10/30/20172
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – Minutes of Meeting
October 30, 2017
The Village Board met as a Committee of the Whole in the Council Chambers of the
Village Hall at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 30, 2017. In attendance were:
PRESENT:
Village Board Staff
Harriet Rosenthal, Mayor Kent Street, Village Manager
Bob Benton, Trustee Andrew Lichterman, Assistant Village Manager
Thomas Jester, Trustee David Fitzgerald, Management Analyst
Mary Oppenheim, Trustee Barbara Little, Director of PW and Engineering
Bill Seiden, Trustee Robert Phillips, Deputy Director of Public Works
Dan Shapiro, Trustee Desiree Van Thorre, Human Resources Coordinator
Barbara Struthers, Trustee Eric Burk, Finance Director
John Sliozis, Police Chief
Tom Keane, Deputy Police Chief
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
2018 Proposed Budget
Review and Discussion of Revised Property Tax Levy
Finance Director Burk presented an update on tax levy increase. He noted that by pushing
back the issuance of the debt to later in the year, the Village could fund the capital
program while limiting the increase in the property tax levy to 2.56 percent.
Departmental Budget Review
Finance and Administration
Mr. Burk reviewed the changes to the Finance Department’s budget proposed for 2018.
He noted few changes in expenses, as the department is mostly operational. He reported
the notable increases are related personnel expenses and contractual services. He noted
the economic incentive payments are offset by a revenue share.
Assistant Manager Lichterman reported on changes to the Administration Department
budget. He noted that capital outlay would decrease significantly due to an improvement
to the Board Room audio/visual system that will be completed in the current budget year.
He noted that contractual services increased to reflect the need for necessary building
repairs and maintenance. Mr. Lichterman stated the Cable and Telecommunication
Commission indicated that the cost of the improvement could be financed by a PEG fee
of 35 cents per month on local subscribers’ cable bills. Mayor Rosenthal appreciated that
the Commission is bringing this to the Board attention but did not support a new fee at
this time. The Trustees agreed and noted is it appropriate for the upgrade to be paid from
the General Fund.
C.O.W; Oct. 30, 2017
Mr. Lichterman provided an update on the Self Service E-Pay MUNIS module for credit
card payments, as requested at the October 23 Committee of the Whole meeting. He
reported the cost of the module is approximately $12,000. The module will tie into the
Village’s enterprise system and would allow residents and businesses to pay fees, taxes
and bills directly through the website, once a credit card gateway system is implemented.
He noted the credit card project would be completed in multiple phases and this would
allow staff to complete phase I of the project. The fee schedule would need to be
reviewed in detail before credits cards are accepted on a wide scale as the Village would
incur credit card service fees. Trustee Shapiro inquired about the lifespan of the module.
Mr. Weiss noted the system could be used indefinitely, as it would be updated along with
other modules of the MUNIS operating system. Trustee Benton asked that the cost of the
module be included in the budget and asked staff to address the second phase of the
project at a later date. The Board concurred with this approach. Mr. Lichterman noted the
department budget would be revised to reflect the addition of the new module.
Mr. Weiss outlined the information technology projects proposed in the 2018 budget and
provided updates regarding on-going projects. Trustee Oppenheim inquired about the
virtual desktop project. He noted the program allows one machine to run the desktop
monitors from a centralized location, foregoing the need for multiple personal computers.
Analyst Fitzgerald provided and update on the Village’s business license fees compared
to surrounding communities. Mayor Rosenthal stated she would not like to increase the
fees at this time, as the restaurants are still acclimating to the new prepared food and
beverage tax.
Storm Water User Fee
Deputy Director Phillips reviewed the proposal to implement a storm water user fee. He
reported, on average, the Village spends $750,000 a year on storm water related projects,
including on-site visits, drainage studies and construction projects.
Mr. Phillips reported that some communities calculate the fee based on water usage and
other communities calculate the fee based on impervious surface coverage. Trustee
Struthers would be in favor of having the fee based on the percentage of impervious
surface on a parcel. Trustee Oppenheim concurred with Trustee Struthers, noting the
correlation between impervious surface and the flow of storm water off of a property.
Mayor Rosenthal agreed and noted she would be against basing the fee on water usage.
She noted snow birds do not use water over the winter, but still benefit from the storm
sewer when they are gone.
Trustee Jester does not like the idea of the fee and sees it as a tax increase. He believes
that residents already pay for the cost of storm sewers indirectly when they acquire
building permits. He noted that new construction and teardowns need to account for
storm water runoff already. Trustee Shapiro noted the memo outlines $2.1 million in
storm water capital improvements over the past three years. Mr. Phillips noted that there
has been an increase in the need for more drainage studies. Mayor Rosenthal noted that
the Board generally agrees with implementing the fee based on impervious surface. She
noted that commercial properties would be required to pay the fee in addition to
C.O.W; Oct. 30, 2017
residents. Mr. Phillips will perform additional research and a report and recommendation
will be prepared for the Village Board’s consideration early next year.
Trustee Seiden stepped out of the meeting.
Adjournment
Trustee Shapiro motioned to go into executive session to discuss personnel and minutes
pursuant to 2(c)(1), 2(c)(2) and 2(c)(21) of the Open Meetings Act. Trustee Oppenheim
seconded the motion.
The motion passed by the following vote:
AYES: Benton, Jester, Oppenheim, Seiden, Shapiro, Struthers (6)
NAYS: None (0)
The meeting adjourned to executive session at 7:03 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
David Fitzgerald,
Management Analyst