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City Council Minutes 2010 12-14-10 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE, KENDALL COUNTY ILLINOIS HELD IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 800 GAME FARM ROAD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14,201 Mayor Burd called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. and led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Clerk Milschewski called the roll. Ward I Gilson Present Werderich Absent Ward I I Golinski Present Plocher Present Ward III Munns Present Sutcliff Present Ward IV Teeling Present Spears Present Also present: City Clerk Milschewski, Attorney Orr, City Administrator/Interim Director of Park and Recreation Olson, Police Chief Hart, Public Works Director Dhuse, Finance Director Fredrickson, City Engineer Wywrot, Public Relations Officer Spies and Community Development Director Barksdale - Noble. QUORUM A quorum was established. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Mayor Burd asked the staff and guests to introduce themselves. She welcomed the guests and asked them to enter their names on the attendance sheet provided. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA Mayor Burd entertained a motion to table Public Works Committee Report Item #1 - Proposed Revisions /Clarifications to Letter of Credit Policy (PW 2010 -75) including a., b., and c until the December 28, 2010 City Council meeting. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Sutcliff. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye Mayor Burd entertained a motion to table Mayor's Report Item #5 - Park Naming Request — Marge Cline (CC 2010 -104) to the December 28, 2010 City Council meeting. So moved by Alderman Teeling; seconded by Alderman Sutcliff. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Sutchff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Gohnski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye Mayor Burd entertained a motion to table Consent Agenda Item #3 — Ordinance Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement for Eldamain Road Reconstruction (EDC 2010 -43) until January 11, 2011. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Munns. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye Mayor Burd entertained a motion to send Mayor's Report Item 49 - Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances Regarding Citizen Comments (CC 2010 -108) back to the Administration Committee. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Spears. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, 'feeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye Mayor Burd entertained a motion to move the Economic Development Committee Report up on the agenda to after the Bill List. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Gohnski. Motion unanim ously approved by a viva voce vote. The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council — December 14 2010 — page 2 Alderman Gilson requested that Mayor's Report Item 414 be moved up on the agenda to before Item 412 of the Mayor's Report. Amendment approved unanimously by a viva voce vote. COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Public Works Committee Meeting: 6:30 p.m., December 21, 2010 City Hall Conference Room. Economic Development Committee: 6:30 p.m., January 4, 2011 City Hall Conference Room Administration Committee Meeting: Cancelled Public Safety Committee Meeting: 6:00 p.m., December 20, 2010 City Hall Conference Room PRESENTATIONS Certificate of Recognition — Tam & Mike O'Connell — Haunted Jail Mayor Burd and Alderman Sutcliff presented Tam &Mike O'Connell with a Certificate of Recognition for their volunteer efforts with the Haunted Jail event. Mayor Burd indicated that the couple went above and beyond what was expected. Mr. O'Connell thanked Mayor Burd, Alderman Sutcliff and the students from Yorkville High School who helped on the event. Certificate of Recognition — Knights of Columbus — Thanksgiving Dinner Mayor Burd presented the Knights of Columbus with a Certificate of Recognition for the Thanksgiving Dinner they hosted. Robert Skidmore, a member of the Senior Ad Hoc Committee, volunteered to develop a Thanksgiving luncheon a week before the holiday. The Knights of Columbus cooked 12 turkeys and fed 160 seniors. Mr. Skidmore stated that it was a good event which the group wants to hold again next year. Presentation on Marge Cline Park Naming Request Greg Mechanic with the Illinois Paddling Council showed the City Council a video about paddler Marge Cline. He stated that Ms. Cline's name will mean a lot to those who will be using the canoe chute. He explained that Ms. Cline's name sets a high standard in safety, education and fun. He noted that the dam facility replaces a hazard and he would like to see the chute be a success, Kathy Ullrich, Ms. Cline's daughter, explained that when she was 13 her mother took up the sport. At one point her mother almost drowned so she took up teaching water safety. She noted that people have drowned at the site so she felt it would be fitting to name it after her mother since she promoted safety. She asked the City Council to consider naming the facility after her mother. Eric Spreene with Chicago Whitewater Assoc. explained that Ms. Cline was a mentor to him as she encouraged him to become an instructor. He stated that Ms. Cline had a passion for teaching and he foresees the use of the facility as a training venue. He asked the City Council to consider the naming request. I Mayor Burd noted that it would be an honor to name the facility after Ms. Cline however there is another naming request. She thanked the speakers for the request and their support and suggested that the two naming requests be combined. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. CITIZEN COMMENTS Lisa Peterson, Adrian Street, commented on the Pett Grant that was recently discussed, city staff layoffs and the lack of funds necessary to pay off the bonds the city owes. She questioned why the city did not make layoffs or other cut -backs years ago in an effort to save money. She also questioned why the city did not have the staff contribute more money to their health insurance. She noted that she has been laid - off and it will be a huge deal if her real estate taxes are increased. She made some cost suggestions; furloughs, pay cuts, vehicle stickers, etc. She felt the city should try harder to be financially responsible. She noted that the city cannot pay the bonds it has however it wants to take on more bonds for bike trails. She stated that the residents have already voted against the referendum and she questioned why it is being considered again. On another note, she stated that the streets in her area are bad and that there i The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council — December 14 2010 — page 3 are drainage ditch problems. She felt that the city should maintain existing infrastructure before taking on more. Todd Milliron, Kendall County resident, thanked the city for its "can do" attitude. He felt things were getting done in the best way possible considering the economic times. He noted that everyone is hurting but everyone needed to look forward. Another paddler who taught with Ms. Cline commented that local restaurants usually like when paddlers come to town. While it does not solve the city's financial situation, paddlers get hungry, need gas for their cars and even need equipment; there are benefits from the course. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Christofferson PUD Amendment for Rezoning (PC 2010 -12) a. Ordinance 2010 -56 - Approving the First Amendment to the Kuczkowski Planned Unit DevelopmentAgreement — authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute b. Ordinance 2010 -57 - Reclassifying Certain Property on East Van Emmon Road — authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute 2. AT &T License Agreement Renewal —authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute (EDC 2010 -42) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. So moved by Alderman Sutcliff, seconded by Alderman Golinski. