Peoria Standard

Village of Swansea Board of Trustees met April 29.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Attendees: Board President Michael Leopold, Treasurer John Walter, Village Clerk Tyler Thompson, Village Administrator Ben Schloesser, Trustee Marilyn Neumeyer, Trustee Jeff Parker, Trustee Matt Lanter, Trustee Richard "Rocky" McDonald, Trustee Brian Thouvenot, Trustee Cary Lewis, Police Department Chief Matt Blomberg, Fire Department Chief Chris Tell, and Director of Public Works Rick Tucker

Absent:

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

Chair: Trustee Neumeyer; Vice-Chair: Trustee Parker Thouvenot

Members: Trustees Lanter, Lewis V, McDonald, Trustee

Meeting Not Held

Members: Trustees Lewis V, McDonald,

FINANCE COMMITTEE: Held 5:30 to 6:08 Chair: Trustee Lanter; Vice-Chair: Trustee Trustee Thouvenot Neumeyer, Parker

1. Ord. No. An Ordinance Enacting The Annual Municipal Budget For The Village Of Swansea, Illinois For Fiscal Year 2025, Beginning May 1, 2024 And Ending April 30, 2025

A member of the public asked about the police operational supply increase. Chief Blomberg said last year there was an error that shorted money so this is to make up for that. The member of the public asked about the building improvement increase and asked if it was for the police station. Chief Blomberg said a good part of it is the locker room remodel. The member of the public said the street maintenance supplies was zero. The Director of Public Works said it is the annual MFT program for overlaying roads. The Village Administrator said it was put into the general fund and it is easier to use MFT dollars for the road projects. The member of the public said the Boll avenue sales tax was zero. The Village Administrator said he wasn't sure why. The member of the public asked about land improvements and said the project was pushed to 2025. Trustee Lanter said yes. Trustee Thouvenot asked what the date was for actuals and if it was March or April. The Village Administrator said March. Trustee Thouvenot said the Village likely wont hit budget on some line items. Trustee Lanter said he will explain. He said the line items are not equal because they come from different sources. He said they come up with projections because they look at trends and IML guidance. He said they do an educated guess based on what it is historically. He said the water utility tax number comes from the state and is 11 months so it was paid at the end of March. He said the cannabis tax is paid by the state but only 10 months have been paid to the Village. He said the sales tax is paid in 11 months but $500,000 is cut because of the grocery tax. He said for the use tax the state tells the Village what the population is and multiplies it with their guidance. He said one line item is 9 months and it is difficult to figure it out exactly without some background. The Treasurer said the actual numbers and projection were pretty much in line. Trustee McDonald asked if the gas and utility tax will stay under. Trustee Lanter said that year to date number is based on 10 months. The Treasurer said that is because of the state. Trustee Thouvenot said the Village has incurred significant legal expense this year and asked if it should be in the budget for next year. Board President Leopold said he hoped legal fees would be less this year and budgeting that amount would be smart, but the issues are mostly behind the Village. Trustee Thouvenot thought the group home situation would still be an issue. The Village Administrator said he thinks the Village has done a lot of groundwork so far. Trustee Thouvenot said the liquor license revenue is sitting at 50% of the budget to actual and asked if that was an operational issue. Trustee Lanter said those are collected in April like business registration fees. Trustee Thouvenot asked if the video gaming terminal fee is in April. Trustee Lanter said he believes it is. Trustee McDonald said 20-30% of the Village's businesses don't pay registration fees and asked how long that has been going on. He said 20 to 30% of landlords don't pay their fees either. The Village Administrator said compliance is an issue in government and he didn't know it was that severe. The Village Administrator said that is a challenge but he will research it. Trustee McDonald wanted to take them to criminal court. The Village Administrator said that is an option. Board President Leopold asked where he is getting the numbers from. Trustee McDonald said he got it from Lori. Board President Leopold said that is getting off the budget topic. He told the Village Administrator to see what the Village can do. Trustee Thouvenot asked what the best guess is for demolition. The Village