04/21/10: Minutes - April 21, 2010 - Budget Workshop
Category: Agenda and Minutes
VILLAGE OF HILLCREST
BUDGET WORKSHOP
APRIL 21, 2010
7:00 P.M.
The Hillcrest Village Board of Trustees met in special session Wednesday, April 21, 2010 for a Budget Workshop, at the Hillcrest Village Hall. Trustee Mecklenburg stated that Clerk Adams had advised him prior to the meeting that President Hicks and Trustee McMullin would not be in attendance tonight due to work conflicts. Trustee Mecklenburg stated that Trustee Stewart is absent for unknown reasons. Clerk Adams advised the Board of Trustees that they needed to make a motion to nominate a President Pro Tem. Trustee Elliott made a motion to nominate Trustee Mecklenburg as President Pro Tem for the meeting; Trustee Salsbury seconded the motion. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg called the meeting to order at 7:21 p.m. answering the roll call were Trustees Jim Mecklenburg, Rich Elliott, Randal Salsbury and Trevor Unger. President Hicks and Trustee Jim McMullin was absent due to a conflicts with their places of employment and Trustee Stewart was absent for unknown reasons.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the purpose of the workshop is to discuss the budget for fiscal year 2010 – 2011. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he analyzed all of the information that he received from the Trustees and when he added up all of the projected expenses it totaled $472,034. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated when he totaled up all of the expenses they came to $533,000 with the total project revenue comes to $293, 354 including MFT and water department revenue. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated at this point in time it appears as if the Village will have $148,000 more in projected expenses than we have in projected revenues.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the first thing he would like to address is the general fund balance of $293,354. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he took the top eight revenue sources for fiscal year 08-09 and determined that the revenues were lower in the last half of the year so, he took that figure and multiplied it by two to determine the projected revenue for fiscal year 2010 – 2011. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the reason he used the top eight sources of revenue is because that makes up ninety percent of the Village’s income plus motor fuel tax revenue and the water revenues for a total figure of $293,354; this is an educated guess. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated this figure maybe correct or it may be too low and it may be high it just depends on what the economy does the one thing we do know is that this economy is lower than the great depression.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that when he was on the Board of Trustees in the 1990’s the Village had revenues somewhere between $350,000 to $375,000 and at that time there was no police department, there was only one maintenance man and the Clerk and the Treasurer were only in the office one night a week. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated there were very few projects the Board of Trustees only spent money to maintain the streets and the water system, we ran things as close to the bone as possible and the way things are looking right now that is where we are headed. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated if you have ideas about projects such as a new salt bin we will have to table that and do the best we can with what we have.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated as far as the finance department goes the finance department is responsible for the payroll and the payroll taxes. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that President Hicks in the budget that he submitted included $35,000 for a police officer and $36,000 for a maintenance man for a total of $71,000 nowhere else in the Village’s expenses can we save $71,000. Clerk Adams stated that when Officer Messer discovered that the Village is an Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund employer he was not very happy because if he works one quarter of an hour over the 600 hours maximum his pension will be in jeopardy due to this new information Officer Messer has decided that whatever come first June 30th or the 600 hours he will have to leave at that point. Clerk Adams informed the Board of Trustees that the legislature is proposing a change in the law that would not allow retired police officer to work in law enforcement because that is considered double dipping and if that law passes effective January 1, 2011 the Village’s theory of hiring retired officers in order to save money on training will go right out the window. Clerk Adams stated even if the Village has a retired police officer on board as soon as this law passes they would have to resign so, this is something that you might want to consider when you are hiring.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the Village has had some negative experiences with the hiring of police officers and there is the expense of outfitting them, maintaining the squad car, problems with retirees and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Trustee Salsbury stated that he thinks the Village should have an officer but, only if they work peak hours and not the same hours every day. Clerk Adams stated that right now Officer Messer is working with the State Training and Standards Board to get paperwork submitted and things back on track. