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10/20/2018Village of Deerfield Committee of the Whole October 20, 2018 Robert D. Franz Council Chambers Present: Harriet Rosenthal, Mayor Robert Benton Tom Jester Mary Oppenheim William Seiden Dan Shapiro Absent was: Barbara Struthers Also present: Kent Street, Village Manager Andrew Lichterman, Assistant Village Manager David Fitzgerald, Management Analyst Matt Weiss, IT Systems Coordinator Eric Burk, Finance Director Bob Phillips, Acting Director of Public Works and Engineering Justin Keenan, Asst. to Director of Public Works and Engineering Tyler Dickinson, Staff Engineer John Sliozis, Police Chief Jeff Ryckaert, Principal Planner Dan Nakahara, Planner The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. Public Comment There were no Public Comments. 2019 Budget Discussion Mr. Burk outlined his memo reducing the proposed budget by $325,832 to keep the property tax levy level with the prior year. He noted it includes abating debt service for the 2018 bond issuance and a portion of the 2017 issuance. He outlined a $75,000 decrease in expenses over multiple departments, a $50,000 increase in the Hotel Tax estimate for 2019, a $25,000 administrative transfer from the Water Fund, and a $25,000 administrative transfer from the Sewer Fund. Village reserves would cover the remainder. Trustee Seiden inquired about the bond abatements. Mr. Burk stated it would come from reserves passed through the general fund. Trustee Shapiro proposed increasing the hotel tax by one percent. He believes it is in line with surrounding communities and would raise more than $300,000. Mayor Rosenthal stated the tax would not be felt by residents. Trustee Benton noted it could help offset any reductions felt by the closure of Takeda. Trustee Shapiro believes it will Committee of the Whole October 20, 2018 Page 2 of 4 not keep people from staying in Village hotels. Trustee Oppenheim would like to increase the hotel tax rate and keep the other budget reductions proposed by Mr. Burk the Board agreed. Mayor Rosenthal inquired when the Village will no longer need to pay extra into the police pension to bring it up to the required amount. Mr. Burk stated it will take time, noting that changing GFOA standards have raised the funding bar to maintain a high credit rating. Water Fund Mr. Street reported the City of Highland Park is raising water rates by 15 percent for residents and wholesale customers, such as the Village. Mr. Street stated Highland Park will be providing estimates for future year rate increases shortly. Mr. Burk discussed his memo outlining the outcome of raising Village water rates by 9 percent, 7.5 percent or 4 percent. He noted that raising rates by 9 percent would achieve an outcome equal to the assumptions that were included in the proposed budget, prior to Highland Park raising wholesale rates. Mayor Rosenthal inquired why the increase is not 15 percent. Mr. Burk noted that there are other cost factors involved in delivering water and the wholesale cost is responsible for about 2/3 of the total rate. Trustee Oppenheim would like to pass the increase along to Village customers. Trustee Jester asked if these figures included the reduced water loss figures. Mr. Burk stated that they do. Trustee Shapiro asked about the increase on a regular water bill. Mr. Burk noted that it would be about $12 more per quarter. Trustee Shapiro would like the increase to be explained in D-Tales to residents. Trustee Jester asked if Highland Park’s costs went up. Mayor Rosenthal noted that they have extra overhead and need to pay back their bonds on the new water treatment plant. The consensus was to pass along the cost to water customers. Departmental Budget Requests Finance Mr. Burk outlined the Finance Department Budget. He noted there may be an amendment to the 2018 budget due to the Walgreens incentive being higher than projected. Administration Mr. Lichterman reviewed the Administration Department budget. Trustee Seiden inquired about training expenses. Mr. Lichterman noted that some members were unable to attend training this year but they are expected to attend next year. Trustee Shapiro noted that contractual services should be increased to cover possible legal expenses. Mr. Street noted that the retainer agreement and spending will be reviewed by the end of the year. Mr. Lichterman noted that Administration cut $10,000 since the first budget meeting. Information Technology Mr. Weiss reviewed the IT budget. The major highlights include secondary data center storage equipment, a village hall data center air conditioner, an