Kendall County Times

City of Yorkville Administration Committee met Sept. 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Committee Members In Attendance:

Chairman Matt Marek Alderman Rusty Corneils Alderman Ken Koch

Absent: Alderman Joe Plocher

Other City Officials In Attendance:

City Administrator Bart Olson Finance Director Rob Fredrickson Assistant City Administrator Erin Willrett (via zoom)

Others in Attendance:

None

The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Matt Marek.

Citizen Comments: None

Minutes for Correction/Approval: June 21, 2023

The minutes were approved as presented.

New Business:

1. ADM 2023- 30 Budget Reports for June – August 2023

Mr. Olson focused on the August report saying sales tax numbers are doing well and they are up a couple percentage points over each of the same months last year. The largest increase over expectations is the state income tax.

2. ADM 2023-31 Treasurer's Reports for June – August 2023

Mr. Fredrickson said the August figures are unaudited, but he does not expect any changes. These reports move forward to the City Council consent agenda.

3. ADM 2023-32 Cash Statements for April 2023 – June 2023

Mr. Fredrickson said these reports show the cash balances and the city investments.

4. ADM 2023-33 Review of Invoices Between $5,000 and $25,000

a. June 27, 2023 Bill List

b. July 11, 2023 Bill List

c. July 25, 2023 Bill List

d. August 8, 2023 Bill List

e. August 22, 2023 Bill List

f. September 12, 2023 Bill List

Finance Director Fredrickson said this is informational and covers invoices from $5,000 to $25,000 for the dates listed above.

5. ADM 2023-34 Website Report for June – August 2023

Ms. Willrett said the new website has launched. The busy month is July and is a trend for at least 7 years. Many of the festivals and Hometown Days information begin in July.

6. ADM 2023-35 2023 Tax Levy Estimate

Mr. Fredrickson said this report is a preliminary preview of the 2023 Tax Levy Estimate. It is preliminary since he does not have the police pension actuarial number yet, but it will be received for the October 10th meeting. He is using a placeholder of $1.4 million. The tax levy needs to be approved in October, there will be a Public Hearing in November and a vote will be taken in November or December.

Based on the new construction EAV estimated at $26.2 million, it would generate $134,000 in property tax from new construction only for the city. If the city decided to levy both new construction and inflation, they could levy $320,000 additional.

He also discussed the exhibits he included which show other scenarios and the tax amounts that could be generated. He said that for the Public Hearing, he set the library levy at the maximum amount of 15 cents per $100 of EAV or .15%. He said the library is levied separately and $984,000 is the estimated amount the library would receive.

The meeting and Public Hearing schedules were detailed by Mr. Fredrickson.

Mr. Olson reminded the committee that in the past few years, the city has only levied tax on new construction, but the information is always published with a figure that includes new construction and CPI. It is likely the policy decision will be to levy on new construction only. In reply to Alderman Marek, Mr. Olson said the last time the city levied both was about 10-15 years ago. Mr. Olson noted that when the city becomes home rule, these calculations will not be necessary.

7. ADM 2023-36 Fiscal Year End 2023 Budget Report (Unaudited)

No changes are anticipated when the report is finalized, said Mr. Olson. Revenue outpaced expenses by more than $2 million, which was driven by state income tax being higher than expected. Building permits and investments were also good. He said all departments should be under budget, partly due to conservative budgeting. Funds are set aside for future projects and there was discussion how the money could be spent including water projects, roads, offset future bond issues, etc.

8. ADM 2023-37 Employee Manual Update - Uniforms

Mr. Olson said for many years the city has purchased clothing for non-union recreation employees to wear during events. Since Public Works union employees are now moving towards a clothing allowance, the recreational employees thought it would be beneficial to have a stipend instead of the city purchasing the items. The proposed policy allows for a taxable $500 stipend to purchase items and the city will still purchase safety gear. Mr. Olson said even if the clothing is provided, it is still taxable. This will move forward to the City Council regular agenda.

Old Business: None

Additional Business:

Alderman Koch asked about a water complaint Mr. Olson had received. A water sample was taken for testing and Mr. Olson will follow-up for the results.

Chairman Marek asked about the proposed cricket stadium being close to the Yorkville city limits and possible resulting parking restrictions. Mr. Olson does not know if the stadium will be able to open in 2024 and until a traffic impact study is done, it is not known if it will affect Yorkville or to what degree. Some of the nearby streets, including Tuscany, continue into Grande Reserve. Alderman Corneils said he had received a call about why one side of Tuscany has restricted parking. Mr. Olson said parking is restricted on the curves for better visibility. Mr. Koch said some people are concerned about fireworks following events at stadiums.

There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 6:28pm.

https://www.yorkville.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5383