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Home My WebLink About11-16-2010 Council MeetingCity of Canton- Council Meeting November 16th, 2010 6:30 p.m. Canton Historic Depot Donald E. Edwards Way 50 N. Fourth Avenue, Canton, IL 61520 Aldermen in attendance: Craig West, Larry Sarff, Rick Reed, Jerry Ellis, Dave Pickel, Jim Hartford, Jorge Rivero Absent: Eric Schenck Staff in attendance: Interim Fire Chief Ernie Russell, Police Chief Dan Taylor, Attorney Chrissie Peterson, City Administrator Jim Snider, City Clerk Diana Tucker, Mark Rothert-SRPED, Phil Fleming- ESDA Director, City Engineer Keith Plavec Media in attendance: John Froehling, Canton Daily Ledger, Stacey Creasey Fulton County Democrat, Others in audience: Firefighter Jay Smith, Dan Oaks, Mayor Kevin Meade was absent so nominations for a Mayor Pro tem was asked by City Clerk Diana Tucker Motion and second were made by Aldermen Ellis/Rivero to nominate Alderman Sarff as the Mayor Pro tem. The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE OPENED THE MEETING FOLLOWED BY THE INVOCATION GIVEN BY CITY ADMINISTRATOR JIM SNIDER ROLL CALL Yes No Absent Alderman West x Alderman Sarff Alderman Reed x Alderman Schenck x Alderman Hartford x Alderman Pickel x Alderman Rivero x Alderman Ellis x CONSENT AGENDA Minutes of Council meetine held November 2, 2010 Minutes of Clerical Committee meetine held November 9th, 2010 Motion and second were made by Alderman West/Pickel to accept the minutes as presented and be placed on file. The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. BILLS Motion and second were made by Alderman Sarff/Ellis to accept and pay the bills as presented. The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. TREASURER'S REPORT Motion and second were made by Aldermen Sarff/Hartford to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented and be placed on file. Finance Alderman Eric Schenck, Chairman Nothing for Council Action. legal & Ordinance Alderman Dave Picket, Chairman 1. Off Premise-Signs Alderman Picket recommended sending this item back to the committee for further discussion. Motion and second were made by Aldermen Picket/Rivero to send back to Committee. The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. Community & Industrial Development Alderman Jorge Rivero, Chairman No Council Action. Negotiations, Grievance, & Personnel Alderman Larry Sarff, Chairman No Council Action. MAYOR'S COMMUNICATIONS Ernie Russell was introduced as the Interim Fire Chief. Ernie expressed his thanks for the City allowing him to serve as Interim Fire Chief. OLD BUSINESS: PROCESSING OF BITUMINOUS MATERIAL REMOVED FROM CANTON 2010 MFT PROJECT Keith Plavec reported that he was checking to see if MFT funds could be used for the work. Keith reported that after discussion with the Public Works Director Clif O'Brien, they have decided that it would be best not to move forward with the processing of the bituminous material, but to use the contents in various locations around the City. (WWTP, WTP, Alleys etc.) NEW BUSINESS: RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF THE TIF FUNDS FOR JOB TRAINING THROUGH SPOON RIVER COLLEGE #3944 Motion and second were made by Aldermen Hartford/Ellis to adopt the resolution. Mark Rothert explained the funding and recommends approval of the expenditure for the work force training for the business community. Recommendation is to use $6,000.00 from the TIF funds for testing fees. ROLL CALL Yes No Absent Alderman West x Alderman Sarff x Alderman Reed x Alderman Schenck x Alderman Hartford x Alderman Pickel x Alderman Rivero x Alderman Ellis x The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. RESOLUTION OF AUTHORIZATION PARC #3945 Motion and second were made by Aldermen Reed/Rivero to adopt the resolution. Discussion: Alderman Reed asked Mark Rothert to further explain the grant. One of the components of the grant is to allow communities to apply as a disadvantaged community. If a city is recognized as a disadvantaged community, they would only need to match 10% for the grant opposed to the 20% otherwise required. The City of Canton does not fall under the rules as a disadvantaged community. Various factors are considered to determine if a community is a disadvantaged community. The total dollar amount of the grant would be cut from $600,000.00 down to $300,000.00 due to the fact that the City does not qualify as a disadvantaged community. Alderman Reed would like to