"I think it is necessary," Alderman Michael Montcalm, chairman of the ordinance committee, told the council. "This is probably the most important vote we will have here for quite a while."

The resolution mandates that the first tier of rate increases will go into effect by Jan. 1, 2002. For residents who live inside the city limits, monthly rates will go from $11 to $14. For those who live outside the city, rates will go from $12 to $17.52 a month.

Charges based on actual usage will go up for commercial, industrial and institutional users as well, some of them substantially.

The first tier of increases is expected to be in effect for 18 months; then, if the city does not find any other funding and has to finance the full $9.8 cost of the upgrade, a second tier of raises will have to be made.

Under the final plan, or "worst case scenario," which would take effect 18 months later, city residents would pay $16.39 monthly, and out-of-city residents would pay $22.31. Commercial, industrial and institutional users would also pay more.

[For more details, see Oct. 10 LDN article:  "Two-step plan suggested for sewer rate increase."]

The "worst case scenario," could be lower than predicted if the city can tap some other sources of funding. Grant Eaton, sewer plant manager, said he is applying for various funds that could help defray the cost and is also hoping to get an Illinois FIRST grant.

The sewer plant must be upgraded to keep it in compliance with Illinois Environmental Protection Agency requirements. If the plant violates state requirements, the IEPA can refuse to permit new hookups and will stop residential, commercial and industrial growth in the city.

Last week the Lincoln wastewater plant had its first state violation because of a large input of ammonia, Eaton said. If the new plant had already been upgraded as planned, it would have been able to handle the extra load, but the city now has its first violation on the books. New standards for ammonia, which went into effect Oct. 1, will make it even harder for the present plant to comply with state regulations, he said.

Unless it raises sewer rates, the city will not qualify for the 20-year loan from the IEPA. It hopes to get the loan sometime in January 2002 and begin work on the plant upgrade in March, but delays are possible. If red tape keeps the project from being funded in January, the city will have to wait until October 2002 or even January 2003 to get the money.

The council also voted unanimously to approve a zoning change from R-2 to C-2 for property at 2018 N. Kickapoo St. This will permit Logan-Mason Mental Health to use the facility as a adult day treatment center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.

The zoning change was recommended by the planning commission, and none of the property owners in the area have objected to the change, according to City Attorney Bill Bates. The property, formerly a day-care center, has been vacant for many years. It will be remodeled at a cost of about $140,000 and will serve 25 to 30 clients with a staff of seven, health center officials said.

Logan-Mason Mental Health Director Marcia Stoll thanked the council for their vote, saying the new facility will be much appreciated by those who use it. She said that since 1975 the adult day treatment center has been located in a basement with no windows and with no opportunity for clients to go outside and walk on the grass.

In other business, the council approved a new ordinance prohibiting the possession of drug paraphernalia, with a fine of $750 plus court costs for any violation. One-half of all fines will go to the Police Department for the DARE anti-drug program and the other half to the city, also to be used for the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse by minors.

The council also approved an ordinance which will allow Bates some leeway in levying fines when prosecuting minors convicted of drug or alcohol abuse. By requesting court supervision instead of an immediate conviction, Bates can set fines higher or lower than the minimum $400 plus court costs for alcohol consumption.

In other business, the council agreed to prohibit parking on the west side of Union Street north of Woodlawn for about 72 feet. After hearing complaints that the traffic lights at that intersection were malfunctioning, Street Superintendent Donnie Osborne discovered that cars parked too close to the intersection were interfering with the sensors in the pavement.

The council also approved placing a stop sign at the intersection of Pulaski and LaDue streets, and gave Fire Chief Bucky Washam permission to sell a 1995 firetruck which is no longer in use, for $45,000.

In a structured, spend-money-to-make-money standpoint, a deficit of $583,105 for the year ending 2002 could not be avoided as a part of the proposed budget increase. The highly publicized statue of Abraham Lincoln, along with a nine-hole golf course to be located within the limits of the Logan County Airport, were given a cursory reference in regard to bringing in revenue through this particular budget.

Board member and Finance Chairman Rod White presented the board with the budget address, which also included the matter of salary increases for the offices of probation, public defense and for the state’s attorney, who was on hand, often fielding questions and providing input upon request. The proposed budget will be re-examined in final discourse among the board members and will then be voted on Tuesday night at 7, with final adoption in 30 days. The new fiscal year begins Dec. 1.

"There are currently about 85,000 seniors and disabled people living in Illinois nursing homes. The majority of those, 64 percent, rely on public assistance to help pay for their nursing home stays. But in many cases, Illinois has failed to provide adequate reimbursement for Medicaid residents. Today, we heard firsthand from the care providers in our area the extent of the financial hardship this state funding shortfall has created for them," Wright said.