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Plocher -aye, Spears -aye, Munns -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Gilson -aye, Teeling -aye, Golinski -aye PLAN COMMISSION /ZONING BOARD OF APPEAL None. MINUTES FOR APPROVAL A motion was made by Alderman Sutcliff to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting of October 12, 2010; seconded by Alderman Plocher. Alderman Gilson noted a correction on page 2, second paragraph; Mr. Snobeck's name is misspelled. Alderman Golinski noted a correction on page 3, third paragraph from the bottom. It should read "money for the city..." Alderman Teeling had a correction on page 2, second paragraph; Mr. Snobeck asked if anyone on the City Council knew about the Crane's article before it came out not if they bad read it. Motion unanimously approved as amended by a viva voce vote. BILLS FOR APPROVAL A motion was made by Alderman Sutcliff to approve the paying of the bills listed on the Detailed Board Report dated December 10, 2010, totaling the following amounts: checks in the amount of $2,034,212.30 (vendors); $6,790.01 (payroll period ending 10/31/10); $243,985.28 (payroll period ending 11/24/10); $342,829.65 (payroll period ending 12/04/10) for a total of $2,627,817.24 (total); seconded by Alderman Golinski. Administrator Olson noted that there was an error on the bill list; a UPS bill was entered twice. The amounts in the motion are the corrected amounts. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Plocher -aye, Spears -aye, Munns -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Gilson -aye, Teeling -aye, Golinski -aye The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council — December 14 2010 — nage 4 COMMITTEE REPORTS ECONONUC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT Ordinance 2010 -58 Amending the Yorkville Zoning Ordinance (Off -Track Betting Facility) (PC 2010 -13) A motion was made by Alderman Golinski to approve an ordinance amending the Yorkville Zoning Ordinance (Off -Track Betting Facility) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute; seconded by Alderman Munns. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -6 Nays -1 Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -nay, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye Ordinance 2010 -59 Approving a Special Use Permit Application for an Off -Track Betting Facility (1447 Cannonball Trail) (PC 2010 -14) A motion was made by Alderman Golinski to approve an ordinance approving a Special Use Permit Application for an Off -Track Betting Facility at 1447 Cannonball Trail and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute; seconded by Alderman Spears. Mayor Burd stated that this is a great addition to Yorkville that will bring in an estimated $60,000.00 for the city. Alderman Spears stated that she contacted other communities with OTB's and was assured they had no Public Safety issues. She stated that she visited a facility and was surprised by the respectable clientele that were frequenting it and that she supported the ordinance. Alderman Sutcliff stated that the group gave a presentation at the Plan Commission meeting and answered many questions. She felt that the OTB would be good for economic development and tourism. i Alderman Gilson stated that he had some issues however his concerns were eased by the Plan Commission presentation. He stated that he still had some concerns with parking, retail development and amending the Zoning Ordinance. He stated that he polled his constituents and the majority were against OTB's. He read from a news article regarding revenues from OTBs being the lowest in years. He also read from academic studies which did not support using gambling for economic growth and cited the negative aspects of gambling. The consensus of his research did not support OTBs. Mayor Burd stated that everyone is entitled to his/her opinion and she appreciated his research opposing OTB's. Alderman Munns stated that he was looking at this as a business and he did not need studies from professors to tell him what to do. He stated that there were a million places to lose money. He also noted that no one he spoke to in Ward III had a problem with the facility. Alderman Sutcliff noted that some people are resistant to charge. She stated that the owners of the bar and Hawthorne race tract are the ones taking a risk however she felt everything would work out for the best. She stated that Alderman Gilson has been against this from the beginning and even the Plan Commission asked him to separate his personal opinion from his vote. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -6 Nays -1 Teeling -aye, Gilson -nay, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye Jeff Kras from Hawthorne race track stated that people go to casinos and put money on probability against a bet however horse racing is different. He stated that 80% of people walk away a winner. He noted that horse racing creates 40,000 jobs and the money from racing stays in Illinois. It is a legitimate business. He stated that it has been a privilege working with the staff. The Minutes of the Resular Meeting of the City Council — December 14 2010 — vase 5 REPORTS MAYOR'S REPORT Ordinance 2010 -60 Approving the Code of Ordinances regarding Park Board Membership (ADM 2010 -34) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances regarding Park Board Membership and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Sutcliff; seconded by Alderman Golinski. Mayor Burd stated that the current ordinance requires that one member of the Park Board be someone from the School District. They don't want the position anymore so the amendment changes this requirement. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye Appointment of Park Board Members — Mark Dilday (CC 2010 -101) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve the Mayor's appointment of Mark Dilday to the Park Board. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Sutcliff. Mayor Burd stated that Mr. Dilday has been waiting for a year to be on the Park Board. Alderman Teeling stated that she attends the Park Board meetings and it will be exciting to have a full board. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Gilson -aye, Sutcliff- -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye Appointment of Park Board Members — Amy Gesich (CC 2010 -101) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve the Mayor's appointment of Amy Gesich to the Park Board. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Sutcliff. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye Appointment of Cultural Arts Commission Members- Harold Oliver (CC 2010 -102) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve the Mayor's appointment of Harold Oliver to the Cultural Arts Commission. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Sutcliff. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -5 Nays -0 Present -2 Munns -aye, Spears- present, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson - present, Sutcliff -aye Appointment of Cultural Arts Commission Members- Eric Lechowicz (CC 2010 -102) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve the Mayor's appointment of Eric Lechowicz to the Cultural Arts Commission. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Spears. Mayor Burd noted that Mr. Lechowicz is an architect from Bristol Bay and that there are still two more spots open on the commission. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye Appointment of Freedom of Information Officers (CC 2010 -103) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve the appointment of David Delaney, Larry Hilt, Donald Schwarzkopf, and Nicole Leja as Freedom of Information officers. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Spears. The Minutes of the Regular Meetine of the City Council — December 14 2010 — page 6 Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye Resolution 2010 -30 Approving a Revised Park, Gazebo and Shelter Reservation Policy (CC 2010 -105) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve a resolution approving a Revised Park, Gazebo and Shelter Reservation Policy and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Munns. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye Resolution 2010 -31 Approving a Revised Policy for Athletic Field Use Policies and Procedures (CC 2010 -106) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve a resolution approving a Revised Policy for Athletic Field Use Policies and Procedures and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Plocher. