City of Mt. Carroll City Council met March 10.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
Mayor Carl Bates called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Roll Call: Mayor Carl Bates, present, Alderman Doug Bergren, present, Alderman Amy Buss, present, Alderman Jeff Elliott, present, Alderman Paul Kaczmarski, present, Alderman Jeff Soenksen, present, Alderman Jody Wolber, present.
Alderman Jeff Soenksen led the Pledge of Allegiance, invocation by Jeff Davis.
Alderman Elliott made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 24, 2026 regular City Council meeting and Alderman Kaczmarski seconded. Roll Call Vote: Alderman Elliott, yes, Alderman Kaczmarski, yes, Alderman Buss, yes, Alderman Bergren, yes, Alderman Soenksen, yes, Alderman Wolber, yes. Vote: 6 yeses and 0 nos. Motion carried.
Alderman Kaczmarski made a motion to authorize the payments of 30 accounts payable in the amount of $115,623.50, Alderman Elliott seconded. Roll Call Vote: Alderman Kaczmarski, yes, Alderman Elliott, yes, Alderman Soenksen, yes, Alderman Bergren, yes, Alderman Buss, yes, Alderman Wolber, yes. Vote: 6 yeses and 0 nos. Motion carried.
Financial Report: $4,327,919.55
Streets: Street Foreman, Mark Traum, announced the new street sweeper is now working. Plan to work on replacing the street pole pedestal on Main Street when we have a few warm days in a row and while we are in that area the Frontier Insurance asked if we would fix the sidewalk in front of their business, about 4-6 yards of concrete will be needed. Working with Treasurer Amy Schneider getting budget numbers together and pricing for seal coating.
Police: Alderman Bergren reviewed the February 2026 Police Report. Wanted to thank the Savanna Police Department and Detective Courtney Grinnall for donating 3 used Tasers to our department.
Finance Committee: Alderman Kaczmarski reviewed 30 accounts payables in the amount of $115,623.50. A recommendation was made to pay the accounts payables as presented. A. Recommendation made to approve ARPA, Band, Bond Reserve, Brick Streets, Building, Capital Savings, CDBG Fund, Checking Clearing, Civil Defense, Customer Deposit, Davis Investment Fund, Debit/Credit Account, Health and Welfare, Illinois Funds, Kunes Agreement, Mini Food Center, OSLAD Fund. Roll Call Vote: Alderman Elliott, yes, Alderman Kaczmarski, yes, Alderman Bergren, yes, Alderman Soenksen, yes, Alderman Wolber, yes, Alderman Buss, yes. Vote: 6 yeses and 0 nos. Motion carried.
B. Reviewed Kunes County Auto Reciprocal Agreement Payment April 2026. No payment for this year
New Business
1. Discussion and Possible Action to Approve Ordinance 2026-03-01, Ordinance Amending Lot Alteration Engineer Certification: Alderman Kaczmarski made a motion to approve Ordinance 2026-03-01 and Alderman Soenksen seconded. Roll Call Vote: Alderman Kaczmarski, yes, Alderman Soenksen, yes, Alderman Elliott, yes, Alderman Bergren, yes, Alderman Buss, yes, Alderman Wolber, yes. Vote: 6 yeses and 0 nos. Motion carried.
2. Discussion and Possible Action to Approve Ordinance No. 2026-03-02, Ordinance Amending Title 5, Chapter 4, Section 11, Burning Restrictions to Restrict Burning to the 1st and 3rd Weekend of Each Month: Aldermen spoke of the many responses they received on burning restrictions from residents and Alderman Kaczmarski suggested we keep the current restrictions and enforce the ordinance we have and revaluate in 3 months. Alderman Buss made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2026-03-02 and Alderman Wolber seconded. Roll Call Vote: Alderman Buss, yes, Alderman Wolber, yes, Alderman Soenksen, yes, Alderman Bergren, NO, Alderman Elliott, NO, Alderman Kaczmarski, NO. Vote: 3 yeses and 3 Noes, motion tied, with Mayor Bates voting, NO to break the tie. Motion denied.
3. Discussion and Possible Action to Hire Scarlett McCutcheon for the Children Programs at the Davis Community Center, starting pay of $15.00 an hour: Alderman Soenksen made a motion to approve hiring Scarlett McCutcheon and Alderman Elliott seconded. Roll Call Vote: Alderman Soenksen, yes, Alderman Elliott, yes, Alderman Kaczmarski, yes, Alderman Bergren, yes, Alderman Buss, yes, Alderman Wolber, yes. Vote: 6 yeses and 0 nos. Motion carried.
Public Comment
Treasurer Schneider said another idea to help with burning restrictions was to ask Republic to stop having the residents purchase yard waste stickers, then they would only have to purchase the bags
Correspondence: Mt. Carroll Chamber of Commerce General Membership Meeting April 15, 2026.
Adjournment: Alderman Elliott made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 pm, Alderman Kaczmarski seconded, all approved. Roll Call Vote: Alderman Elliott, yes, Alderman Kaczmarski, yes, Alderman Bergren, yes, Alderman Soenksen, yes, Alderman Wolber, yes, Alderman Buss, yes. Vote: 6 yeses and 0 nos. Motion carried.
https://cms3.revize.com/revize/mountcarrollil/Documents/Government/City%20Council/Minutes/2026/03-10-26%20Minutes.pdf?t=202603061455250&t=202603061455250
