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Home My WebLink Aboutd - February 24, 2021 COWCOMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING February 24, 2021 The regular Committee of the Whole meeting was called to order by Mayor Kaptain at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Present: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Absent: None. All members, with the exception of Councilmembers Gavin, Martinez, Shaw and Mayor Kaptain, attended via electronic means. This was allowed at this time granted by Governor Pritzker's Executive Order 2020-07. Approval of Minutes Councilmember Shaw made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Gavin, to approve the minutes of the February 10, 2021, regular meeting. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. 2021 Property Tax Abatement Councilmember Powell made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Gavin, to approve the abatement ordinances and resulting tax levy to realize the property tax dollar amount consistent with the adopted 2021 budget. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. 2010A, 2012 and 2012A General Obligation Bond Refunding Councilmember Gavin made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Shaw, to authorize the refunding of General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2012 and General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2010A and 2012A in order to realize debt service savings of approximately $400,000. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. Sale of General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds to Finance Utility Fund Capital Projects Councilmember Shaw made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Martinez, to authorize the sale of General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2021B in the amount of $9,280,000 to provide funding to finance the improvement of underground utilities. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. Committee of the Whole February 24, 2021 Page 2 Proposed 2021 Special Event Season An overview of the proposed special events calendar was provided. Kate O'Leary, Special Events Coordinator, outlined potential events and options based on the current State of Illinois pandemic guidelines. She noted that a decision would be made regarding Nightmare on Chicago Street, currently scheduled for October 23, 2021, in April. There was a discussion regarding the contingency plans for scheduled events and if an event were cancelled what would happened to the budgeted funds. Councilmember Shaw made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Dixon, to affirm staff direction to continue planning and executing City special events during 2021 at an estimated cost of $512,200 to offer quality of life amenities to the residents of Elgin through special events. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. No response noted from Councilmembers Lopez and Steffen. Microsoft Enterprise Software License Subscription Renewal — State Contract Joint Purchasing Agreement Councilmember Shaw made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Martinez, to award a contract to Dell in the amount of $134,160 annually for a three-year term in order to renew the annual enterprise software license subscription for Microsoft Office 365, Virtual Desktop Services and SQL Server. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. Utility Bill Delinquencies City Manager Kozal outlined the proposed plan to address overdue water bills and coordination with local groups to utilize available grant funds to cover this type of expense. Karina Nava, Assistant to the City Manager, outlined options for offering those impacted financial assistance. She noted that there is the potential to partner with the Salvation Army to help determine need and disburse assistance. There was discussion regarding communications to those in need, criteria to qualify for assistance, and timing of the shut-off notices. There was also discussion regarding landlords qualifying for assistance. Committee of the Whole February 24, 2021 Page 3 Councilmember Gavin made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Martinez, to implement a graduated plan for seeking payment that focuses on accounts with the highest delinquent amounts to mitigate rising revenue losses being generated from uncollected City utility bills. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. Group Facilitator for Community Task Force on Policing Dr. Larry Scholler, Senior Facilitator at Kearns & West, presented information on the company's approach and introduced the team that would be working with the city. There was discussion regarding the public input process, scope of duties of the task force, and the costs associated with the project. Councilmember Dixon made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Powell, to enter into a professional services agreement with Kearns & West in partnership with the University of Illinois -Chicago to work as group facilitators in creating and facilitating the City's community task force on policing, including assisting the task force in drafting a final report. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Lopez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: Councilmembers Gavin and Martinez. Adiourn to City Council Councilmember Shaw made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Gavin, to adjourn and go into the City Council meeting. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. Reconvene Councilmember Gavin made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Martinez, to reconvene the Committee of the Whole meeting. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. Fire Department Expense Reduction Alternatives City Manager Kozal presented information regarding the cost cutting measures, including pay reductions, furloughs and layoffs that were implemented during 2020. Mr. Kozal then outlined options to cut $430,000 which is the amount to accommodate the firefighters pay increase, to balance the 2021 budget. The options outlined were organizational expense reductions, drawing down the General Fund reserves and allocations from year end budget surpluses. It was noted Committee of the Whole February 24, 2021 Page 4 there was no guarantee of a budget surplus and these options would be impacting the city's AAA bond rating. Fire Chief Cagann outlined the proposed equipment changes at Station 6. He noted that this change would only be implemented when the staffing level would trigger overtime. Chief Cagann provided details about response times and why this station was chosen to implement this equipment change. There was discussion regarding receiving further COVID relief funding, use of mutual aid agreements and the impact of using reserve funds. There were concerns expressed about emergency response times, and the response time impacts on various areas of the city. There was a suggestion to look at how to provide emergency services in the community and seeking input from residents. Councilmember Shaw made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Gavin, to identify expense reductions in 2021 budget totaling $430,000 annually and $1.3 million for the duration of three- year financial plan to compensate for the unbudgeted expenses occurring from the firefighter union's decision not to defer its scheduled cost of living increases in 2021 until 2022. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Gavin, Martinez, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: Councilmembers Dixon, Lopez, and Powell. Announcements from Council Councilmember Powell expressed condolences to the family of former city employee Jim Shepherd. Announcements from Staff None. Adiournment Councilmember Shaw made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Martinez, to adjourn the meeting. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Dixon, Gavin, Lopez, Martinez, Powell, Rauschenberger, Shaw, Steffen, and Mayor Kaptain. Nays: None. The meeting adjourned at 10:28 p.m. s/ Kimberly Dewis Kimberly Dewis, City Clerk March 10, 2021 Date Approved