Peoria Standard

Village of Swansea Village Committees met Dec. 2.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

VILLAGE OF SWANSEA BOARD OF TRUSTEES MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Attendees: Board President Michael Leopold, Village Clerk Tyler Thompson, Treasurer John Walter, Village Administrator Ben Schloesser, Trustee Jeff Parker, Trustee Matt Lanter, Trustee Brian Thouvenot, Trustee Richard “Rocky” McDonald, Trustee Cary Lewis, Police Department Chief Matt Blomberg, Fire Department Chief Doug Little, Director of Public Works Rick Tucker and Building and Zoning Director Greg Anderson

Absent: Trustee Marilyn Neumeyer

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: Held 6:00 to 6:00

Chair: Trustee Parker; Vice-Chair: Trustee Parker

Members: Trustees Lanter, Lewis V, McDonald, Thouvenot

1. Travel Request for Chief Blomberg to Attend the Annual FBI National Academy Associates Executive Board Meeting – Swearing-In Ceremony as 2nd Vice President of the Railsplitters Division

Motion to Forward: Made by Trustee Parker, seconded by Trustee Lanter

Trustee Votes: All ayes

2. Request to Hire POC FF - Julieann Ellis

Chief Little said she passed all tests and the physical.

Motion to Forward: Made by Trustee Parker, seconded by Trustee Lewis

Trustee Votes: All ayes

Motion to Adjourn: Made by Trustee Parker, seconded by Trustee Lanter

Trustee Votes: All ayes

FINANCE COMMITTEE: Held 6:01 to 6:27

Chair: Trustee Lanter; Vice-Chair: Trustee Thouvenot

Members: Trustees Lewis V, McDonald, Neumeyer, Parker

1. Discussion – 2024 Tax Levy

Trustee Lanter said he, the Finance Manager, the HR Manager, and the Village Administrator met and went through data and scenarios. They expect increases in employee costs to be $450,000 additional. They can absorb some of that with other revenue streams but $300,000 more needed. There are three different scenarios. One is leaving the tax levy as proposed. Two is increasing the tax levy by $150,000. Three is increasing it by $300,000 which he said would be a big bite and is based on educated guesses. He said the proposal is to leave the levy as originally presented which is scenario one. Board President Leopold said he thought the original levy was 4.9% but this says 4.3%. Trustee Lanter said the police protection tax went down. Board President Leopold said proposal one decreases it. Trustee Lanter said correct. Trustee Lanter said proposal one is a slight increase and that is driven by increases in pensions, fire protection tax, and insurance. The net is that the taxpayer sees very little difference. He said they could draw potential shortage out of the surplus in funds in reserve. He said there is a lot in the air based on what the state does because they could have billion dollar shortfalls so they might claw back some funds. He said a year from now they will have a better idea. Trustee Lewis said the surplus is $6 million. The Village Administrator said they have $6 million in reserves which is 8 months of operating expenses. Trustee Lewis said they are operating above the recommended 3 months. The Village Administrator said yes. Trustee Thouvenot said he is a big opponent of taking money out of the surplus and it can disappear quickly if the economy goes bad. He said they need to communicate with taxpayers about their needs and the budget evaluation process. He said they have a double whammy of increased expenses and possibly decreased revenue if Illinois takes it back. He said the public needs to know what they are facing and they don’t have a lot of wiggle room. He said he does not like proposal one. Trustee McDonald said whatever they give to the police there are other unions and there are a lot of hypotheticals. He said they have to look at everything and it is guesses. Trustee Lanter said it is not a wild guess and they took it into account. The Village Administrator said they never know exactly what it will be. Trustee Lanter said that’s part of doing a budget for 6 months from now and they can’t change the fiscal year. Trustee McDonald said they can use comparables from previous years. Board President Leopold said that is what they did. The Village Administrator said they aim to be as accurate as possible and the earlier they do a budget the less accurate it will be. Trustee McDonald said he won’t make a decision based on this information and he doesn’t want to go into the surplus because the Village was in a deficit in 2008 to 2010. He said the Village is financially sound because of the Treasurer. The Village Administrator said it’s not based on just investments and the staff being fiscally responsible helped. Board President Leopold said the $200,000 in ARPA is not considered in this. Trustee Lanter said ARPA generally haven’t been used for general fund expenses in Swansea. Trustee Thouvenot said it was used for bonuses once. The Village Administrator said these were the specific costs he was being asked to entertain. Trustee Thouvenot doesn’t want to dip into reserves and wants to have a public hearing about why they need the funds. Trustee Lewis asked if they were to dip into reserves how much would be left over. Trustee Thouvenot said the pension funds are underfunded so if anyone retires that will put more strain and all of the reserves wouldn’t be enough. The Village Administrator said the reserves are 8 months of operating funds and if they didn’t levy $300,000 it would be $5.7 million left. Trustee Lanter asked what everyone thought. Trustee Lewis supported scenario one. Trustee Thouvenot supported two. Trustee McDonald wants a meeting based on the numbers and accepted none. Trustee Lanter said the proposal isn’t to always dip into reserves it is to potentially dip for one year and then they will know more. The Village Administrator said it would be a real challenge to look at exact numbers. Trustee McDonald said the police union contract is unsure and he doesn’t know how much it will be increased. The Village Administrator said they don’t either and it’s not discussed in public meetings and it wouldn’t be much of a negotiation. The Village Administrator said it is challenging to provide more numbers right now. Trustee Thouvenot said last meeting it was said based on things coming down the road what they have currently is not enough. Trustee Thouvenot said if the public knows why it is needed they would support it and he is against dipping into reserves. Trustee Lewis said that is what reserves are for and they need to work with what they have. Trustee Lewis said getting more might not always be available. Trustee Lewis would never go for a 15% tax increase. Board President Leopold said he doesn’t think Trustee McDonald can get more information. Trustee Lanter supported scenario one. Trustee McDonald supported scenario two. Trustee Parker said he understands both ways and he said they will never be 100% on the police pension. He said they stay at a reasonable amount. Trustee Parker said he doesn’t mind dipping into reserves for one year and then they will have more of the numbers Trustee McDonald wants. He said it is not an easy decision but he supports scenario one.

