City of Sterling City Council Met April 5.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Mayor Charles L. “Skip” Lee called a virtual meeting of the Sterling City Council to order at 6:30 pm. Roll call. Present: Aldermen Retha Elston, Josh Johnson, Joe Martin, John Stauter, Christine Wilen, and Jim Wise. Absent: None.
Also attending were City Attorney Tim Zollinger, City Manager Scott Shumard, Finance Director Cindy Von Holten, Superintendent of Building and Zoning Amanda Schmidt, Superintendent of Public Works Brad Schrader, Police Chief Alex Chavira, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Dettman and City Clerk Teri Sathoff.
Mayor Lee, City Manager Shumard, Police Chief Chavira, Alderman Johnson, and City Clerk Sathoff were present in the council chambers, everyone else attended via Zoom. The meeting was recorded and will be kept on the city hard drive. All members in attendance could hear the other members in attendance with the exception of Alderman Wilen who was having difficulty hearing the first few minutes until she dialed in.
Alderman Elston made a motion to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda:
A. Approval of the Minutes
B. Approval of Plan Commission Minutes
C. Approval of Bills and Payroll
D. Add the City Manager to the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Pay Plan Adjustments
E. Resolution R2021-04-08 to Close Second Street and turn lane for Main Street Car Show
F. Resolution R2021-04-09 to Close Fourth Street for Sterling Municipal Band Concerts
G. Resolution R2021-04-10 to Close Fourth Street for Memorial Day Services on Monday, May 31, 2021
H. Ordinance No. 2021-04-06 Authorizing Disposal of Surplus Personal Property
Motion seconded by Alderman Johnson. Voting: Ayes – Aldermen Elston, Stauter, Martin, Wilen, Johnson and Wise. Nayes – None.
Mayor Lee opened a public hearing for the budget at 6:38 pm. There were no public comments regarding the budget. No one attending via Zoom offered comments. City Manager Shumard briefly went over the budget again and noted some minor changes.
Revenues - Overall the amended revenues are up 6% even though there was a decline in Income Tax, Replacement Tax and court fines. Video gaming, use taxes, sales taxes are up from the budgeted amount. The one time revenue bump from the COVID CURES Act helped to increase the revenues. Budgeting for a decrease of 2.9% in sales tax, a 7.9% increase in other sales tax, a 6.4% decrease in franchise licenses, an 8% decrease in Income tax, and a 25.4% decrease in State Replacement Tax.
Expenses – The amended budget for the General Fund Plan Commission is up 91.2% due to the Comprehensive Plan and annexations. Fire Administration is down 40.9% due to the prolonged vacancy in the Fire Chief position. Fire Services is up 16.1% due to the increase in overtime, the amended budget is up 12.5%. Police Support Services is 14.5% under budget, due to the CURES funds. The 21-22 Budget has been revised down $100,000 to reflect the May 2020 notice to Whiteside County regarding the PSAP agreement. Public Works Park Maintenance, amended was 20.8% under budget. FY21- 22 did have a 37.2% increase that has been changed to 54.1% to update park equipment. The Capital Fund, amended revenues up 3.4%. Amended expenses are down 35.4% 21- 22 Revenues are up 0.9% and expenses are up 8.1% due to continued work at National among other things. Motor Fuel Tax Fund, we have one time funds from the Rebuild Illinois program that will go toward LeFevre Road. The Stormwater Management Fund, work continues on 4th and 5th Avenue and bid notices have been sent out this week. The Meadowlands detention pond expansion is also on the schedule.
There were no additional comments from the City Council. Mayor Lee closed the public hearing at 6:48 pm.
Alderman Elston made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2021-04-05 Ordinance No. 2021-04-05 Annexing certain territory contiguous to the City of Sterling (Steelton Subdivision – Group 15); seconded by Alderman Martin. Attorney Zollinger stated that 15 was scheduled to be the last annexation, however there are a few properties that are not fully contiguous but would like to be annexed, there will be a group 16. Voting: Ayes – Aldermen Elston, Johnson, Martin, Stauter, Wilen and Wise. Nayes – None. Motion carried.
City Clerk Sathoff reminded staff and the community that tomorrow is Election Day and to be sure to get out and vote.
Superintendent of Public Works Brad Schrader updated the council on the sanitary sewer line collapse, there was a lamp pole in the center of the block that had gone through the line and caused the collapse. They were able to get the line dug up and repaired in two days. Mayor Lee asked if Illinois American Water would be back to repair the damage at Avenue G and LeFevre, Schrader stated he would verify that with them.
Chief Chavira stated that the annual report was sent to the council on Friday. He stated that the activity is a direct reflection of people not leaving their homes due to the pandemic. Calls for service were down as well as “part one crimes”. Chief Chavira thanked the City staff, the City Council, business owners and the members of the community for all the support that has been shown to the Police Department the last year. Chavira stated that the Police Department definitely felt the love. Alderman Elston thanked Chavira for the work on the report.
City Manager Shumard informed the Council that they are making good progress on the National waste water building, they should be done in the next 2 weeks. There is a meeting on Wednesday April 7, 2021 for the demolition of the training building. Shumard stated that Meade and Hunt would like to hold an in person meeting to go over the comprehensive plan, he will be exploring options for a meeting place in the next week. Alderman Elston stated that she would like the City Manager to keep in mind that we still need to socially distance. Bid requests for First Avenue will go out this week, bids for 4th and 5th Avenues are currently out. Wallace Street is 98% complete on the engineering side with the exception of the hold ups with Union Pacific and Commonwealth Edison. The ladder truck at the fire department has been having issues over the years and it is an obsolete piece of equipment. Chief Dettman found a used ladder truck in Albany New York, he and the City Mechanic, Ben Babin, will be flying out to look at the truck. Chief Dettman stated that a new ladder truck could run $1.3 Million. Dettman stated that the current truck had issues at the high rise fire in Rock Falls that could have resulted in the death of a 4 civilians as well as 1 firefighter. The current truck is no longer in production and parts have to be fabricated which is not only an expense it causes the truck to be down for several weeks at a time. The used truck is a 2007 102 foot platform for $349,000. The department that currently has the truck is a wealthy community, they have a 15 year replacement plan on all of their trucks. Mayor Lee thanked Deputy Chief Dettman for looking into this.
Alderman Elston asked if there was a sample ballot online, she was advised by Alderman Martin that the ballot can be found on the Whiteside County Clerk’s page. Alderman Elston also thanked Superintendent of Building and Zoning Amanda Schmidt for the assistance she gave her over the weekend. Elston also reminded everyone the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing.
Alderman Martin wished Aldermen Johnson, Wise and Stauter good luck on the election. Mayor Lee reminded everyone to get out and vote.
The meeting adjourned at 7:10 pm.
https://www.sterling-il.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04052021-171
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