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye Ordinance 2010- 61 Approving a Third Amendment to Lease - Donation Agreement for the Blackberry Creek Property By and Between the City and CorLands (CC 2010 -107) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve an ordinance approving a third amendment to Lease — Donation Agreement for the Blackberry Creek Property By and Between the City and CorLands and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Plocher. Alderman Sutcliff asked if this property had been used as a match for other property. Administrator Olson explained that it has been used as a match for two grants that the city raid not receive. Alderman Sutcliff asked if staff looked at using any other holding company and Administrator Olson stated that it had. Alderman Gilson asked how the city was going to come up with the payment for this and Administrator Olson explained that Land Cash was going to be used. Alderman Gilson felt the city should not be worrying about grants or the acquisition of property in these economic times. He did not support the ordinance. Mayor Burd explained that this was not for a grant and she asked Administrator Olson to explain the ordinance. Administrator Olson stated that when the city applies for a state grant it usually requires a cash match. However the state allows the value of land to be used as a match instead. Land Cash is collected from developers and can only be used for park development or land acquisition. Alderman Spears asked what the Land Cash account balance was and Administrator Olson stated that currently it is a negative however once pending grants are finalized it should increase. He noted that the city was anticipating a payment of $312,000.00 in a few weeks as well as a $700,000.00 reimbursement. Alderman Spears suggested bringing back the use of the grant spread sheet so that the City Council can be more informed about pending grants. Alderman Golinski noted that if this is not paid the holding cost would revert to park land and not be available to be used as a match for any future grants. Alderman Gilson clarified that the Land Cash Fund was in the red. Administrator Olson stated that staff is waiting for reimbursement from the state once grant projects are finished. He added that the state has not defaulted on any grant reimbursements. Alderman Plocher asked that if Land Cash is frozen, could developers ask for their contributions back and Administrator Olson stated they could. He felt that approving this would be a good decision because the property could be used as leverage to get state funds. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -6 Nays -1 Gilson -nay, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye The Minutes of the Reeular Meeting of the City Council — December 14 2010 — page 7 Ordinance 2010 -62 Amended Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2011 and Ending April 30, 2012 in and for the United City of Yorkville Special Service Area No. 2004 -201 (Fox Hill Subdivision) (CC 2010 -109) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve an ordinance for the Amended Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2011, and Ending April 30, 2012 and for the United City of Yorkville Special Service Area Number 2004 -201 (Fox Hill Subdivision) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Sutcliff; seconded by Alderman Munns. Director Dhuse explained that this ordinance was for the mowing and maintenance of the common area of the Fox Hill Subdivision. The levy was based on the cost for the previous year. Alderman Spears asked if the amount had been lowered and Director Dhuse stated that it remained the same. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye Ordinance 2010 -63 Amended Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2011 and Ending April 30, 2012 in and for the United City of Yorkville Special Service Area No. 2806 -119 (Sunflower Estates Subdivision) (CC 2010 -110) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve an ordinance for the Amended Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2011 and Ending April 30, 2012 in and for the United City of Yorkville Special Service Area Number 2006 -119 (Sunflower Estates) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Golinski. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye Budget Update (CC 2010 -113) Mayor Burd stated that she has been speaking with residents who are confused about the tax abatements. She read a statement about the tax abatements and the budget (see attached). Alderman Spears stated that during the last administration the City Council approved a spreadsheet which was maintained by the finance and engineering departments to monitor developer fees. This has since been discontinued so the City Council wasn't aware of the lack of payments. She also disagreed with the mayor's insinuation about the Police Department's portion of the city's budget. She noted that it is normal in most communities for the PD to have a large portion of the budget for the officers and equipment needed to patrol the city. She further noted that the department has not replaced eight officers over the last few years. Mayor Burd stated Chief Martin placed four officers in the budget in anticipation of growth. Four officers have left and have not been replaced. She noted that Yorkville has more officers per capita however this is needed due to the size and spread of the city. She stated that the PD's budget has not been shrunk and it is a priority to her not to cut officers. She stated that she merely meant to show where tax dollars are going in the budget. Alderman Golinski noted that in the November 13, 2008 Administration Committee meeting minutes, former City Administrator McLaughlin said that the city could not maintain the current staff levels. Alderman Golinski stated that he did not feel Mayor Surd's number of a 30% reduction in staff was accurate. He asked for the reason for separation and if the positions have been filled. Administrator Olson stated he prepared a report of all the people who have left the city's employ (see attached). Staff has been reduced by 28 full time employees with some positions having been replaced. Alderman Gilson stated then when "leaning" out the city, things should be prioritized. The Police and Public Works Departments are essential and should not be thinned out. There are other areas that can be cut without affecting essential services. He also asked how many former employees left by choice versus those who were laid off. Administrator Olson noted that this is private information. The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council — December 14, 2010 — Page 8 Alderman Teeling asked if anyone else beside the receptionist was laid -off in the Public Works department. Administrator Olson stated that others were laid -off such as the mechanic and some part- time Park & Recreation Department employees. Alderman Spears clarified that the support service employee in the Police Department was laid -off. She noted that the position was created to handle jobs for less than it would cost to have an officer do it. She did not see how this was justified. Mayor Burd stated that the decision was made by the department head and that some of the jobs done by this position can be done by public works and engineering employees. Alderman Golinski stated that it was said that the city was paying the Director of Support Services a salary as well as a pension as he is a retired police officer. He noted that the pension is paid out of the police pension fund. Director Fredrickson clarified that the city contributes to the pension fund. Chief Hart added that there are three contributors to the fund; employees, the city and the pension board. Workman's Comp Insurance (CC 2010 -112) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to authorize entering into a one -year insurance agreement with Travelers Insurance in an amount not to exceed $316,782.00. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Sutcliff. Mike Alesia with Mesirow Financial (the city's insurance broker) gave an overview of the agreement. Due to a decrease in property values he recommended that the city have a property appraisal done by a professional municipal property appraiser. He felt the city may be under insured. He went over the coverage and claims liability. He noted that he marketed the insurance to ten carriers and only two came back with bids. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye Tag Abatement Ordinances (CC 2010 -111) Administrator Olson noted that the first two abatement ordinances are for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. He explained that there was no practical purpose to not abate them so he recommended they be approved. Ordinance 2010 -64 Abating the Tax Hereto Levied for the Year 2010 to Pay the Principal of and Interest on $3,525,000 General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2005 (Countryside TIF) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve an ordinance abating the tax here to levied for the year 2010 to pay the principal of and interest on $3,525,000 General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2005 (Countryside TIF) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Sutcliff, seconded by Alderman Plocher. Alderman Spears clarified that all bonds are scheduled to go on the tax rolls each year. Typically if payment can be made from another source, the bonds are abated and the Kendall County treasurer will not collect the funds from property tax. However, if they are not abated the Kendall County treasurer will collect the year's portion of the bond payment from real estate tax bills. If nothing is done, the payment is rolled into the tax bill. Attorney Orr stated that this was correct. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye Ordinance 2010 -65 Abating the Tax Hereto Levied for the Year 2010 to Pay the Principal of and Interest on $625,000 General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2002 (Fox Industrial Park) Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve an ordinance abating the tax hereto levied for the year 2010 to pay the principal of and interest in $625,000 General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source),Series 2002 (Fox Industrial Park) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Munns. Mayor Burd asked when this bond would be paid off. Attorney Orr stated in two years. The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council — December 14, 2010 — page 9 Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff-aye, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye Administrator Olson explained that the next three ordinances were for bonds which are typically paid out of the sewer and/or water funds. Staff was directed by the City Council to analyze the bonds to determine which ones could not be abated in order to lessen the monthly fee. These three bonds fit the criteria. It was recommended that these not be abated or not approved Ordinance 2010 -66 Abating the Tax Hereto Levied for the Year 2010 to Pay the Principal of and Interest on $2,000,000 General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2005C (Waterworks and Sewer) Mayor Bard entertained a motion to approve an ordinance abating the tax hereto levied for the year 2010 to pay the principal of and interest on $2,000,000 General Obligation Bonds (Alternative Revenue Source), Series 2005C (Waterworks and Sewer) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Sutcliff, seconded by Alderman Plocher. Alderman Gilson stated that a resident in his ward had some questions about the options for the bonds. One question asked about the possibility of increasing the sales tax to pay for the bonds. Mayor Bard stated that because Yorkville is not a home -ruled community, the City Council could not increase the tax without a referendum. A referendum could be put on the April ballot and if approved, the sales tax would be increased next year. Mayor Bard felt that an increase in the sales tax would be more equitable for the residents as people could decide where they wanted to shop. Also, people- shopping in Yorkville who live outside the community would be contributing. Alderman Gilson stated that the second question was if the cost of the bonds was added to the property tax, could it be placed in a separate account in order to be able to refund the money to residents if other funds became available. Administrator Olson stated that this would be incredibly complicated to administer. Attorney Orr added that she did not know if legally this could be done. Alderman Golinski felt it was unfortunate that current residents have to pay for future growth. He suggested structuring this as a loan from residents. He noted that when the sewer rate is lowered in the future new residents will benefit however older residents will not. Attorney Orr suggested that established residents be repaid in other ways such as lower fees. Mayor Burd added that if funds come in, the city can lower taxes. Eventually the sales tax breaks on new businesses will be over so the city will be receiving more revenue. Administrator Olson stated that the best way to reduce taxes is to attract business and the best way to do this is to lower the cost for developers to come into the city. Alderman Gilson stated he was not convinced the city had done enough to cut back its spending. He stated that he pledged not to raise taxes and that he was not part of the previous administration that front funded developers and then did not collect the money. He felt reckless decisions. were made by the previous administration and he wouldn't pass the burden on to residents. He stated that water and sewers were supposed to be self sufficient however they are grossly insufficient. He stated he would be voting to abate all taxes. Alderman Sutcliff asked what would happen if these ordinances were abated. Administrator Olson stated that abating the ordinances is like saying the city has the money to pay the bonds which it does not. The holders of the bonds could litigate against the city which would cause more expense. Director Fredrickson added that defaulting on the bonds will ruin the city's bond rating so it will not be able to get future loans. Mayor Burd stated the city has to pay the bonds because it is a responsible entity. She added that operational funds cannot be used for water /sewer funds. Also, the police, public works employees, etc. still have to be paid. She asked that personal opinion be put aside and that everyone look at what is best for the city. She noted that everyone on the City Council lives in the city and does not want to pay more real estate tax. She understood that people are struggling with finances however the Council is stuck in a bad situation. She added that it is not a situation unique to Yorkville; many communities are struggling. She stated that this group is stuck in this situation because people voted for the previous administration who put these things in place. Her goal has been to try and clean up the mess. i The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council — December 14, 2010 — naee 10 Alderman Sutcliff clarified that if the ordinances are not approved it would be a savings to residents because the bond payment will lessen in the long run. Mayor Burd added that the bond counsel has said that if the increase of real estate tax goes to the repayment of the bonds it creates a revenue stream which makes it possible to refinance the bonds. Also, the bonds can be abated next year and then they will come off the tax bill. Alderman Teeling noted that abating the bonds was irresponsible. Alderman Plocher stated that he was not taking this vote lightly. He stated that since the ordinances do not have to be voted on until late January he would feel more comfortable sitting on them so that he can talk to more people. He suggested tabling the vote for two weeks. A motion was made by Alderman Plocher to table the vote for two weeks. Motion failed due to lack of a second. Motion to abate approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -4 Nays -3 Golinski -aye, Teeling -nay, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -nay, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -nay Alderman Gilson asked that Clerk Milschewski read back the vote which she did. i Mayor Burd asked Alderman Munns if he made a mistake with his vote. She once again explained that if the bonds are abated (an aye vote), the city would have to come up with funds that it does not have to pay for them. If the bonds are not abated (a nay vote), real estate taxes will be increased to pay for the bonds. Alderman Munns asked if this was the same as the previous two ordinances which were approved. Attorney Orr explained the difference between these bonds and TIF bonds. Ordinances Abating the Tax hereto Levied for the Year 2010 to Pay the Principal of and Interest on General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source) (Countryside Interceptor, Refinance 2003A, Rob Roy Creek, Refinance Rob Roy Creek and In -Town Road Program) Mayor Burd asked if the City Council wanted to vote on the remaining ordinances with one motion. The consensus was for one motion. Administrator Olson noted that the city had no cash flow to sustain it if these bonds are abated. He recommended that the City Council vote "no" in order for the city to remain solvent. Director Fredrickson agreed with the city administrator and reminded the Council that if the bonds are not abated there will be dedicated revenues which