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he would like to have a police department; he would like to have a lot of things he would also like to be able to afford those things as well. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that the blue squad car needs $1,300 worth of repairs however; the main problem can be fixed for $350. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the department manager; President Hicks would like the Boards opinion on which option is the best option at this time due to budget constraints; it was the consensus of the Board of Trustees to fix the main problem which is estimated to cost $350. There was a brief discussion of the pros and cons of having a police department.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that the Board of Trustees needs to cut $160,000 out of the budget and we can do that by taking the police officer and one maintenance man being taken out of the budget. Trustee Elliott stated whatever happened to the discussion we had about instituting a Hillcrest sales tax. Clerk Adams stated that Attorney Temple has the some paperwork concerning that issue however; he has not had the time to really research the issue due to the fact that the law offices of Dennis Schumacher were dissolved and the Village has been giving him plenty of other issues that need to be addressed. Clerk Adams stated that after Attorney Temple has had time to research the issue then we will have to see what procedures the Village will have to follow in order to make that come to fruition. Trustee Elliott asked how long it would take to get the ball rolling. Clerk Adams stated that she is under the impression that the issue has to pass by referendum and that would not be possible until next April and if it is voted down the issue is dead. Clerk Adams stated she thinks the process will take about eighteen months so; there would not be any immediately relief; is it going to help, yes, will it take time definitely.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the Village’s main revenue sources are sales tax, income tax and real estate tax. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the largest revenue is sales tax which is affected by the economy people are not spending money; there are losing their jobs and they don’t know how long they will be unemployed so, they are not spending money. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated real estate taxes are affected by the poor housing market, people owe more on their homes than they are worth and properties are in foreclosure. Clerk Adams stated at this current time there are over one hundred properties in Ogle County in foreclosure. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that income tax is related to jobs which we all know that unemployment is high and the Governor wants to reduce the income tax that is paid to the municipalities by thirty percent which is approximately $28,000 for Hillcrest.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated when he forecasts revenues should he take the last months revenue, should he take the last four months revenue or should he take the last six months; that is the judgment call that needs to be made. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the $394,000 the he projected could go higher or it could go lower. Trustee Elliott stated figure revenues on the low end and expenses on the high end. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he would prefer to figure revenues low and expenses high that way if he is wrong that means the Village will have a little extra in the budget instead of the other way around.
Clerk Adams stated that building permits will be impacted; the biggest project last year was the addition on her home; the remaining permits consisted of decks, porches, fences, sheds or pools and those are usually thirty dollar permits. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated but we still have to have a building inspector. Clerk Adams stated the biggest building permit to be issued this year is a permit for the building that Tru Green is leasing and that permit was for just over $300 for a two thousand square foot addition.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the next part of the packet is all of the expenses that relate to your individual departments and if you left a line item blank it was filled in for you based on last year’s budgets. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated look at your budget, take a look at everyone’s budget and if there is a big number there or something that doesn’t make sense ask so, we can look at it and discuss it. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated it is good to have fresh eyes and we always budget for the bare necessities. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg summarized the major expenses. Trustee Elliott stated that he thought the garbage had been moved from Health & Welfare to the Utility Department. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that the change has not been made yet. Trustee Elliott stated to Clerk Adams didn’t you make a suggestion that the Village charge $1 for recycling. Clerk Adams stated yes, that is something we can do to offset that costs and that will save approximately $3,000 but, you can’t vote on that this is a workshop. Clerk Adams stated when recyclables were doing well the Village did make a little money on them but, we have never broken even.
