City of Pekin City Council met Oct. 31.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Hohimer.
CALL TO ORDER
Deputy City Clerk confirmed that all Councilmember were physically present. Mayor Luft declared a quorum.
City Clerk, Ms. Sue McMillan was absent.
| Attendee Name | Organization | Title | Status | Arrived |
| Rick Hilst | City of Pekin | Councilman | Present | 2:50 PM |
| Karen Hohimer | City of Pekin | Councilwoman | Present | 2:50 PM |
| Dave Nutter | City of Pekin | Councilman | Present | 2:50 PM |
| Becky Cloyd | City of Pekin | Councilwoman | Present | 2:50 PM |
| Lloyd Orrick | City of Pekin | Mayor Pro-Tem | Present | 2:50 PM |
| John P Abel | City of Pekin | Councilman | Present | 2:50 PM |
| Mark Luft | City of Pekin | Mayor | Present | 2:50 PM |
3.1. Motion to: Motion to Approve the Agenda
| RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Lloyd Orrick, Mayor Pro-Tem SECONDER: Karen Hohimer, Councilwoman AYES: Hilst, Hohimer, Nutter, Cloyd, Orrick, Abel, Luft |
City Manager, Mr. Mark Rothert, explained to Council and the public that a memo was drafted and provided to those present at the meeting. Mr. Rothert explained that other communities across Illinois were meeting today but he did not have a full list of those municipalities. The Illinois State government will remove the home rule authority to implement a push tax if not adopted by ordinance before November 1, 2021. Mr. Rothert referred to the handout explaining an increase in video gaming and a growing trend regardless of the tax imposed. Mr. Rothert provided exhibits illustrating how the push tax would operate in a video gaming terminal. Mr. Rothert emphasized that the push tax was not an opportunity for municipalities to take advantage but was not on any radar until Illinois Municipal League pushed out a notice last Thursday or Friday that it was an opportunity to address.
City Attorney Kate Swise addressed the Oak Lawn lawsuit stating that she was unable to pull the complaints but what appeared from news reports was that Oak Lawn was in violation of the video gaming act but the house bill seemed to remove the issue as long as it was passed before November 1st. The city could proceed to collect the tax. Ms. Swise added that the tax would not be implemented until May of next year.
Several business owners spoke during the public comment that included but were not limited to: Steven Sangalli from the Pekin Boat Club, George, Dustin Maquet from Maquet’s Rail House, Brenda Meister from Lucky Spirit’s, Jim Mangan, Eric Hill from The Bunker and Parkway Place, Jerri, Angie Mantovani from McCritter’s, Dan Steinbach from Twisted Spoke and WMBD. All that spoke during public input were against the push tax claiming that it took potential revenue away from their business.
Council discussed with staff and the public an explanation of how the push tax would be paid by the person playing the video game and how it was the responsibility of the terminal operator to submit such tax to the city.
Mayor Luft addressed the public regarding other potential business revenue coming to Pekin that is currently in negotiations and the overall improvements in the last year.
A motion was made by Councilmember Hohimer seconded by Councilmember Orrick to reduce the push tax to one cent per play. On roll call vote Nays were Councilmember Cloyd and Councilmember Hilst, Ayes were Councilmember Hohimer, Councilmember Abel, Councilmember Orrick, Councilmember Hilst and Mayor Luft, Councilmember Nutter abstained. Motion carried.
Councilmember Cloyd stated that the reason she voted no was that the public present stated it would not make a difference.
Mr. Rothert read through examples of the tax generated based on amount played and how many times pushed.
Mayor Luft stated that over the last three years, the administration and staff had worked very hard to find grants without asking the taxpayers. The City reached a point where we were told that the City could not receive any more grants because we had received so many in a row. Mayor Luft explained that the tax could never be raised but could only be decreased or removed.
Councilmember Hilst questioned if any of the terminal operators were in the audience. No one responded. Councilmember Hilst expressed concerns with the lawsuits, concerns with whether the video gaming machines were set up to collect such a tax and questioned the intention of the city to wait to pass the ordinance until the last minute if it had been passed by other municipalities one or two years prior.
Mayor Luft added that the reason for the extended start date of May 1, 2022 was to give the city time to put everything together over the next seven months.
Councilmember Hohimer stated that the Council was elected to represent the entire community of Pekin and felt the push tax was a way to fix the roads and try and help make the community nicer.
NEW BUSINESS
5.1. Motion to: Motion to Amend Ordinance No. 3031-21/22 reducing the push tax from two cents per push to one cent per push
| RESULT: ADOPTED [4 TO 2]
MOVER: Karen Hohimer, Councilwoman SECONDER: Lloyd Orrick, Mayor Pro-Tem AYES: Karen Hohimer, Lloyd Orrick, John P Abel, Mark Luft NAYS: Rick Hilst, Becky Cloyd ABSTAIN: Dave Nutter |
Councilmember Cloyd stated that she liked the idea that the City could revisit the push tax if needed and spoke in favor of educating the business owners.
Mayor Luft stated that if the push tax stayed in effect then there would be a good faith offering with regards to revenue with fees for licensing or to get started.
Councilmember Orrick pointed out that at least 10 of the gaming cafés were owned by corporations but the push tax would have an impact on the other 30 establishments.
| RESULT: ADOPTED AS AMENDED [4 TO 3]
MOVER: Dave Nutter, Councilman SECONDER: Becky Cloyd, Councilwoman AYES: Karen Hohimer, Becky Cloyd, Lloyd Orrick, John P Abel NAYS: Rick Hilst, Dave Nutter, Mark Luft |
Seeing no other business of the Council, a motion was made by Councilmember Hohimer, seconded by Councilmember Orrick to adjourn. Motion passed viva voce. Mayor Luft adjourned the meeting at 5:14 PM.
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