer Roth opened discussion on the draft amended ARPA funds which he is proposing the funding of the onetime projects that are in need of the Village. Treasurer Roth stated he has met with all the department heads and supervisors to establish what they are needing in the upcoming year. Treasurer Roth stated that the projects listed are in two phases, but all would be completed in this next fiscal year.

Trustee Ralph Irons asked Treasurer Roth for an explanation on what ARPA funds are for the residents on the call. Treasurer Roth explained that ARPA is the American Rescue Plan Act that the federal government provided a COVID relief package to all municipalities through the State. The total of funding was based on population and the Village will receive roughly $216,000. The Village has already received the first payment of $108,168.43 and the final payment will be in the fall of 2022. Under the guidelines for ARPA funds originally it was limited to certain areas, or could be used for other areas, if the municipality could meet a threshold for loss of funds in previous fiscal years. Under recent rules and guidelines, the loss threshold was adjusted to provide for a standard loss allowance of $10 million dollars. As such, using this standard allowance allows us to use all the funds under the category of government services, which is the broadest category for use of funds. Due to this change, the Village can use the ARPA funds for various needs, as long as the funds are not used for a prohibited purpose like debt reduction, pension relief or for a rainy-day fund, which are some of the examples of prohibited use.

The funds are to help municipalities that have suffered a loss of revenue during COVID. Treasurer Roth stated that the initial package stated that the funds restricted for infrastructure projects. By using ARPA funding for these projects, it will allow for a balanced budget and will build up the other funds for when something comes up or is unexpected. If the Village receives grant money that has been applied for will help pad the general revenue account for other items that are in need.

Treasurer Roth went through each departments budget and asked the board if anyone had any questions. Trustee Ralph Irons would like to see funding for a generator for the complex. Treasurer Roth stated that he will review the budget to see if funding the generator could be accomplished this fiscal year.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

A motion was made by Trustee Lael to go into Executive Session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of a specific employee or legal counsel of the public body (5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1)); minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act for purposes of approval by the Body (5ILCS 120/2(c)(21); Trustee DeHart seconded the motion.

The Board went into Executive Session at 7:28 pm.

The Board returned from Executive Session at 8:14 pm.

Treasurer Roth stated that he will prepare the draft budget and distribute to the board members for review at the next meeting. Treasurer Roth also stated that this year, Public Works salaries will be paid out of General Funds this year and not shared with the Water Department. Treasurer Roth stated that this is just for this fiscal year to help the Water Department build up their funds.

ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, President Lopez asked for a motion to close the meeting at 8:18 pm. Motion was made by Trustee Lael and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons.

https://www.villageofjerome.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/04.14.22-Minutes.pdf