Highlights from tonight’s COW Meeting: The Mayor addressed DC Bender and commended the Wauconda PD in the handling of the tragic situation that took place yesterday afternoon. He asked that we also hold the family in our thoughts and prayers for the loss of their loved one. PUBLIC COMMENTS: - Maria brought up the recent article regarding CLCJAWA and how they made it clear that they did not want to work with the Mayor in any future dealings with the project. She wanted to ensure he was not working on the project which could further jeopardize our “second chance”. The Mayor stated if CLCJAWA approves Wauconda the representative would be appointed and would be someone other than him. As a follow up to that question, resident Christine asked the Mayor to be clear in regards to “once approved”. She wanted to know what about communications/negotiations prior to the approval. The Mayor stated that the Village Administrator, Doug will handle all negotiations. Maria also brought up appointments again that are scheduled to expire at the end of the month. She brought up the fact that she was told that the Mayor presents appointments to the Trustees for “Advice & Consent”. She has heard from others that they Mayor has already disclosed to “some” (not sure if one or more people) that they were not going to be appointed. How is this possible if the Advice & Consent hasn’t happened yet. There unfortunately was not a clear answer given to Maria for this question. - Mary (resident) asked if our Village is working on something to assist with the disposal of sharps items (used syringes). She said she had items to dispose of and called numerous places however no one would take. Administrator stated nothing has been set up yet. First they wanted to tackle the project of medicine disposal which has been put in place. DC Bender stated they are currently working on something that would allow residents to dispose of these biohazards. - Steve addressed a question to Doug and asked if a monetary amount can be tied to the 100’s of hours that were invested in the Village in securing a “second chance” in securing Lake Michigan water. Doug responded no not unless he puts 100’s of hours in trying to figure that number out (in a humorous manner of course). Presentation: - Jack Howard (Construction Manager) discussed the proposed development which is slated to go up on Main & Park Street. It will be called “The Landings”. It will consist of 2 retail stores on the first level and then 5 residential on second/third level. There will be 14 parking spots in underground parking garage and then 14 external parking spots in lot. If approved demolition of the current structure will start mid-summer. Trustee Starkey asked about zoning of the building and where it fits in with current Wauconda zoning requirements. Jack Howard stated that the structure will fall within current requirements. He mentioned that the front of the building facing Main will be lower than Middletons however the back will be taller because of the slope in the grade in the back of the lot. Trustee Starkey also mentioned how tight of a fit Park street is now if two cars are to pass thru at same time. The Construction Manager stated that the first phase will not alter the street however the second phase will. They are planning on working with Com Ed to get several poles moved which will allow for more room for traffic. Administrator Comments: - Chris brought up ordinance with regards to Medical Cannabis Facilities in Wauconda. From what I gathered, the growing of the Cannabis cannot be within the Village limits however we have the potential for 2 dispensary locations within Wauconda. The goal of our guidelines which will be implemented are to be in compliance with the law an conform to the standards given by the state. - Doug discussed the quote provided by our current brush pick up provider which came in at $34,490. Last year it was $32,400 so there is an increase however this is the first increase since they started providing us with this service in 2010. He did confirm with this quote is in alignment with other municipalities. Trustee Starkey asked if we know how many residents take advance of the brush pick-up. She was told that this information has not been captured in the past but will be captured going forward to validated the expense. Doug – 2014/15 Budget Presentation - Doug first started the presentation by clarifying what a general fund is. He stated that this is the main Village fund and it does not include water/sewer. There was a short power point presentation and I just jotted some notes that I thought you might be interested in seeing: o Property tax = 2013 – 4.1% increase over last year’s budget o 7.5 % increase in police pension levy (which is state mandated) o Sales tax revenue – 5.7% increase over 2013/14 budget o Income tax – 9% decrease o The budget is taking into consideration that 911 Dispatch center stays in Wauconda o Video gaming revenue saw a $40,000 increase o Fines increase of $20,000 o Red Light Camera increase of $20,000 o Budget will allow for the Finance Director position with a salary of 138,000 which includes benefits o Building and Zoning – Budget for utilizing Wauconda Fire District for inspections $87,000 o Street Division – Fill 2 vacancies $140K which includes benefits o There will be an increase in overtime for Street Division and also he stated expenses have not been captured properly in the past. Overtime should be captured based on function rather than personnel. For example if a worker fills in for another function other than their primary job responsibility, it should be charged accordingly. - One of the key slides of the presentation was the disclosure of the operating deficit/reserve percentage. Below is a summary of the slide: o Year Reserve % Operating deficit o 2014/15 31.1% (454,252) o 2015/16 25.2% (390,685) o 2016/17 17.6% (683,445) o 2017/18 8.6% (726,032) o 2018/19 .9% (689,035) - As you can clearly see, our reserve has basically hit depletion in budget year 2018/19 if no changes are made. - Trustee Barbini asked Doug explain to the residents the significance of the Reserve %. Doug discussed Bond Houses/Bond Ratings. Underwriters determine credit worthiness based on reserve. Obviously a large reserve produced a higher rating which results in better credit worthiness which means we borrow money at a lower rate. - Police Department – Expenses were reduced by $140,000. Overtime Budget - $30,000 and training budget - $18,000. The police pension increased $110,000 over prior year. - 911 Dispatch – add Supervisor $105,000 including benefits. Overtime budget $40,000.00
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 02:57:37 +0000
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