e-mail security gateway service and cloud disaster recovery for business continuity. Trustee Oppenheim asked if the e-mail service was a one-time expense or an annual subscription. Mr. Weiss noted it would be an annual subscription. Trustee Jester asked about the offsite disaster recovery location. Mr. Weiss noted Committee of the Whole October 20, 2018 Page 3 of 4 that it would be located far away from the Village in case of a large-scale disaster. Mayor Rosenthal discussed the new iPads for the Village Board and requested that all trustees get Village-issued e-mail addressed for ease with responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. Mr. Weiss noted that due to the age of the current iPads, they no longer get security upgrades from Apple. Trustee Shapiro inquired about future IT funding needs. Mr. Weiss stated that he only buys items when needed and looks to get devices that will last. He looks to keep the hardware capable of handling Village operations. Mr. Lichterman noted that new equipment and service demands also requires more staff training and expertise. Trustee Seiden thanked Mr. Weiss and staff for being so careful with Village funds and budget justifications. Affordable Housing Mr. Lichterman reviewed his memo on affordable housing. Mr. Lichterman noted that State’s definitions of affordable housing. He noted that outside community housing groups can administer affordable housing units in market rent buildings such as Reva. It would cost about $20,000 per year for these groups to manage a couple dozen affordable housing units inside of a larger development. Trustee Jester asked what the Village needs to do to meet State limits. Mr. Lichterman noted that the Village can set its own limits as a home rule community but the State would limit rents to 120% Area Median Income. Trustee Jester would like to follow the State definition. Trustee Oppenheim would like to have ordinances in place that memorialize a commitment to affordable housing. Trustee Jester noted that Reva’s scale is unique in its size and merits a discussion of including affordable housing. He believes the Village should negotiate with Reva to get affordable housing as set forth in the comprehensive plan. Mayor Rosenthal stated the comprehensive plan does not have specifics in place making it difficult to enforce. Trustee Shapiro would like affordable housing attached to a PUD and provide density incentives to allow for more affordable housing units. Trustee Oppenheim noted that this could be based on the size of a development to exclude small PUDs with only a few units. Trustee Shapiro agreed. Mr. Lichterman noted that the Plan Commission considered the topic of affordable housing a few years ago and recommended that a subcommittee study the matter further. Trustee Oppenheim stated that the Plan commission always asks developers about affordable housing, but does not have clear guidelines from the Board to convey to developers. Mayor Rosenthal noted that Reva told her that they would have approached the project differently had they known upfront about an affordable housing requirement. Mr. Lichterman noted that a PUD above a certain size could trigger a new special use standard of “affordability” that defines the requirement for petitioners. Trustee Jester believes that Reva can be used as a precedent for other big developments going forward. Mr. Lichterman asked if there is a consensus that the Village pay the annual cost for an outside agency to manage affordable housing. Trustee Jester believes that it is important for an outside agency to be involved. Committee of the Whole October 20, 2018 Page 4 of 4 Trustee Shapiro would like a committee to review the issue and recommend guidelines to establish affordability as a requirement in PUDs. Trustee Oppenheim would like to establish placeholder regulations soon while a more detailed affordable housing regulations are developed. Trustee Shapiro would like it to be tied to a special use or PUD. Trustee Seiden noted that as a home rule community, the Village does not need to have any affordable housing requirement. Mr. Street noted that staff would bring more information to the Board about how affordability could be a special use standard for PUDs above a certain size. Trustee Oppenheim motioned to go into closed session to discuss personnel pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) and 2(c)2 of the Open Meetings Act. Trustee Shapiro seconded the motion. The motion passed on a voice vote and adjourned to closed session at 11:01 a.m. Respectfully submitted, David Fitzgerald, Management Analyst