2. Ord. No._____ An Ordinance Of The Village Of Swansea, St. Clair County, Illinois, Establishing Tax Levies For All Corporate Purposes To Be Levied Against All Property Subject To Taxation Within The Village Of Swansea, Illinois For The Purpose Of Providing Funds For The Fiscal Year Commencing May 1, 2025 And Ending April 30, 2026

Motion to Forward: Made by Trustee Lanter, seconded by Trustee Parker

Trustee Votes:

Ayes: Trustee Parker, Trustee Lanter, and Trustee Lewis

Nos: Trustee Thouvenot and Trustee McDonald

Motion to Adjourn: Made by Trustee Lanter, seconded by Trustee Parker

Trustee Votes: All ayes

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

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

Members: Trustees Lanter, Neumeyer, Trustee Parker, Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Held 6:27 to 6:46

Chair: Trustee Thouvenot; Vice-Chair: Trustee Lanter

Members: Trustees Lewis V, McDonald, Neumeyer, Parker

1. Discussion- Code Enforcement Properties

The Building and Zoning Director said it is an update for nuisance communities. Three were owned by one person and they have tried to contact him numerous times. He is meeting with the attorney to discuss nuisance properties and to foreclose on liens to get a resolution. He said the issues have gone on for too long and there has been progress, but the owner has to put his money where his mouth is. Trustee Thouvenot said he appreciates his diligence and he spoke about recovering attorney fees because they could be quite expensive. The Building and Zoning Director wants to have an executive session with the Board about coming up with a strategy for nuisance properties and going to court. The code inspectors have identified some properties and an owner has abandoned one. Trustee McDonald asked if money is set aside for code enforcement legal fees. The Village Administrator said not enough. Trustee McDonald said he went to the mobile home park across from the Police Department and only 3 have lights on. The Building and Zoning Director said there is a court case with the owner and they don’t tag properties as vacant like he wants. Trustee McDonald said another mobile home park has only 6 houses with lights on and they need to be condemned. The Building and Zoning Director said they are in the court system right now and they have 45 days before the Village demos the property without a roof. Board President Leopold commended the Building and Zoning Director for taking the steps. The Building and Zoning Director said they have built the capacity to be more aggressive and now they just need a strategy because they can’t address them all at once. Board President Leopold said the Board is generally in favor of being aggressive. Trustee McDonald wanted a ballpark number of legal fees.