According to Wright, the mission of the task force is to research possible solutions to a looming funding crisis in the state’s long-term care industry. He said testimony Oct. 3 included presentations from representatives of the Jackson Heights facility in Farmer City, the Apostolic Christian Timber Ridge facility in Morton and LeRoy Manor in LeRoy.

"These providers’ comments are invaluable to helping us find a solution, and every member of the task force took them to heart,"' Wright said. "I’m looking forward to hearing directly from other providers throughout the state as we continue our hearings."

Locations for future scheduled hearings of the task force include Carbondale, Chicago, Decatur, Mattoon, Danville, Carol Stream and Palos Hills.

[News release]

The present ordinance calls for a minimum fine of $400 plus court costs, about $135, for a first offense, with a maximum fine of $750 possible. City Attorney Bill Bates said he thought the total $535 minimum fine was so far out of reach of most young people that they continue to put off paying it, reappearing in court time after time to tell the judge they don’t have the money.

Bates suggested a minimum fine of $200 plus costs, which would be somewhat less than $135, with a $300 fine for a second offense and a $400 to $750 fine for further offenses. He said he thought the city would be able to collect these fines more effectively than the present ones.

"The tendency is if they can’t pay it all, they won’t pay any," he said. "If they look at something achievable, they will make more effort to pay it." Lowering the fines would also lessen the congestion of the court system, he noted.

Fines for the same offense in the rest of Logan County are only $200, the amount set by state law, he told the council.

"It’s a little tough when you’ve got the $200 fine every place but the city," he said.

The city has no recourse against those who don’t pay, because once the fine is imposed it is in the hands of the judiciary. After a number of returns to court, a judge may order an offender to pay the fine in installments. The offender can’t be sent to jail for not paying, Bates said, only for violating a court order. If the judge orders the offender to pay and he or she does not, then that person may be sent to jail.

Alderman Steve Fuhrer said he was opposed to lowering the fine because it is "sending the wrong message."

Alderman David Armbrust, however, said he thought it might be easier for a young person to pay the $200 fine than to keep going to court to put it off..

Bates said the city ordinance has a pr ovision for a public service alternative to the fine but has no public service officer. Any such work would have to be supervised, and that would be an additional cost to the city.

Although the committee will not recommend changing the ordinance to lower the fine, they plan to give Bates some leeway. The fines are imposed upon conviction, and Bates may ask that an offender be given court supervision for 60 to 90 days, which is not a conviction, and he can then impose a lower fine. He can also impose a higher fine if he believes it is warranted.

The policy will be reviewed in six months to see if lower fines result in more payments.

Proposal on drug fines

The "stay tough" policy for underage drinking became "get even tougher" in a proposed new ordinance for possession of drug paraphernalia.

That ordinance originally called for fines of $200 plus court costs for a first offense, $300 for a second and a minimum of $400 to $750 for further offenses, the same level of fines proposed for underage drinking. On learning that the city’s ordinance was less restrictive than the state law, Michael Montcalm suggested that the city ordinance follow state law, which requires a fine of $750 plus costs for any possession of drug paraphernalia.

Several other council members agreed. "What message are we sending if our drug fines are lower than our alcohol fines?" Glenn Shelton asked.

The new ordinance on drug paraphernalia, with a fine of $750 for the first offense, will be on the agenda at the next voting session of the council, on Oct. 15.

Rezoning at 2018 N. Kickapoo

Also on the agenda Oct. 15 will be a recommendation from the Lincoln Planning Commission to rezone property at 2018 N. Kickapoo from R-2 to C-2. The rezoning, requested by the Mental Health Center of Illinois, will allow Logan-Mason Mental Health to operate an adult day treatment center at the facility from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. five days a week.

The adult treatment program has been in the community for the past 25 years, according to Logan-Mason Director Marcia Stoll. "The people who use the facility already live in our community, shop in our community, and some even work in our community," she said.

Bates reported that the commission recommended approval of the change 7-0 and that no home or property owners in the neighborhood objected to the change.

Covers of videos

On the subject of a possible obscenity ordinance that would restrict suggestive pictures on covers of videos, Bates said if the council’s goal was to take boxes containing R-rated movies off the wall, that would be called censorship and would be a touchy subject.

Alderman Pat Madigan reported that the city’s two video stores had done a "pretty good job" of self-policing, and the more suggestive video covers were now partly concealed.

Residential members on Rate 1 with average monthly usage of 784 kilowatt hours would experience an average annual savings of 19 percent. Approximately 19,000 Rate 1 members will be affected by this rate change.