Clerk Adams state that there are a number of things that need to be addressed in the water department such as the new rate structure is not doing what it was designed to do by dropping the base rate a number of our customers bills have actually decreased so, you need to decide if you are going to reinstate the base rate and if you do are you going to keep the price and the number of gallons the same. Clerk Adams stated it was also suggested that the Village institute an availability rate for residential customer as well as non-residential customers. Clerk Adams stated that she had done a little research to see how other communities are handling their fee structures and Pecatonica charges a onetime non-refundable application fee of $100 for water and garbage services to all new residents. Clerk Adams stated that the current water deposit is sixty-five dollars and she is recommending to the Board that it be raised to one hundred dollars. Clerk Adams also suggested that a larger portion of her salary be taken out of the water department. Clerk Adams explained the process that she has to go through when the rate structure and the water route are changed. Trustee Elliott stated that if the Board of Trustees institutes an availability fee then they will not have to reinstate the base water rate. Clerk Adams stated the whole point of having a rate study done was to build up cash reserves for water main replacement however; we are actually losing money if you only reinstate the base rate you are right back where you started you are not ahead. Clerk Adams stated that there are some residents that are not using a thousand gallons a month so; they are only paying for garbage. Clerk Adams stated that Jim Sparber of Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers asked about the water billing and she told him what had happened and his response was that he was totally shocked that some people were not even using a thousand gallons of water a month. Clerk Adams responded that we live in the Midwest where people are naturally frugal, we are in a recession and people are doing everything they can to save money.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated after that conversation we definitely have a better handle on how the water department is operating, now we need to start in the utility department and make that self sufficient. Clerk Adams stated we need to get the utility department to where we can replace one block of water main a year at $90,000 a year and as it stands we cannot do that. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the water department is self sufficient for the most part but, at some point we are going to have to replace water meters. Clerk Adams stated we are going to have to start replacing batteries soon and put together a contingency plan to replace gate values, buffalo boxes and fire hydrants. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated we need to make a concerted effort to make the water department financially sound. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated when those water meters were installed we took $155,000 from the general fund to do that and it has not been paid back; that is why the water department is not self sufficient. Clerk Adams stated the Village needs to reinstate the base rate and institute the availability fee. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated we really need to compare how many communities pay $20 for water and garbage service.
Trustee Unger asked about money for repairing streets. Clerk Adams stated at the May meeting Mr. Sparber will come before you with a MFT resolution for this calendar year for road salt and cold patch.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he appropriated money for a part-time treasurer because he is not suppose to be doing that job and I figured just a little high. Clerk Adams stated that if the Board hires a part-time treasurer that $300 a month for insurance is off the table. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the first pass at the budget is the scariest because that is where your revenues and your expenses are the farther apart.
There being no further business to transact, a motion to adjourn was made by Trustee Elliott; and was seconded by Trustee Unger. Vote was as follows: Mecklenburg – yes, Elliott – yes, Salsbury – yes and Unger – yes. The vote passed unanimously. The workshop adjourned at 8:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Teresa J. Adams,
Village Clerk
BUDGET WORKSHOP
APRIL 21, 2010
7:00 P.M.
The Hillcrest Village Board of Trustees met in special session Wednesday, April 21, 2010 for a Budget Workshop, at the Hillcrest Village Hall. Trustee Mecklenburg stated that Clerk Adams had advised him prior to the meeting that President Hicks and Trustee McMullin would not be in attendance tonight due to work conflicts. Trustee Mecklenburg stated that Trustee Stewart is absent for unknown reasons. Clerk Adams advised the Board of Trustees that they needed to make a motion to nominate a President Pro Tem. Trustee Elliott made a motion to nominate Trustee Mecklenburg as President Pro Tem for the meeting; Trustee Salsbury seconded the motion. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg called the meeting to order at 7:21 p.m. answering the roll call were Trustees Jim Mecklenburg, Rich Elliott, Randal Salsbury and Trevor Unger. President Hicks and Trustee Jim McMullin was absent due to a conflicts with their places of employment and Trustee Stewart was absent for unknown reasons.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the purpose of the workshop is to discuss the budget for fiscal year 2010 – 2011. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he analyzed all of the information that he received from the Trustees and when he added up all of the projected expenses it totaled $472,034. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated when he totaled up all of the expenses they came to $533,000 with the total project revenue comes to $293, 354 including MFT and water department revenue. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated at this point in time it appears as if the Village will have $148,000 more in projected expenses than we have in projected revenues.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the first thing he would like to address is the general fund balance of $293,354. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he took the top eight revenue sources for fiscal year 08-09 and determined that the revenues were lower in the last half of the year so, he took that figure and multiplied it by two to determine the projected revenue for fiscal year 2010 – 2011. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the reason he used the top eight sources of revenue is because that makes up ninety percent of the Village’s income plus motor fuel tax revenue and the water revenues for a total figure of $293,354; this is an educated guess. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated this figure maybe correct or it may be too low and it may be high it just depends on what the economy does the one thing we do know is that this economy is lower than the great depression.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that when he was on the Board of Trustees in the 1990’s the Village had revenues somewhere between $350,000 to $375,000 and at that time there was no police department, there was only one maintenance man and the Clerk and the Treasurer were only in the office one night a week. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated there were very few projects the Board of Trustees only spent money to maintain the streets and the water system, we ran things as close to the bone as possible and the way things are looking right now that is where we are headed. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated if you have ideas about projects such as a new salt bin we will have to table that and do the best we can with what we have.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated as far as the finance department goes the finance department is responsible for the payroll and the payroll taxes. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that President Hicks in the budget that he submitted included $35,000 for a police officer and $36,000 for a maintenance man for a total of $71,000 nowhere else in the Village’s expenses can we save $71,000. Clerk Adams stated that when Officer Messer discovered that the Village is an Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund employer he was not very happy because if he works one quarter of an hour over the 600 hours maximum his pension will be in jeopardy due to this new information Officer Messer has decided that whatever come first June 30th or the 600 hours he will have to leave at that point. Clerk Adams informed the Board of Trustees that the legislature is proposing a change in the law that would not allow retired police officer to work in law enforcement because that is considered double dipping and if that law passes effective January 1, 2011 the Village’s theory of hiring retired officers in order to save money on training will go right out the window. Clerk Adams stated even if the Village has a retired police officer on board as soon as this law passes they would have to resign so, this is something that you might want to consider when you are hiring.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the Village has had some negative experiences with the hiring of police officers and there is the expense of outfitting them, maintaining the squad car, problems with retirees and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Trustee Salsbury stated that he thinks the Village should have an officer but, only if they work peak hours and not the same hours every day. Clerk Adams stated that right now Officer Messer is working with the State Training and Standards Board to get paperwork submitted and things back on track. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he would like to have a police department; he would like to have a lot of things he would also like to be able to afford those things as well. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that the blue squad car needs $1,300 worth of repairs however; the main problem can be fixed for $350. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the department manager; President Hicks would like the Boards opinion on which option is the best option at this time due to budget constraints; it was the consensus of the Board of Trustees to fix the main problem which is estimated to cost $350. There was a brief discussion of the pros and cons of having a police department.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that the Board of Trustees needs to cut $160,000 out of the budget and we can do that by taking the police officer and one maintenance man being taken out of the budget. Trustee Elliott stated whatever happened to the discussion we had about instituting a Hillcrest sales tax. Clerk Adams stated that Attorney Temple has the some paperwork concerning that issue however; he has not had the time to really research the issue due to the fact that the law offices of Dennis Schumacher were dissolved and the Village has been giving him plenty of other issues that need to be addressed. Clerk Adams stated that after Attorney Temple has had time to research the issue then we will have to see what procedures the Village will have to follow in order to make that come to fruition. Trustee Elliott asked how long it would take to get the ball rolling. Clerk Adams stated that she is under the impression that the issue has to pass by referendum and that would not be possible until next April and if it is voted down the issue is dead. Clerk Adams stated she thinks the process will take about eighteen months so; there would not be any immediately relief; is it going to help, yes, will it take time definitely.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the Village’s main revenue sources are sales tax, income tax and real estate tax. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the largest revenue is sales tax which is affected by the economy people are not spending money; there are losing their jobs and they don’t know how long they will be unemployed so, they are not spending money. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated real estate taxes are affected by the poor housing market, people owe more on their homes than they are worth and properties are in foreclosure. Clerk Adams stated at this current time there are over one hundred properties in Ogle County in foreclosure. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that income tax is related to jobs which we all know that unemployment is high and the Governor wants to reduce the income tax that is paid to the municipalities by thirty percent which is approximately $28,000 for Hillcrest.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated when he forecasts revenues should he take the last months revenue, should he take the last four months revenue or should he take the last six months; that is the judgment call that needs to be made. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the $394,000 the he projected could go higher or it could go lower. Trustee Elliott stated figure revenues on the low end and expenses on the high end. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he would prefer to figure revenues low and expenses high that way if he is wrong that means the Village will have a little extra in the budget instead of the other way around.