2. Res. No. _____ A Resolution Authorizing The President Of The Board Of Trustees And The Village Clerk To Affix Their Signatures To An Annexation Agreement With JMT Enterprises Group, Inc.

The Building and Zoning Director said the property is located off Frank Scott Parkway across from Christ Church. The proposed use is multi use. It is 46 acres and the zoning request is for planned business. It is multi use with shops, townhomes, storage, and villas. It will be in several phases. The villas are first, storage second, townhomes third, and shops last. It repeals the last annexation agreement because it was revised. They are opting out of sprinkler system requirements. Board President Leopold asked the timeline for the phases. The applicant said getting approved with regards to the stoplight slowed them down and once it’s approved all the phases will be done pretty quickly. Board President Leopold asked if the County gave a stoplight timeline. The applicant said he is not sure how long the next phase of approval will take. Trustee Thouvenot thanked them for coming in and asked if the Villas will be built first and if they are for sale. The applicant said correct. Trustee Thouvenot said they condensed the area for storage. The applicant said correct and they had to change the orientation of the street coming in to line up with DePaul. The applicant said they combined a couple buildings and rearranged. Trustee Thouvenot asked where the stormwater is likely going. The applicant said there are several detention ponds and TWM is designing it. They have different tiers of detention pond and have overplanned for stormwater. Trustee Lanter asked if the townhomes are for sale and if they are multistory. The applicant said they are rentals and 2 story. Trustee Lewis asked what the landscape buffer will look like. The applicant said they can’t build a berm because it drains to the east so likely some spot berms and trees. Motion to Forward: Made by Trustee Thouvenot, seconded by Trustee Lanter

Trustee Votes: All ayes

Motion to Adjourn: Made by Trustee Thouvenot, seconded by Trustee Lanter

Trustee Votes: All ayes

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

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

Members: Trustees Lanter, McDonald, Neumeyer, Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: Held 6:46 to 6:49

Chair: Trustee McDonald; Vice-Chair: Trustee Parker

Members: Trustees Lanter, Lewis V. Neumeyer, Thouvenot

1. Res. No. _____ A Resolution Authorizing The Purchase Of A New 2024 Ford F-600 Cab And Chassis For The Public Works Department For A Total Purchase Price Of $71,252.00 From Weber Commercial Truck Center, 957 W. Pontoon, Granite City, lL 62040

The Director of Public Works said it will take the place of a dump truck and there were 3 quotes. They usually go through Morrow Brothers but they were unresponsive. Weber was cheaper by $3,000 and it was on the lot. The Director of Public Works said Chief Blomberg can attest to some of the issues going through Morrow Brothers.

Motion to Forward: Made by Trustee McDonald, seconded by Trustee Lewis

Trustee Votes: All ayes

Motion to Adjourn: Made by Trustee McDonald, seconded by Trustee Lewis

Trustee Votes: All ayes

CULTURAL COMMITTEE: Meeting Not Held

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

Members: Trustees Lanter, Neumeyer, Parker, Thouvenot

Meeting Not Held

SWANSEA REPORT COMMITTEE: Held 6:49 to 6:50

Chair: Trustee Neumeyer; Vice-Chair: Trustee Lanter

Members: Trustees Lewis V, McDonald, Parker, Thouvenot

1. Draft of January Report- please email articles to sproffitt@swanseail.org Articles due to Stefanie by December 20th The Village Administrator said he will be rewriting the cover letter to change some numbers.

Motion to Adjourn: Made by Trustee Lanter, seconded by Trustee Parker

Trustee Votes: All ayes

https://www.swanseail.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_12022024-82