will make it easier to refinance the bonds. Alderman Teeling stated that if the bonds are abated, residents will get an additional fee on their water bills to pay for this which is fine if that is the way the City Council wants to approach this problem. However to say that the city should not pay its bills was stunning and she felt that some members of the City Council should be ashamed of themselves. Alderman Teeling proceeded to leave the meeting but was called back b Mayor Bur g p g Y Yo . d Mayor Burd entertained a motion to approve Ordinances Abating the Tax Hereto Levied for the Year 2010 to Pay the Principal of and Interest on General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source) (Countryside Interceptor, Refinance 2003A, Rob Roy Creek, Refinance Rob Roy Creek and In -Town Road Program) and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Sutcliff, seconded by Alderman Plocher. Alderman Spears stated that she owns her own home and pays her taxes. She noted she has also been unemployed for awhile so she was voting to abate the bonds. Mayor Burd asked if she had a solution to pay for the bonds. Alderman Spears stated she did not have a plan developed. Alderman Munns asked Alderman Plocher if this was what he was trying to table. Alderman Plocher stated that it was. Alderman Mumis suggested he try again. A motion was made by Alderman Plocher to table the Ordinances Abating the Tax Hereto Levied for the Year 2010 to Pay the Principal of and Interest on General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source) (Countryside Interceptor, Refinance 2003A, Rob Roy Creek, Refinance Rob Roy Creek and In -Town Road Program) for two weeks; seconded by Alderman Munns. The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council — December 14, 2010 — page 11 Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -6 Nays -1 Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -nay, Munns -aye, Spears -aye, Plocher -aye CITY COUNCIL REPORT No report. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT No report. CITY CLERK'S REPORT No report. CITY TREASURER'S REPORT No report. I CITY ADMINISTATOR'S REPORT No report. DIRECTOR OF PARKS & RECREATION'S REPORT No report. FINANCE DIRECTOR'S REPORT No report. CITY ENGINEER'S REPORT No report. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS REPORT No report. CHIEF OF POLICE'S REPORT No report. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR REPORT No report. COMMUNITY RELATIONS OFFICER'S REPORT No report. COMMUNITY & LIAISON REPORT No report. COMMITTEE REPORTS, continued PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE REPORT No report. PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE REPORT No report. ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REPORT No report. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS Snow Plowing and Leaves Alderman Gilson noted that there was a problem with leaves that were plowed onto a resident's driveway along with the recent snow. He asked what was in place to address this. Director Dhuse stated that there was no procedure in place. He explained that when the Public Works department was made aware of the situation, the workers had already finished plowing and had gone home. He did not want to call them back after they had been plowing for hours. He suggested that people work with their neighbors in order to avoid problems like this. Mayor Burd asked that leaf pickup be discussed at the next Public Works Committee meeting. The Minutes of the ReLyular Meeting of the City Council — December 14 2010 —Aii 12 Peterson Email Alderman Spears stated that Mrs. Peterson had sent an email regarding the Pett Tax Cap. She asked that it be included with the minutes and gave a copy to Clerk Milschewski (see attached). EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Burd entertained a motion to go into Executive Session for the purpose of 1. For litigation, when an action against, affecting, or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or immin ent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting. 2. For the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. So moved by Alderman Plocher; seconded by Alderman Golinski. Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes -7 Nays -0 Spears -aye, Plocher -aye, Golinski -aye, Teeling -aye, Gilson -aye, Sutcliff -aye, Munns -aye The City Council entered into executive session at 10:35 p.m. The City Council returned to regular session at 11:00 pm. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Burd entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. So moved by Alderman Golinski; seconded by Alderman Plocher. Adjournment of the meeting was unanimously approved by a viva voce vote. Meeting adjourned at 11:07 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Jacquelyn Milschewski, City Clerk City of Yorkville, Illinois I REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 14, 2010 PLEASE PRINT NAME: SUBDIVISION OR BUSINESS: talvll -7 A rti �2 tU-5o13 (�GV rl�e s I Oa' /la c.J 0(4tr �C k �r ►� /� �I�d�ew ��z�ler�h SIGNIN i REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 14, 2010 PLEASE PRINT NAME: SUBDIVISION OR BUSINESS: �A 11Z E e RA .,I I c SIGNIN REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 14, 2010 PLEASE PRINT NAME: SUBDIVISION OR BUSINESS: l o ?r L l hI A I CA.�6 � l l � � � �A d J (I T) i i i SIGNIN i a I REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING Public Comment December 14, 2010 PLEASE PRINT NAME: SUBDIVISION OR BUSINESS: - 'Sc, Tie, r Soo ion SIGNIN December 10, 2010 Dear Valerie, Thank you for taking the time in your hectic schedule to respond. First of all on a personal note, I wanted to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your recent diagnosis of breast cancer. I am sure that it has been a very scary, stressful, and emensely overwhelming time for you. I can only speak from my personal experience, but when our son was diagnosed last November with Scheuermann's disease, it was incredibly overwhelming for our family to be put on the medical oddesy path that we had to travel. Just all of the pre- screening test and procedures for the six weeks leading up to his surgery were so intense; well needless to say I can sympothise with you and what your family must be p going through right now. Our family's thought and prayers are with you for a speedy recovery and an excellent long term prognoses. Regarding the city issues; first of all let me say that apparently I spoke out of turn. Shame on me for not attending more of the city council meetings. The only information that I am receiving is that from the local newspaper, which apparently has a very skuired version of the truth. Take for example the most recent paper from 12 -9 -10 about the city's most recent lay -offs, it states; "Alderman Gary Golinski...said that the layoffs should have come sooner .... Back in 2008 then City Administrator Brendan McLaughlin told the council that." Those comments make the residents of Yorkville think that in fact nothing was done until this recent round of lay -offs, when apparently in reality nothing could be farther from the truth. Just now through your e-mail and the e-mail of Diane I have learned that the city has in fact laid off over 30 city employees over the last two years. I was recently send an e-mail inviting me to attend the Pell Tax Cap city council meeting. That is how I became involved in this because, no I do not want to see my property taxes raised. It was stated at the meeting that the vote on this issue would not be until the end of December and that if residences wanted to weigh in on their positions that they could e-mail the city council and that their comments would be taken into consideration. That is why I send my letter. Even though I may have gotten some of my facts and information wrong, believe me my heart was in the right place. It's sad that from what little information I had to go on, it seemed or sounded that up until this point that the city had done very little to try and cut costs and spending. I see now that that is simply not the case. I guess information and education are the keys, and short of attending every single city council meeting, how does the average resident say in the know? I think that is an excellent question. I know that when you ran for mayor you wanted to have an honest open and up front form of government. agree. But where do the residences go to simply get the facts of the matter without going to the council meetings. The city news letters are great, but they simply do not cover enough of the