Clerk Adams stated that building permits will be impacted; the biggest project last year was the addition on her home; the remaining permits consisted of decks, porches, fences, sheds or pools and those are usually thirty dollar permits. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated but we still have to have a building inspector. Clerk Adams stated the biggest building permit to be issued this year is a permit for the building that Tru Green is leasing and that permit was for just over $300 for a two thousand square foot addition.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the next part of the packet is all of the expenses that relate to your individual departments and if you left a line item blank it was filled in for you based on last year’s budgets. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated look at your budget, take a look at everyone’s budget and if there is a big number there or something that doesn’t make sense ask so, we can look at it and discuss it. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated it is good to have fresh eyes and we always budget for the bare necessities. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg summarized the major expenses. Trustee Elliott stated that he thought the garbage had been moved from Health & Welfare to the Utility Department. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that the change has not been made yet. Trustee Elliott stated to Clerk Adams didn’t you make a suggestion that the Village charge $1 for recycling. Clerk Adams stated yes, that is something we can do to offset that costs and that will save approximately $3,000 but, you can’t vote on that this is a workshop. Clerk Adams stated when recyclables were doing well the Village did make a little money on them but, we have never broken even.
Clerk Adams state that there are a number of things that need to be addressed in the water department such as the new rate structure is not doing what it was designed to do by dropping the base rate a number of our customers bills have actually decreased so, you need to decide if you are going to reinstate the base rate and if you do are you going to keep the price and the number of gallons the same. Clerk Adams stated it was also suggested that the Village institute an availability rate for residential customer as well as non-residential customers. Clerk Adams stated that she had done a little research to see how other communities are handling their fee structures and Pecatonica charges a onetime non-refundable application fee of $100 for water and garbage services to all new residents. Clerk Adams stated that the current water deposit is sixty-five dollars and she is recommending to the Board that it be raised to one hundred dollars. Clerk Adams also suggested that a larger portion of her salary be taken out of the water department. Clerk Adams explained the process that she has to go through when the rate structure and the water route are changed. Trustee Elliott stated that if the Board of Trustees institutes an availability fee then they will not have to reinstate the base water rate. Clerk Adams stated the whole point of having a rate study done was to build up cash reserves for water main replacement however; we are actually losing money if you only reinstate the base rate you are right back where you started you are not ahead. Clerk Adams stated that there are some residents that are not using a thousand gallons a month so; they are only paying for garbage. Clerk Adams stated that Jim Sparber of Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers asked about the water billing and she told him what had happened and his response was that he was totally shocked that some people were not even using a thousand gallons of water a month. Clerk Adams responded that we live in the Midwest where people are naturally frugal, we are in a recession and people are doing everything they can to save money.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated after that conversation we definitely have a better handle on how the water department is operating, now we need to start in the utility department and make that self sufficient. Clerk Adams stated we need to get the utility department to where we can replace one block of water main a year at $90,000 a year and as it stands we cannot do that. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the water department is self sufficient for the most part but, at some point we are going to have to replace water meters. Clerk Adams stated we are going to have to start replacing batteries soon and put together a contingency plan to replace gate values, buffalo boxes and fire hydrants. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated we need to make a concerted effort to make the water department financially sound. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated when those water meters were installed we took $155,000 from the general fund to do that and it has not been paid back; that is why the water department is not self sufficient. Clerk Adams stated the Village needs to reinstate the base rate and institute the availability fee. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated we really need to compare how many communities pay $20 for water and garbage service.
Trustee Unger asked about money for repairing streets. Clerk Adams stated at the May meeting Mr. Sparber will come before you with a MFT resolution for this calendar year for road salt and cold patch.
President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated that he appropriated money for a part-time treasurer because he is not suppose to be doing that job and I figured just a little high. Clerk Adams stated that if the Board hires a part-time treasurer that $300 a month for insurance is off the table. President Pro Tem Mecklenburg stated the first pass at the budget is the scariest because that is where your revenues and your expenses are the farther apart.
There being no further business to transact, a motion to adjourn was made by Trustee Elliott; and was seconded by Trustee Unger. Vote was as follows: Mecklenburg – yes, Elliott – yes, Salsbury – yes and Unger – yes. The vote passed unanimously. The workshop adjourned at 8:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Teresa J. Adams,
Village Clerk
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