VILLAGE OF NORTH AURORA
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 17, 2017
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Berman called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
In attendance: Mayor Dale Berman, Trustee Mike Lowery, Trustee Chris Faber, Trustee Mark Carroll, Trustee Mark Gaffino, Trustee Mark Guethle, Village Clerk Lori Murray. Not in attendance: Trustee Laura Curtis.
Staff in attendance: Village Administrator Steve Bosco, Finance Director Bill Hannah, Community & Economic Development Director Mike Toth, Public Works Director John Laskowski, Police Chief David Summer and Village Attorney Kevin Drendel and IT Specialist Dave Arndt.
AUDIENCE COMMENTS – None
TRUSTEE COMMENTS – None
DISCUSSION
1. Budget Discussion
Finance Director Bill Hannah addressed the following items, along with addressing some questions that arose from the last meeting regarding the some of the budgeted expenses.
The tentative 2018 IMRF employer rate was less than expected so adjustments were made to each department. This results in a $13,000 decrease in the General Fund and $2300 in the Water Fund. An added item was $65,000 for engineering for design enhancements to the silo by the riverfront. That item will come out of the Route 31 TIF budget.
Replacement of police vehicles: Of the 5 vehicles proposed for purchase, 4 of them are Caprices which were purchased over 4 years ago. Their mileage is between 64,000 and 77,000. In addition to miles, the department looks at idling hours which can contribute to wear and tear. Adding those hours of 5800 – 6100 hours per vehicle would increase the equivalency of miles of 210,000 to 253,000 miles per vehicle.
SUV vehicles: The suv vehicles are larger and will have more room to accommodate police officers and their equipment. This is also the trend in the industry.
Police facilities security server and cameras: There are issues with the current server and hard drive failures. It is a system that is no longer supported and therefore a new system needs to be purchased. Current cameras are analog cameras and are not compatible with current vendors. Total project cost is $55,000. If approved, that would put all of the village cameras on one system.
Police squad laptops: There is $25,000 in the budget. There are currently 12 in service of which 6 were replaced last year. The cost of laptops was $2400 and $1300 per laptop to outfit the laptop and place it in service. Hannah noted that these are not normal laptops. They are semi- rugged and more durable to handle the work environment.
Replacement of Public Works truck: The current truck is a 2004 5-yard with 25,000 miles. Equivalent miles and hours would be 132,000. This truck is used for snow plowing, hauling dirt and concrete and recently needed $5,000 of repairs to pass a safety inspection. This vehicle will also need another plow for $8,000. It is undersized and carries less than other vehicles. The Village needs a vehicle with more capacity.
Trustee Gaffino said that in 2003 or 2004 it was decided to get this current truck. Gaffino asked if the new truck would be used just for winter. Gaffino also suggested that the Village possibly get another two years out of the vehicle before purchasing a new one.
Lowery said now that we have the money, the Village might want to purchase the truck now before the budget gets too tight and there are no funds.
Mayor Berman said that the Village saves money in the budget each year for new vehicles. If it the truck is not bought now, it would just be deferred to another time.
Village Administrator Steve Bosco said that by deferring the cost down the road means the Village may be paying more down the road.
Vehicle for the general village hall use: The Village is trying to make use of a 2006 Ford Explorer. It recently needed $4000 of transmission work. The Village has been looking for several years for a hybrid vehicle for $25,000. The ideal situation is to have both the currant vehicle and new vehicle in service. However, after looking into the repairs needed to the vehicle, the decision was to not get the vehicle fixed. A new vehicle for the village will last 8 to 10 years.
There was no further discussion.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn made by Trustee Guethle and seconded by Trustee Gaffino. All in favor. Motion approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori J. Murray
Village Clerk
