Village of Orion Finance Committee met March 30.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
A meeting of the Finance Committee was held at 4:00 p.m. via the Zoom electronic meeting app (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) in lieu of at Village Hall, 1202 4th Street, Orion, Illinois. Members present: Drucker, Newman, and Hancock. Absent: None. Village President Jim Cooper and Sewer Supt. Chris Lundburg were also present.
Clerk Sampson reviewed the credit card charges by category – phone, internet, and cloud storage – and the remainder of the items individually, which included LED lighting for the maintenance garage, a battery kit, and training for Water Supt. Arnie Sandberg. The charges were deemed to be legitimate.
Trustee Newman will be reimbursed for the fee to utilize the Zoom meeting app. The monthly fee is $33.24. The same app will be used for village board meetings until the COVID-19 pandemic threat passes. It will allow the public to join and the link can be provided on the village’s website.
Sewer Supt. Lundburg discussed the need for a spare pump at the 10th Avenue lift station. Ordinarily, if one of the two pumps fail it would take about three weeks to order and receive a replacement. If down to one pump during heavy rains, it could spell disaster. The pump will remain in the FY 2021 budget request.
Trustee Newman expressed the need to search for a utility operator that could be trained for the water and sewer departments prior to employee retirements. He said the village needs to be prepared for retirements. The water and sewer positions require licensing and on the job training over a period of years. Sewer Supt. Lundburg suggested the board ask the employees for their proposed retirement dates so a plan can be formulated.
Requested hydrant replacement near Casey’s General Store and a water main looping project in the Wilson Addition were reviewed. Trustee Drucker said an issue with the water main in the Wilson Addition could cause the entire subdivision, around 35 homes, to be shut off while it is being maintained. Looping would solve that problem. It was not deemed an urgent problem but one that the water department would like to check off its list.
Trustee Drucker said the Illinois Rural Water Association did a rate study for the water department. The IEPA pushes the village to increase rates annually but the last increase for Orion was in 2006. Trustee Drucker said he is considering an increase in the water rate. Trustee Hancock said he would not recommend an increase in sewer rates. He wants to review the rates more closely once the phase II loan is paid for in 2022. At that time, the rate could be lowered or kept the same to improve sewer infrastructure.
Projects in the park and street departments were discussed. After some back and forth, it was determined that all park improvements slated for the recently purchased Love Park acreage should remain in the budget but $120,000 for 5th Street engineering be eliminated along with $5,000 of the $15,000 allotted for part-time police wages. Also, the street department expense of $100,000 for 7th Street engineering was cut from the general fund and moved to general depreciation as an expense of $82,500, matching the income for that fund. The Finance Committee wants Trustee Nelson and Street Supt. Neil Dahl to explain the reason for switching their priority project from 5th Street to 7th Street. They will be asked to do so at the village board meeting to be held April 6th.
President Cooper discussed the funding of Main Street Orion. It is funded at $10,000 in the proposed budget and President Cooper said others have approached him about reducing the amount. He noted the MSO director’s husband, Pastor Dave Schultz, is being transferred from the Orion United Methodist Church to the Methodist church in Aledo. Some felt it would be a poor time to cut funding during the COVID-19 health crisis and its impact on Orion businesses. The MSO director has done a good job of promoting Orion businesses by including them in MSO events and on Facebook. It was noted MSO events bring people into the community and add to the quality of life in Orion. The organization’s façade program is geared to business improvement. Also, the CIBP allows for interest buy-down and brings business to BankORION, the only funding source for CIBP benefits. President Cooper said the biggest complaint he hears from others is about the salary paid to MSO’s director.
Clerk Sampson said no funding was included in the proposed budget for purchase or remodeling of a village hall. She said sales tax revenue and video gaming revenue will be affected by the mandatory closing of bars and restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is unknown how long the closings will last.
President Cooper said he has information to discuss about a proposed village hall expansion or purchase and wants to discuss it in executive session at the next village board meeting.
There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned.
https://orionil.org/government/meetings/2014-03-09-05-52-59/1210-minutes-2020-03-30-finance-pdf/file
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