facts. Purhaps some type of website where if the residents have questions, they can click on a specific topic to get additional information. A good example of this is the bike trails. Don't get me wrong. I am all in favor of them and would love to see them come into our town. The only problem with this, is how it was proposed because apparently in order to have them the residents would have to have our property taxes raised about $100.00 a year. At this time I simply can not afford that, and it really doesn't sound like the city can either. Regarding the leaf pick up and snow shoveling. I can appreciate the fact that there are designated times for leave pick up. However leafs falling from trees usually don't stick to a schedule and unfortunately they fell very late this year. Almost every home on our street has a large pile of leaves on their curbs. I may be wrong but somehow it seems like something got missed that there are so many leaf piles in our neighborhood. I know that several years ago I called the city after a snow because every street in our neighborhood had been plowed except for ours. Yes I was angry after the snow plowing and I had a huge pile of leafs in my driveway. Again I may be wrong, but when the driver did that, he had to have known what he did. He just simply drove on because he didn't care. Thats what makes me mad. Jobs are to hard to come by these days. For every employee that wants to screw up and not care about how well they perform their job, there are 20 more people lined up that are willing to take that job, and work harder and more conscience for less pay. That driver either should have knocked on my door and apologized, taken another swipe with his plow and push them into the parkway, or radioed into dispatch & told them they would have to send a clean up crew. I can remember several years ago when the city plows took out our street sign on the corner of our lot. I didn't call the city to report it, because I assumed the driver did. Two weeks later with the street sign still laying in my yard, I called the city and they said they had no idea that had happened & that they would send someone out. Three hours later our street sign was back up. did in fact meet with you on the 4th of July. It was a pleasure to speak with you. And I sincerely meant what I said, when I said you had my support. I apologize if my letter seemed to come off as some type of personal attack. That was not my intention. I am just frustrated as a resident because of the financial mess that the city is in. I realize that it is not the city councils fault, nor your personal fault. It is just that sometimes a person has to learn to live within their means. At times that can be hard to do. I lay blame with the previous administration that were counting their chickens before they hatched with all of this new development. If nothing else, I hope that the city of Yorkville remembers this much like the holoucust, so that nothing like this ever happenes again. The economy will eventually turn around. How long that we take is anybody's guess. But when it does, I hope that the city takes these vaulable lessons into account to build and develop responsibly and make the builders and developers pay up front or pay as they go, so that the city and it's residents are not stuck with the bills. I never meant for this e-mail to become so long, but I am a person of many many words apparently. I will say two final things before I go. First of all, I admire you that you have taken the higher road with regard to all of the petty bickering, squabling and finger pointing that goes on at the city council meetings. Apparently some are carrying around score cards with them. I said it before and I will say it again. I beleive that you make others look foolish by not sinking to their levels. Second, I absolutely do not want to see my property taxes raised. Somehow, someway, the city council must try to work together and come up with other alternative solutions to this pressing problem. Although I realize that it is not the current city councils fault that we are in this financial mess, its really not my fault either and I don't want to have to pay the price for someone elses short sightedness or mistakes. I was originally just going to send this e-mail to you alone, but since Diane also e- mailed me with some points to ponder, I am forwarding it to her as well. I would like to try and attend the next city council meeting so if you could e-mail me the date and time I would appreciate it. Please I want you to feel free to use this letter and these comments however you feel are appropriate. If you wish to forward this to other council members, or print it out for everyone at the next council meeting feel free. Sincerely, Lisa Peterson Hm (630) 882 -8067 I Cr y �� o Memorandum To: Rob Fredrickson, Finance Director EST. =` 1836 From: Amy Simmons, Accounting Clerk CC: Bart Olson, City Administrator �� r rd p' Date: December 14, 2010 xwmc '" _' Subject: Bank of New York - check correction <CE �V There is an error in tonight's bill list in the amount of $76.20, resulting in a decrease in the total bill run from $2,034,288.50 to $2,034,212.30. The error was caused when a portion of the UPS bill was entered twice, once under The Bank of New York and the second time under UPS. This error was missed in the proofing process and resulted in the original check for Bank of New York to be printed for $76.20 more than was actually due them. The original check for Bank of New York in the amount of $1,296,870.59 has been voided and a new check reissued for the correct amount of $1,296,794.39. it or4 t 1/ The last few weeks I have been getting contacted by residents who are concerned about our discussions relating to our real estate tax levy, the water and sewer bonds. There is so much misinformation out there. Some people I talked to were under the impression that their taxes would be going up $4,000 a year when in fact we never have mentioned such an astronomical figure. We are talking about maybe $300 on a house assessed at $300,000, and I think that figure is bad enough, but it isn't even close to $4,000. Other residents, after reading our local paper last week, were under the impression that I have been sitting here for three years, not doing anything to try to solve our budgetary problems, and that the nine people laid off two weeks ago were the first layoffs that we've had. That, too, isn't true. There have been other layoffs. It appears they were forgotten. So, I thought it would be a good time to review what has been done over the past three years. All of the information I am going to pass on tonight is documented through the City budget reports, audits, and City minutes. First, I would like to give a general overview of our tax revenues. The United City of Yorkville presently gets about 7% of the real estate tax that our residents pay in to the county. This past year, that equaled about $2.5 million. We got another $2.44 million in sales taxes, $1.3 million in personal income taxes, and from the Utility taxes we got $550,000 from electric, $300,000 from natural gas and $518,000 for telephones. Back to real.estate taxes. To put it in perspective, our current police department's budget is $3.19 million, almost $700,000 more than the city gets from real estate taxes. In May of 2007, when I took office, the 2007/2008 budget had already been approved. That budget showed the City to have a general fund of more than $14 million. At least $2 million of that amount was actually bond money dedicated to pay for the in -town road program. Out of the remaining $12 million, the City Council had approved giving $1.16 million to the Parks and Recreation Dept. — about $700,000 of that went to Parks alone, $2.6 million to the Police Dept., and about $616,000 to Public Works for street maintenance. We also thought we had a fund balance of around $2.6 million, something a year later I learned was not the case. A lot of that fund balance, what we were told was a rainy day fund there to cover bad times, actually was accounts receivable — money owed us by developers. To date, after I instituted a bad debt policy, we have written off $1.46 million in bad debt, and this year will write off another $300,000. This, despite the fact that we had a policy in place, even in 2007, that required developers to pay expenses up front. We learned that policy had not been followed. In 2008/09, as we moved into our down economy, I cut the transfer from the general fund to the Parks and Recreation Dept. down to $1.08 million, a decrease of $80,000. In 2009/10 it was cut