March 14, 2022 Budget Workshop Meeting Minutes
BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Monday, March 14, 2022
The Village Board met Monday, March 14, 2022 at 6:30 PM.
Present: John Spaeth Mayor
Steve Collins , Trustee
Sue Eckert, Trustee
John Markiewicz, Trustee
Sue Sedon, Trustee
Wendy Reu, Recording Secretary
Nathanial Matthews, Treasurer
Dan Reidell, Highway Superintendent
Absent:
Public Attendance: Janet Rudd, Kathleen Terwilliger
Mayor Spaeth called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.
Mayor Spaeth and Treasurer Matthews presented the tentative budget for the Board’s review.
Treasurer Matthews presented the Salary schedule which reflected a 3% increase for full time employees. He reported that the Mayor and Trustee compensation is adjusted every four years, and as such, the proposed salary for the Mayor would be $ 7,500, an increase of $ 1500.00; and the Trustees would be $ 2,500.00, an increase of $ 500.00.
Treasurer Matthews reported there was an increase in the Police department line due to the fact that we are looking at expanding our department and sharing services with the Town. He stated that Trustee Collins has been researching various departments of similar sizes and our pay scale is very low. Treasurer Matthews stated he brought it up to $ 24.00 which was a 13.5% increase. Trustee Collins stated if we are to expand the department, we need to attract officers. Janet Rudd stated she felt it was a good idea to see increased police coverage. Treasurer Matthews asked the Board to establish a new hire PD rate and the Board felt that $ 17.00 was sufficient for a new hire, out of the academy.
Treasurer Matthews went through the entire tentative budget, line by line, explaining areas of significant change and answering questions from the Board. He stated street maintenance was an area of significant change in the proposed budget. Mayor Spaeth stated that the culvert on Water Street is failing and needs to be replaced. He stated the estimated cost to replace the culvert is between $ 85,000.00 and $ 110,000.00, not including the engineering costs. Treasurer Matthews stated that this a real expense that is going to come out of fund balance, one way or another. He stated we are anticipating receiving $ 130,000.00 paving money from CHIPS, using $ 90,000.00 toward highway street paving. DPW Superintendent Reidell also is looking to add one live edge plow to his equipment for snow removal, the cost of which is $ 16,000.00 apiece. Mayor Spaeth stated that GSLA has money that they are going to distribute to areas that reduce salt concentration and we may be receiving funding to cover the cost of the live edge plow blade but we cannot rely on that during the budget process.
Treasurer Matthews reported we have significantly increased the Marketing line item based on the proposed marketing strategy of hiring a marketing director and website upgrade.
Treasurer Matthews stated that sales tax distribution has been hyperinflated and it is difficult to forecast the upcoming year.
Mayor Spaeth gave an overview and said that with the increase in the police salary, culvert repair, and marketing, there is $ 100,000.00 worth of gap between revenue and expenditures. Treasurer Matthews stated it would be a planned operating deficit but we can’t live off our fund balance, so the question is where do we come up with all that money. He stated with the $ 40,000.00 CHIPS money toward the culvert and a possible $ 10,000.00 a year savings by switching to LED street lights if the project is done by June 1st, that shortens the gap to roughly $ 50,000.00. The Board discussed ARPA funds but it was determined that those were needed for the well house updates and water infrastructure. Trustee Sedon reported the well house needs a new roof, door, HVAC system and fixed network as part of the updates.
Mayor Spaeth stated that we have previously discussed the Third Street property and felt the Board should revisit whether we want to sell it. He stated that we have reviewed potential uses of the property over the years and nothing has moved forward on those uses. He stated that it has become an attractive nuisance for kids and some abutting neighbors complain about the lot. Mayor Spaeth presented the Board with the revised appraisal of the property, in the amount of $ 45,000.00. He said that if we were to move forward with selling the property, we could have Attorney Greco handle the sale and not have to go through a relator. He suggested setting a minimum on the property of $ 60,000.00. He stated that would help us bridge the gap in our budget and help us avoid overriding the tax cap. After continued discussion, Trustee Eckert made a motion to move through the process of selling the Third Street residential lot, establishing a minimum price of $ 60,000.00. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Collins, Trustee Eckert, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
Trustee Collins asked where we stood on Federal infrastructure funds and Mayor Spaeth stated that we would need projects put together to be eligible for any funding.
Treasurer Matthews asked the Board to address the Marketing line and give guidance on how they want to proceed. He stated that our budget is very tight and we don’t have an extra $ 20,000 for that position. He stated that if we increase taxes and stay under the cap, we would raise $ 11,000.00 additional. He informed the Board that if we want to cover the Marketing position, we would have to override the tax cap. Trustee Sedon stated she felt people were struggling and she would like to put off filling a marketing position for a year or two. She stated website updates are important and she would like to see them move forward.
After discussion, the Board directed Treasurer Matthews to establish the tentative tax rate as $ 8.62 / $ 1,000.00 which was an increase of 3.04 % and under the State tax cap.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Sedon, seconded by Trustee Eckert and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Reu
Village Clerk