propose various lake improvements. The improvements he would like to propose would be items that would bring in revenue to the City, rather than improvements that would not generate revenue. Remodeling the shower house, and building 5-6 cabins are some of the improvements being considered. The total project cost would be $294.400.00 A $10,000.00 donation was made- by a unanimous person. With the $10,000.00 donation included, the City could apply for up to $350,000.00 in grants. A cabin for the campground office is included in the improvements. City Administrator explained that the only place extra funds could come from would be the general fund reserves, and then seek reimbursement from the grant. Currently $60,000.00 is in the lake fund. The lake fund does not have a great deal of income, and to reach the $60,000.00 balance- it took approximately 10 years. ROLL CALL Yes No Absent Alderman West x Alderman Sarff x Alderman Reed x Alderman Schenck x Alderman Hartford x Alderman Pickel x Alderman Rivero x Alderman Ellis x The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 22 (ALARM SYSTEMS) OF TITLE 3 (BUSINESS REGULATIONS) OF THE CANTON MUNICIPAL CODE (1ST READING) AN ORDINANCE LEVYING AND ASSESSING TAXES FOR CORPORATE PURPOSE OF THE CITY OF CANTON ILLINOIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING MAY 1, 2010 AND ENDING APRIL 30, 2011. (1St READING) OFF PREMISE SIGN ORDINANCE Carried over to committee as previously recommended. FIRE AND PENSION REFORM LETTERS City Clerk Diana Tucker read the following letter: c~ °` c'"r CITY OF CANTON 4~ OR°4~itt~! a ,~ 2 North Maln, Canton, Illinois 61520 • Telephone (309) 647-0065 • Facsimile (309) 647-2348 ~i<rNatiy Kevin R. Meade, Mayor November 16, 2010 Senator Dave Koehler 13 South Capitol Street Pekin, IL 61554 Dear Senator Koehler: Please immediately consider reforms to public safety pensions that are costing municipalities serious budget problems. The pension funds for many systems will be altered and reduced beginning January 1, 2011, however, the local police and fire benefits will remain at the current level. As one elected official to another, I also need your help in dealing with our fiscal pension problem. Please take a moment and review these requested changes to future employees hired on or after January 1, 2011: • Increase the normal retirement age to 60 • Provide that the maximum pension would be earned after 35 years of service • Set a pensionable salary cap at $106,800 • Set the maximum pension at 72% of final salary • Calculate pensions using an average final salary based upon the highest 8 consecutive years out of the last 10 years • Adjust the annual COLA to the lesser of 3% simple or 50% of the CPI-U • Set the amount of the survivor benefit at 66 2/3% of final average salary I also ask you to help us with the current pension system by doing the following: • Enact a 30-year rolling amortization period for pension funding • Expand investment authority • Adjust employee contributions upward While some union officials argue that everything is corrected by cities putting in more money, that is a simple refrain that is not working and will not solve this problem. It is too complex and complicated and past history proves that it has not worked. Some serious studies need to be done to fmd a solution. I recommend doing the following: • COGFA study regarding consolidation of the police and firefighter funds • COGFA study regarding the benefits of investment pooling • COGFA report concerning the financial condition of each of the police and firefighter pension funds • Illinois Department of Insurance authority to conduct special examinations and investigations of individual pension funds Let me close by asking you to help not only my community but every community that has this pension funding problem. It will take courage and hard work to solve it. The alternative to taking action is simply too dangerous. Sincerely, Kevin R. Meade Mayor Motion and second were made by Alderman Sarff/Hartford to direct the City Clerk to mail the two letters. City Administrator Jim Snider explained the pension reform. The Municipal League is taking a strong role in addressing this issue. The motion carried by voice vote and was unanimous. ADJOURNMENT Motion and second were made by Aldermen Pickel/Hartford to adjourn the Council Meeting. Being no further business to discuss the council meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm C' lerl ana Tucker