Board meeting notes

Got a few emails requesting information on what happened at last night’s Village Board meeting, so here is a quick rundown…

Residents will begin seeing the water and sewer rate increase on their bills starting in January, that was originally approved in September. The Board voted unanimously to accept the January, rather than April, date. The Board also approved credits for those residents billed in October at the increased rate. Originally, the Village was to put the rates into effect beginning October 1st, but reconsidered after being alerted to the fact that the increase was retroactive.

The Board also voted to have an amendment written to the Municipal Code (“6.08.190 Number of dogs to be kept-Limitation.”) to allow two dogs to be kept in multi-unit dwellings. The current number is one. So, it is expected that this amendment to the current ordinance will be on a future meeting agenda — perhaps the next meeting.

And, another significant item was the “Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement for Municipal Facilities Site Planning Services“. The Board voted to table that item pending a review and recommendation from the Audit & Finance Commission.

This was an item designated for a land study and planning for the former site of Tamarac Crossing (a high-density housing development that was opposed by residents and eventually voted down by the Board in late 2004, which subjected the Village to a lawsuit that the Village Board ended by voting to purchase the property in late 2005. The purchase was a cause of some controversy (surprised?) because it didn’t get a prior Audit & Finance review and resulted in a 4-3 vote to approve the purchase).

Development of a new Public Works building has been in talks for a few years now, and was one of the top priorities in the strategic planning that occurred last year. When the property was purchased, this was the usage proposed for this site. Because the property is larger than is needed for the new building, however, it was proposed that the surplus acreage could be parceled and sold. That would allow the Village to recoup a portion of the funds spent on the land purchase.

At issue, however, is that the planning — estimated to cost approximately $45,000 $49,200– was not included in this years budget numbers. Thus it would be necessary for an amendment to be made to the 2007 budget — similar to what was done for the Kimball Farms work that was approved this year.

Some members of the Board, however, want to hold off considering this until next year’s budget.

That’s a quick wrap-up of some of the Board actions that took place last night.

Two water options on Board agenda

The agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the Village Board has been posted to the Village website. (It can also be accessed from the link in the sidebar under “Highlights and Dates”.)

Under “Old Business” are two proposed versions of the amendment to the municipal code regarding Water and Sewer rates. One proposal will call for the rate increase to appear on residents bills beginning in January. The other proposal will call for the rate increase to appear on residents bills beginning in April.

My initial desire would be for the rates to be put off as long as possible, but that is primarily based on my own desire to keep my money in my pocket. Yet, since the Village’s need for these funds has already been established during the previous vote, and residents have been notified of the impending increase via the Fall newsletter, it seems to make sense to apply the increases to the bills starting in January.

Finance Director Lisa Happ responded to my inquiry [Thank you, Lisa!] about the impact of waiting until April 2008 to apply the changes:

[T]he unrealized revenues from delaying the increase until April is estimated at $118,000 plus credits totaling $43,000 that will be issued to residents billed in October. The unrealized revenues from delaying the increase until the January bills is estimated at $42,000 plus the credits mentioned above. At this time there are no projects that will be delayed.

A recent Daily Herald article reported:

While residents will benefit from the delay in applying the rate increases, Happ said holding off will hurt the village’s bottom line.

“These are revenues that we won’t realize,” Happ said.

Certainly seems like getting these funds will at least allow the Village to have some breathing room. Not implementing these changes until the April billing will mean that some residents won’t see the increase until June, by my calculations — about 9 months after the original approved increase.  Putting it off any longer than January would seem to be just delaying the obvious.