to $969,500, and this past year it was cut to $911,890. Between 2008 and this year, the total cuts to this budget equal $249,000 over the last three years. We've heard a lot of talk about the lease of Club 47 and how the Rec Center is bleeding our general fund budget. Actually, that isn't true. The Rec Center last year brought in $580,000 in revenue, served 1,100 members and more than 5,000 individuals. The expense of operating it costs $636,000, including the $50,000 in real estate taxes that have to be paid because it isn't a City Building. Some of that tax money comes back to us. All of the overage has been completely absorbed by the Parks and Recreation budget, despite the cuts I made. The City has been able to provide better Recreational opportunities for our residents with less money. It is up to the aldermen to decide if providing these services is important to our residents. Another comparison -the Oswego Park District, a totally separate taxing body from the Village of Oswego, this past year received $1.4 million in tax dollars from Oswego residents. That's in addition to taxes paid to the Village of Oswego. i Also in 2008, 1 instituted a hiring freeze, a wage freeze for all departments except the police department, which was covered by a contractual agreement that included wage increases for two more years, and week -long furloughs for employees. I did a previous round of layoffs, which added to not replacing employees who left and with these most recent layoffs has resulted in a reduction of our staff of 30 people, from 102 in 2007 to 73 today. In 2008, we cut the budget to around $10 million, but skyrocketing health costs, property insurance increases, litigation filed against the City because of the landfill, breach of contract disputes left over from the previous administration, and other fixed costs sent the budget back up to around $11 million. Over the past three years, landfill related litigation has cost the City more than $1 million. Here are some of the other revenues I brought in to try to compensate for this drain on our general fund because of litigation and other expenses: 1) Employee health contributions went from almost $0 (some were $0, some were $25) to a sliding scale depending on the plan. The total revenue so far per year is about $125,000. 2) Amusement tax - will be about $20,000 new revenue when it kicks in for a full year. 3) Garbage surcharge (enacted 3 or four years ago) - was $5 per month per user, then went to $10 per month per user, and now is the full cost of the program, near $20 per month per user. 4) Our collection costs from YBSD have went up from $60,000 per year to about $120,000 per year the past two years. 5) Administrative Adjudication - $40,000 per year 6) Administrative Tows - $120,000 per year 7) Water bonding fee - $8.25 per month per user. 8) Water rates - increased 5% this past year and have a built in 1.5% increase per year -- caused by water infrastructure improvements, and also the misspending of $827,000 out of the water fund - money that should have been set aside and given back to the developer of Grande Reserve because of a contractual agreement entered in to before 2007. The City now has to pay $27,000 a month to Bank of America for three years to make up that money and it has to come out of the Water Fund. Now we are addressing tonight the sewer bonding problems brought about by expansion of our infrastructure when the economy was booming. I want to make one thing clear. While I have been blaming the previous administration for some of the actions that were taken by the former mayor, city administrators and attorneys and finance directors, I was in favor of some of his goals, such as brining in Kendall Marketplace. That is serviced by this Rob Roy interceptor that is one of the bonds we can't pay next year. The former mayor has said that there were safeguards put in to these development agreements in case tap on fees didn't materialize, but the safeguards didn't envision the developers themselves going bankrupt and disappearing. Although the City has filed liens against the properties, it doesn't look promising that we will be getting any money any time soon. �II/ Title Name Separation Date Senior Accounting Clerk Jen Milewski 8/8/2008 Human Resources Manager Denise Kasper 1/26/2009 Director of Parks and Recreation Dave Mogle 3/6/2009 Janitor Lorrie Bahr 3/27/2009 Urban Planner Charlie Wunder 4/1/2009 Senior Planner Stephanie Boettcher 7/30/2009 Senior Accounting Clerk Colleen Sullivan 10/5/2009 City Administrator Brendan McLaughlin 10/16/2009 JULIE Locator Aimee Smith 10/22/2009 Sr. Engineering Technician Bill Barkeley 10/22/2009 Assistant City Administrator Bart Olson 11/30/2009 Community Development Director Travis Miller 1/8/2010 Police Chief Harold Martin 1/29/2010 Administrative Assistant (ComDev) Annette Williams 2/5/2010 Maintenance Worker I Adam Hake 2/10/2010 Administrative Assistant (Recreation) Kathi Fincham 2/10/2010 Patrolman Glenn Calvert 5/7/2010 Finance Director Susan Mika 7/9/2010 Recreation Coordinator Angie Alwood 9/14/2010 IT Specialist Charlie Graff 12/2/2010 GIS Coordinator Greg Weber 12/2/2010 Eng Administrative Assistant Jen Woodrick 12/2/2010 Receptionist Katie Skinner 12/2/2010 PW Receptionist LeAnn Kanan 12/2/2010 Sr Engineering Tech Mike Robinson 12/2/2010 Executive Assistant Molly Batterson 12/2/2010 Director of Support Services Ron Diederich 12/2/2010 Superintendent of Recreation Sue Swithin 12/2/2010 Assistant Finance Director N/A n/a Accounting Intern Amy Wolf 2009 Community Relations Intern Nicole Leja 2009 Patrolman Jordan Poulos 2010 Patrolman Jacob Bledsoe 2010 Fwd: Pett Tax Cap & Sewer Bond Debt ' dL Page 1 of 1 From: rosea00 @aol.com To: RoseA00 @aol.com Subject: Fwd: Pett Tax Cap & Sewer Bond Debt Date: Thu, Dec 9, 2010 3:59 pm Attachments: Tax Letter to_city_Council_12- 8- 10.docx (18K) - - - -- Original Message - - - -- From: ryanamark(ftomcast.net To: Burd, Valerie < vburdCaworkville.il.us >; Farren, Kathy < kfarren CcD_kendallcountv record. com >; Gilson, Jr., George < oilsonward1Cq)_comcast.net >; Golinski, Gary < ggolinski ccDcomcast.net >; Munns, Marty < MunnsPower(aD_aol.com >; Plocher, Joe < arden.ioe.plocherCc @ gmail.com >; Spears, Rose Ann < RoseA00(d_)aol.com >; Sutcliff, Robyn <robyn3rdward(a)_sbcglobal.net >; Teeling, Diane <diane teelinq(qvahoo.com >; Werderich, Wally < yorkvilleoneCd)_aol.com > Cc: ryanamark(cD-comcast.net Sent: Thu, Dec 9, 2010 7:49 am Subject: Pett Tax Cap & Sewer Bond Debt December 9, 2010 Attn: Valerie Burd, Kathy Farren, George Gilson, Jr., Gary Golinski, Marty Nunns, Joe Plocher, Rose Ann Spears, Robyn Sutcliff, Diane Teeling, and Wally Werderich, Attached is a letter expressing my options and views regarding the Pell Tax Cap increase that the city is asking for and the sewer bond debt issue. I was told during the last city council meeting that I attended that homeowners would have time to send in comments that would be admitted into public record and be considered by the council members when voting on these issues. Please allow the following attachment to stand as such. Sincerely, Lisa A. Peterson 1001 Adrian Street Yorkville, IL 60560 Hm (630) 882 -8067 e -mail: ryanamark(aD-comcast.net I D5 NJ ^4_111 0 http: / /maii.aol.com /32992 -211 /aol -1 /en -us /mail /PrintMessage.aspx 12/11/2010 I would like this opportunity to weigh in on the Pell Tax Cap and the sewer bond debt issues. I was told that any comments received by homeowners would be admitted into public record and be considered by the council when voting on these issues. "The City of Yorkville does not have a lot of options when it comes to paying off its debts a consultant told the City Council Tuesday Evening. One option appears to be a possible property tax increase in addition to a new monthly sewer fee" as quoted in the Kendall County Record on November 25, 2010. In addition to the city asking for a 2.4% increase in the tax cap. I don't want to make this a long letter so I am going to cut right to the chase. The city is broke. I get that. But guess what; so am I and I cannot afford to pay for, or clean up the city's financial mess that they have gotten themselves into. On December 30, 2008, 1 had my work hours cut in half from 40 hours to 20 hours a week. Poof -Half of my income gone! In June of 2009, 1 was required to return to full time hours with a 40% reduction in pay. Basically a wash. I was required to work twice as many hours for the same pay. Although I wanted to quit, quitting was not an option since I would receive no unemployment benefits. I had at this point already been