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10/25/2021COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 The Village Board met as a Committee of the Whole in the Council Chambers of the Village Hall at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25, 2021. In attendance were: PRESENT: Village Board Staff Dan Shapiro, Mayor Kent Street, Village Manager Bob Benton, Trustee Andrew Lichterman, Assistant Village Elaine Jacoby, Trustee Manager/Director Community Development Tom Jester, Trustee David Fitzgerald-Sullivan, Comm Coord Mary Oppenheim, Trustee Desiree Van Thorre, Admin Services Coord Bill Seiden, Trustee Chris Fry, Accreditation Commander Eric Burk, Finance Director Bob Phillips, Public Works Director ABSENT: Tyler Dickinson, Assistant Village Engineer Rebekah Metts-Childers, Trustee Brian Budny, Deputy Police Chief Matthew Weiss, IT Systems Coordinator Public Comment There were no public comments on non-agenda items. Business 1. Review of 2022 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy Documents Mr. Burk discussed the proposed changes to the original budget document. The original proposed budget increased by $351,838 which represents 4.47%. After the October 4 bond issue, the increase will be 2.33% or about $20 for $500,000 home. Mr. Burk noted the proposed increase for Harvest Fest of $45,000 rather than $15,000 to account for fireworks. This increase will likely be ongoing, based on this year’s level of activity. The Village plans on seeking sponsorships and donations as well. Mr. Burk explained delays of equipment purchases have caused $231,000 to be reallocated for 2022. He noted there has been some interest in waiving the liquor license fees for hotels and restaurants in 2022. Mr. Street noted hotel and restaurant revenues are down. The Trustees discussed some of the other revenues that are down, including parking lot revenues. Mayor Shapiro suggested cutting the budgeted parking revenues down by 50% to see the effect on the budget. The Trustees discussed the debt services, which are used to pay for capital improvements. The Trustees discussed the messaging of the real estate taxes, and how it is tied to capital projects. The majority of the property tax payments goes to different governmental entities and the Village’s portion of the property tax bill is about 6 percent. The messaging should remind residents about the infrastructure improvements, water, road, safety and transportation services they get from their taxes. 2. Discussion of 2022 Village Board of Trustees meeting times Mayor Shapiro suggested changing the Board of Trustees meeting time to 7:00 p.m. An earlier meeting time would be advantageous to staff, as they have been working all day. The Trustees would prefer the earlier start time if it would not preclude a trustee from attending the meeting. 3. Discussion of possible Board and Commission Holiday Reception Mr. Street questioned the feasibility of having an in-person Board and Commission holiday reception, as he is uncomfortable having everyone inside the golf club dining room. The Trustees discussed the possibility of having something on Zoom or waiting until the summer so they could have something outside. Staff is also working on a gift. The Trustees discussed the possibility of sending a food delivery gift card along with the gift, since everyone cannot celebrate together. They believe everyone is going to miss getting together and believe a combination of the gift and a Zoom party with breakout groups for more personalized discussion could work. They like the idea of a gift and possibly a food item. Staff will work on it. Good of the Order Trustee Seiden noted many residents are not in compliance with leaf collection. He suggested having Public Works use door hangers to notify offenders. Mr. Street noted there is information in the September and October editions of D-Tails. Public Comment There were no public comments on non-agenda items. Adjournment: There being no further business or discussion, Trustee Oppenheim moved to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Benton seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Benton, Jacoby, Jester, Oppenheim, Seiden (5) NAYS: None (0) The meeting was adjourned at 4:53 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jeri Cotton