Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole Met Dec. 15.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
Pursuant to Public Act 101-0640 and Guidance Provided by Legal Counsel, the Village of Oswego may conduct all or portions of this meeting by use of telephonic or electronic means. Instructions on public access to this meeting is available through the link within the agenda.
CALL TO ORDER
President Troy Parlier called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Board Members Physically Present: President Troy Parlier; Trustees James Marter II, Terry Olson and Brian Thomas.
Board Members Attended Electronically: Trustees Pam Parr, Luis Perez and Judy Sollinger. Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jeff Burgner, Police Chief; Joe Renzetti, IT/GIS Director; Scott McMaster, Economic Development Director; Jenette Sturges, Community Engagement Coordinator, Marketing; and Karl Ottosen, Village Attorney.
Staff Attended Electronically: Christina Burns, Asst. Village Administrator; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Mark Horton, Finance Director; Rod Zenner, Community Development Director; Carri Parker, Purchasing Manager; and Ryan Morton, Village Attorney.
PUBLIC FORUM
Public Forum was opened at 6:04 p.m.
Comments provided in-person:
Atty. Dan Kramer addressed the Board regarding an objection he received for the Emerson Creek annexation; he won’t fight about moving the item to January; was told the objector’s attorney would be attending the Committee of the Whole meeting; Village Attorney noted this could be discussed during the Emerson Creek public hearing at the Regular Village Board meeting. The objection was forwarded to the Village Board previous to tonight’s meetings.
Comments provided via phone:
David Edelman addressed the Board regarding finances; thank you to the previous Village President; current staff and Board have made cuts; Finance Director’s warning page in the FY21 revenue update should be taken seriously; vote is tonight for the construction contract for the entertainment venue; wrong project and time; will spend beyond $750,000; still no operating or maintenance budget for the venue; legal agreement for contractor to spend 20% more; change orders; why have this clause; lowering the tax levy appears to be foolish; hiring lobbying firm; shared services for the firm; money should be used for road and water projects; negative impact on community; should be vetted by community and media; thank you and Happy Holidays.
There was no one else who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 6:12 p.m.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS
G.1 Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Revenue Update- Director Horton presented the FY21 revenue update:
Motor Fuel Tax
• Motor fuel tax allotments decreased -$15,193
• MFT transportation allotments increased $142,145
• State grants= $748,251
⮚ Rebuild IL program= $2.2million over next two years; to be used for Wolf Crossing • Total revenues= $861,707
TIF- Downtown Redevelopment
• EAV has increased
• Biggest jump in a couple years with the Shodeen project
• Increment should reimburse the costs
• Transfers in
⮚ Main source of funding comes from other Village funds
• Fund total= $1,238,817
Capital Improvement Fund
• Home Rule Sales Tax= -$162,199
• Local Motor Fuel Tax= -$48,828
• Direct Impact Fee- development fees that are redistributed to other taxing bodies
⮚ $117,429 is the Village’s share
• Misc. funding source is the reimbursement from the Police headquarters
Water & Sewer Capital Fund
• Charges for service- $28,828
• Transfers in- budgeted $3 million
⮚ Staff will make transfers November through January
⮚ Pays for projects
• Total revenue= -$8,721
Water & Sewer Fund
• Charges for services
⮚ Water= $233,913
⮚ Sewer maintenance= $64,181
• Total revenues= 275,159
• Fund is doing well even with delayed payments
• Late fees= ~$130,000; did not charge the fees this year
General Fund
• Taxes
⮚ Sales tax= ($182,917)
⮚ Home Rule Sales tax= ($108,133)
⮚ Use tax= $149,749
⮚ Telecommunications tax= ($105,342)
⮚ Total taxes= ($341,764)
Taxes lower because of the pandemic. Need to get a big push for end of the fiscal year.
• Licenses & Permits
⮚ Accessory permits= ($302,234)
✔ FY2020= ($542,647); due to the roofing permits because of the hailstorm
⮚ Federal grants= $1,364,568
✔ CURES Act funds given to the Village through the CARES program
✔ Hoping to get more grant money
✔ FEMA= $92,000
• Charges for Service
⮚ Plan review fees= ($163,471)
⮚ Police security= ($73,312)
✔ Due to pandemic
✔ Security is provided for the schools, movie theater and at special events
• Doing ok through first six months
General Fund Major Revenues
• Sales tax less than last year by $92,000 or 4%
• Local sales tax less by $112,000 or 6%
• Fiscal year receipts running 0.27% more than last year
• $5,850 increase
• May FY20 receipt anomaly due to Tax Reform Act (2019) and tax payment due date extension in 2020 • Use tax receipts have increased $150,000
• Telecommunications tax has decreased $105,000
Expenditures
• Holding our own through six months
Looking Ahead- 6 Months
• Pandemic resurgence
⮚ How long will the Tier 3 mitigations last – 2 months or more
⮚ Hoping restaurants will open back up
⮚ Will affect major revenues
• Expenditure control
⮚ General Fund is $475,000 lower than FY 2020
⮚ Water Fund is $194,300 less than FY 2020
⮚ Staff has the means to control spending
• Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
⮚ Effect from the pandemic will cause expenditure reductions
⮚ Revenues will be budgeted conservatively- more so than usual; cut expenditures
⮚ State of Illinois Budget problems may have dramatic consequences
• Staff will continue to monitor expenditures and revenues
Board and staff discussion focused on best case scenario; conservative budgeting by the Finance Director; $1.3 million received through a grant; vaccine coming up this week; public aid in packages; haven’t felt the Tier 3 impacts yet; thank you to the Board and the philosophy; thank you to staff for looking out for discretionary spending; over prepared for grants and that is how we jumped ahead in line; cutting back on expenses is commendable; thank you
for helping to keep budget under control; continue to cut back on expenses; whether there are gaps; can’t keep cutting infinitely; staff has a list of discretionary expenditures that can be pushed off; don’t have control if snow hits; have reserves built up; more grant money coming in; development and building has slowed down; will pick-up in the Spring; good sales months; already received $1.3 million in grant money; if more grant money is allocated, staff will apply for it; already applied for another $1.3 million; $250,000 grant money received for local businesses; Village jumped on this first; federal stimulus is out there; last recession, the Village needed to do semi-permanent cuts; COVID is temporary; should be back to normal; deferring versus cutting; $475,000 less in expenditures; Finance Director would like to see $1 million less in expenditures; reduction of expenses made by staff; payroll vacancies; travel and training decreased; overcommunicate with the Board; keep the Village on track. There was no further discussion.
CLOSED SESSION
There was no closed session.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Trustee Marter II and seconded by Trustee Thomas to adjourn the meeting; upon a voice vote with all remaining members present voting aye, the meeting was adjourned at 6:47p.m.
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