looking for work for six months; and believe me, no jobs were out there. Needless to say our family had to make some tough decisions and cut back our spending drastically. No going out for dinner. Absolutely no charging anything. If we didn't have the money to pay for it, then we did without. Zero spending. Let me repeat that, zero spending. My husband who works straight commission also began to see his paycheck dwindle dramatically. People didn't have money to get their cars fixed. It went from bad to even worse. In November of 2009 our son was diagnosed with Scheuerrmann's disease (a congenital birth defect of the spine). In December of 2009 our son underwent a 14 hour spinal surgery. He developed complications from the surgery and underwent another 2 Y2 hour surgery six days after his first. All total he spent 8 days in the hospital in ICU. Do you have any idea what that cost us? Just the spinal surgeon's bill alone was $97,000.00. Even with health insurance, between the deductibles, co -pays, and prescription drug costs that were not covered by the insurance; believe me we paid dearly. And to top it all off since I requested a month off of work, I was laid off altogether by my employer. I looked from December of 2008 until October of 2010 for a job (22 months). I was on unemployment for ten months until I found only a part time job that only pays the same as unemployment. So now you come to me, asking me for money. NO! I don't have it. I loved the idea of the city getting bike paths, but I cannot afford it. Now the city can't even pay off the bonds that they currently owe on and you're putting a referendum on the ballot for bike paths, and asking me if you can take out yet another bond. HELL NO! The City of Yorkville can't even make the bond payments on the ones they have now and you want me to tell you that it's OK to go out and spend more. I can't do that. I cannot afford to have my mortgage company raise my house payment, because my property taxes have been increased by the city because you cannot control your spending. Obviously, you have not been affected by the recession or the economy personally yet. Take a good hard look around you. The foreclosure rates in this area are at an all time high. By the grace of God our family is just hanging on by our fingernails to keep a roof over our heads. Our IRA is gone. Our 401K is gone. All of our stocks that we had to sell are gone. We have lost $70,000.00 equity in our home and recently filed an appeal with the county because they have our home assessed at $30,000.00 more than it is currently worth. How much more do you want from me? I may not even mind so much if things in this town were being taken care of the way that they should be, but they're not. To top it all off, the city cannot even afford to maintain its pre- existing infrastructure. I I originally contacted the city on June 1, 2010 regarding the drainage ditch that is a city easement in my yard. The city was supposed to come out and repair the drainage ditch for the third time in the five years that we have lived here. The city came out on June 16, 2010 and filled the ditch with rocks. None of the work that I was assured by the city would be done, was done to permanently correct this drainage ditch. I called the city the very next day, June 17 to tell them that the work was unacceptable. Do you know what the city has done since then to my drainage ditch? Absolutely nothingl Every time it rains we have stagnate water that sits for days because it is not graded property and doesn't drain and weeds four feet high. There are no curbs or sidewalks in my neighborhood. Every time it rains water runs across our neighbor to the north's front yard to the north of our home and has completed eroded the soil on the north side of our home. We have an exposed foundation and tree roots from trees that are 60 years old. Every time I have tried to contact the city via e-mail to get these problems fixed, all I have been offered up are a bunch of excuses, stall tactics and the run around. I was the one that sent you that e-mail recently regarding the snow plowing and all of the leaves in my driveway. Nice job; and only two of you responded to my e-mail or bothered to apologize. This is not a ward problem; this is a city problem. One can only conclude that just like the city worker driving the snow plow; none of you really care. I understand that Game Farm Road is going to receive improvements and be repaved next year; nice. What about the streets in my subdivision? They are the worst in the whole town of Yorkville. Who decided that Game Farm Road is going to get repaved and where is the city getting the money for that project? When I drive on Game Farm Road now, it's like driving on a freshly paved road compared to the deplorable streets in my neighborhood. So the city wants more money from me because they can't pay their bills on time, but what's in it for me other than higher taxes? Recently I was invited to attend a city council meeting where the Pell Tax Cap was going to be discussed. All I heard about was Game Farm Road and the police officer's pension fund. When I heard "Police Officer's Pension Plan ", I just had to laugh. Since when does anybody have a job anymore where you get a pension fund upon retirement? It's called an IRA or 401K account and you have to pay for it yourself out of your own paycheck. Here is what I recommend: 1) Everybody that the city employs (pays) takes a 20% pay cut across the board. 2) Eliminate all pension funds and city contributions to 401K accounts. 3) Make all city employees pay an additional 20% towards the cost of their health care coverage. 4) Make all city employees take two weeks of unpaid furlough leave in 2011. 5) Freeze all wages for the next three years. No raises or salary increases. Doesn't seem like so much fun now; does it? Now that it's affected you personally. I see in the Kendall County Record that the city recently hired a new financial director with an annually salary of $80 to $90K approximately. Huh? What! Why? Boy nice work if you can get it. Let's take the next step and go even further; sounds like fun! 1) City Council votes not to approve any more bonds for the next three years. 2) Eliminate jobs altogether and lay off some non - essential city workers. 3) Initiate a city sticker program for the city of Yorkville at $10.00 a pop for a vehicle. Eliminate all city funded events including Hometown days 4 I , Y g s for the next three Y years. 5) Hold off on all city improvement projects that have been funded, but not started yet, including the Game Farm Road repaving for the next two years. Sorry, but if the city's not going to repave my road & fix my drainage ditch, then I am not paying for Game Farm Road to get repaved. They don't need it. Let them do without like I have. Immediately repay the bond, before you spend it. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. So don't come whining to me that you (the city) can't afford it and need more money from me to support your fiscally irresponsible spending habits. One last thing; eventually the economy will turn back around. And when it does, make sure that the city gets the money up front from all builders and developers before the work even begins. And what's this with all the tax breaks for the new businesses? If the city doesn't want to give a tax break to its residents, then why should these big builders ' and developer's that don't even live in this town get one? Huh? That's a good question, and I would love to hear the answer. All I can remember is when the Kohl's, Home Depot and all that stuff was going in, on Cannonball trail a few years ago. The residents that lived in the area didn't want it and tried to sue the city over it. And all the city kept doing was sugar coating it and trying to soothe and pacify the residents in town by saying over and over again that our property taxes would be lowered when all these stores were open and operational. That never happened. Where is my tax break? Where are my tax concessions? The city council needs to start thinking about the residents in this town and start taking care of us first. Otherwise pretty soon you won't have a town left, because everybody will have been foreclosed on. All you'll have is a ghost town with a bunch of empty houses and strip malls. Oops, may already be too late. The city has to dig itself out of the financial mess that they have created for themselves; don't ask me to shovel for you. Especially after I had to shovel up all of the leaves off of my driveway that you left for me. I already cleaned up your mess.