Administrator said it depends on a lot of different things but it's probably $10,000 to $15,000 per home. Trustee Thouvenot asked about the revenue for the police budget. Chief Blomberg said it has to do with the Safe T Act and they don't get court fees from warrants. Board President Leopold asked if it factors in car sales. Chief Blomberg said the last times they tried to seize a car the state's attorney came at them. Trustee Thouvenot asked about the salaries. Trustee Lanter said he was not part of those discussions. The Village Administrator said it started as a function of intent to move to another pay roll system. Trustee McDonald said he spoke to the Police Chief about some things. He said overtime and comp time are mandatory. Chief Blomberg said an officer can take time and a half for overtime or double for comp time if it is mandatory. He said for non mandatory time it is just overtime. He said comp time has caused them to work short of officers a lot. Chief Blomberg said some training is mandatory so the two to one is exacerbating the issue. He said there is a large payout when officers retire and there could be one that retires soon. Trustee McDonald asked if people take shifts when the Chief asks or only if it's mandated. Chief Blomberg said it's rare. He said he mandates when there is risk of there only being one person. Trustee Parker asked how many times there are just two. Chief Blomberg said a lot, usually at night. Trustee McDonald said most of the time the school pays for the resource officer. Chief Blomberg said Shiloh doesn't have a resource officer. Trustee McDonald wanted to look at having the school pay for the resource officer. Trustee McDonald said he is not against a resource officer but the school needs to pay for it. A member of the public said the community benefits from the resource officer even more than the school does. He said it makes kids think of officers as friends. Board President Leopold said the superintendent sent him a glowing report on the SRO and how much good it is doing with the families. He said he did not want to take the SRO away but it would be good if the school paid more. Trustee Parker asked if enough money was levied one year to pay for the resource officer. Board President Leopold said he doesn't think the school could pay that much but it's the Village's duty to pay. He said he will talk to the superintendent. Trustee Thouvenot said Wolf Branch has hired staff. Board President Leopold said the Village still sends its SRO there. Trustee Thouvenot said they have money to hire staff. Trustee Parker said they hired one person. Trustee McDonald said an SRO is costing the Village because of how overtime works and he wanted to reach out to the school district. Board President Leopold said he will reach out to the schools. Trustee McDonald asked if there is there a way they can put money back in reserve if overtime isn't used. The Village Administrator said the Village has different funds, but the dollars they are talking about are unrestricted so they basically do that. He said they don't want to restrict the funds in the future so they don't allocate it for one single purpose. The Village Administrator said the amounts the Department Heads give are never enough for what they may need. The Village Administrator said the Village has to have that amount of money in the budget for certain accounts. Board President Leopold said these questions were supposed to already be solved.

2. Final 2025 Budget

See above.

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

Chair: Trustee Lewis V.; Vice-Chair: Trustee McDonald

Members: Trustees Lanter, Neumeyer, Parker, Trustee Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Meeting Not Held

Chair: Trustee Thouvenot; Vice-Chair: Trustee Lanter

Members: Trustee Lewis V., McDonald, Neumeyer, Parker

Meeting Not Held

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

Chair: Trustee Parker; Vice-Chair: Trustee Lewis V.

Members: Trustees Lanter, McDonald, Neumeyer, Trustee Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

Chair: Trustee McDonald; Vice-Chair: Trustee Parker

Members: Trustees Lanter, Lewis V. Neumeyer, Trustee Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

Chair: Trustee Lewis V.; Vice-Chair: Trustee McDonald

Members: Trustees Lanter, Neumeyer, Parker, Trustee Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

SWANSEA REPORT COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

Chair: Trustee Neumeyer; Vice-Chair: Trustee Lanter Thouvenot

Members: Trustees Lewis V, McDonald, Parker, Trustee Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

https://www.swanseail.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04292024-45