Another popular residential program is Rate 11. This special rate is interruptible during peak use periods in the summer. Rate 11 members will continue to have a 12.5 percent advantage over Rate 1. In fact, Rate 11 has a 21 percent advantage for the average customer during the summer billing periods. Rate 11 continues to be the lowest residential rate, because it allows the cooperative to interrupt members’ electric service during peak summer periods. Corn Belt Energy Corporation has 3,300 members on Rate 11.

Rates 1 and 11 savings will depend on a number of factors, primarily the usage by the member as dictated by the weather. Farms and businesses also will see a rate reduction for those on Rates 2, 3, 5 and 6. The large commercial members, Rates 5 and 6, will have an average 14 percent reduction, depending upon use and power factor.

Only one commercial rate will not decline. Rate 9 members will have a slight increase. There are only four customers on this interruptible rate.

Corn Belt President-CEO Jeff Reeves said, "The cooperative is very fortunate at this time to provide lower rates, due to obtaining lower-cost wholesale power contracts. The cooperative currently has an all-requirements contract for fixed power prices for four more years."

Cooperative residential members will notice rate reductions for their October usage that is billed in November, and business accounts will see a change on their December billing statement.

Northern region members are scheduled for a rate change Jan. 1, 2003, barring any unforeseen expenses such as a major storm.

Corn Belt Energy is a 26,000-member cooperative, which has provided electricity for over 60 years. The cooperative also supplies natural gas and propane to specific service areas.

Miller spoke to the City Council Tuesday evening, reminding them again that unless they move quickly to approve the increase, they will not be eligible to get funding for the project in January.

The upgrade is necessary, officials say, because the existing plant has reached capacity, and violations would mean the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency could refuse to approve any new sewer hookups, thus stopping growth in the city.

To emphasize how much the upgrade is needed, Grant Eaton, sewer plant manager, said the plant had its first ammonia violation last week.

"If we had a new plant, I would have been able to handle that extra load (of ammonia)," he said. "Now we have a violation on the books, and we are on a tightrope to make sure we don’t violate again."

However, he said, the IEPA said the Lincoln plant "responded well" to the ammonia overload.

The rate increase is the same as the one presented to the council in September except that is in two tiers, Miller said. The interim increase would go into effect in January of 2002, and the "worst case scenario" final increase would become effective 18 months later.

This would allow users a little more time to prepare for the rate increases, he said, and if the city did get additional funding, might lower the worst-case projected increases.

The "worst case scenario" means that the city has no other sources of funding and must foot the entire $9.8 million bill for the sewer upgrade. However, Eaton said he is still trying to get a $400,000 state grant and he is also hoping for funding help through an Illinois FIRST grant. He urged council members and citizens to contact state officials to push for an Illinois FIRST grant.

Under the two-step plan, rates for Lincoln residents would be raised from $11 monthly to $14 monthly for the first step and then to $16.39 monthly under the worst-case scenario 18 months later.

Residential rates for those living outside the city limits would go from $12 to $17.52 a month, then up to $22.31.

Rates for commercial, industrial and institutional users would also rise, under a complicated formula which lowers the fixed monthly charge but increases fees for actual use.

For example, fixed rates for commercial users inside the city limits would drop from $5.45 to a final or a worst-case $2.22 per month, but the volume charge would increase from $0.86 per 100 cubic feet to a final $1.55 per cubic foot. Surcharges would also go up, from $.13 per pound for BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) to a final $.51 per pound, and the present $.12 per pound TSS (total suspended solids) to a final $.30 per pound. Commercial users outside the city limits would pay even higher rates.

According to a chart presented to the council in September which gave examples of increases in the various categories, fees for Logan Correctional Center, an institutional user, would rise from $11,550.37 per month to a final $26,772.74. Fees for Eaton Corporation/Cutler Hammer, an industrial user, would rise from $3,060.25 to $6,955.09 monthly, and fees for McDonald’s, a commercial user, would go from $123.90 to $216.21 per month.

The substantial fee increases are necessary, Alderman Bill Melton pointed out, because the city didn’t raise rates regularly as time went along.

Eaton said there was a slight increase in rates four years ago because of the west-side sewer project, but before that there had been no raise for about 12 years.

The rate increase ordinance will be on the agenda at the next regular council meeting on Oct. 15.

The council also decided not to pursue any plan to purchase the Illinois American Water Company, which is being sold to a German firm.

Bill Bates, the city attorney, said a 1970 agreement gives the city the right of first refusal in case the company is sold. However, Illinois American has informed the city they believe the city waived that right back in the early ’70s when Commonwealth Edison sold the company.

Bates said that to try to pursue the city’s right to buy the company, he would have to lodge a complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission and attend hearings in Springfield, which would be an extra cost to the city. Alderman Michael Montcalm said that regardless of the amount it would cost to find out if the city does have a right to purchase the water franchise, the city doesn’t have the money to buy it.

The consensus of the council was not to pursue the matter any further.

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