After the swearing in of
 seven aldermen by Associate Judge Thomas
Funk, the group sat down to take care of the business at hand.
City says no to Illinois American shut-off contract
Alderman Buzz Busby made the motion to approve a shut-off
contract with Illinois American Water to be used as a means of
controlling and collecting delinquent sewer bills. The motion was
seconded by Alderwoman Marty Neitzel.
When the floor was opened for discussion, Neitzel immediately
asked city attorney Bill Bates if he considered the contract with
the water company up to snuff. Bates emphatically said that he did
not and could not recommend that the city move forward.
Neitzel withdrew her second, but it was soon replaced with a
second from Alderman David Wilmert. Wilmert said he seconded the
motion because he felt the topic needed to be discussed and voted on
rather than dying on the floor.
The problem with the contract is in the placement of burden of
liability. Bates explained that as the contract is written now, all
liability falls on the city. He, Busby and Mayor Keith Snyder had
approached the water company, asking them to rewrite the clause that
pertains to this, but the rewrite yielded no better results.
Bates was asked to explain what the consequences could be for the
city. He said that if the city orders a water shut-off and the
resident decides to sue, he or she would sue both the city and
Illinois American. With the contract as written, the city would be
responsible for paying the cost of defense for both entities.
He also noted what he called an "extreme case." If an accident
occurred, such as an improperly parked vehicle rolling over a child,
resulting in injury or death, the city would pay the defense and be
held liable for the settlement. He reiterated, though, that this was
an extreme scenario.
Currently the city insurance is very limited in what it covers
under the category of contractual liability.
Bates said he was looking into whether or not there was a special
coverage that could be purchased for contractual liability, but he
had received no answers from insurance providers.
In using this type of service, the big issue for the city is the
fact that tenants may be occupying these homes, and they have no
control over the delinquent sewer bills that are supposed to be paid
for by the landlord.
It was explained that the water company would have a list of the
occupants, and there would be some consideration given to the
occupants’ account status with Illinois American. If the occupant is
current in their water bill, then the city might choose not to use
this measure to collect the bills.
Busby said that right now, the only other option to shut-off
would be to dig up the sewer.
Alderman Tom O’Donohue asked who would make the decisions about
the shut-offs. The answer is the city, but he wanted something more
specific. He wondered if the responsibility for the decision would
be put on one person, and he felt it should be a decision of the
council.
Neitzel said she knew Busby wasn’t in favor of using collection
agencies, because of the percentage they take of the collected
amount, but she was still leaning toward that type of measure.
It was also discussed that there could and perhaps should be more
than one means of collection. Bates commented that just because the
city enters into an agreement with Illinois American, it doesn’t
mean they have to use it.
The contract with the water company would be an extra tool the
city would have at their disposal and could be used in the worst
cases.
Alderman Joni Tibbs confirmed that then the city could choose to
do collections also, and Snyder confirmed this, adding that the
shut-off and collections would give the city three options for
collecting these debts.
Tibbs also asked when the water would be turned back on -- when
the payment was made in full or at a point when a payment agreement
was reached? Bates said that as it stood now, water would remain off
until the bill was paid in full.
In discussions on this topic several months ago, it was stated
that once water is shut off, a home will be condemned by the health
department.
Monday evening it was noted that the Logan County Department of
Public Health had notified the city that this was not under their
jurisdiction, and they could not be the one to force occupants to
vacate.
Discussion on this resulted in the conclusion that condemning and
vacating of a residence would be the burden of the building and
safety office. John Lebegue would have to post a notice, then order
the occupants to vacate. If they didn’t, then it would become a
court proceeding. Lebegue said the enforcement of this fell under
the Illinois Plumbing Code.
When the motion came to a vote, it failed with a count of 6-4.
Those who voted against the agreement were Stacy Bacon, Kathy Horn,
Joni Tibbs, Marty Neitzel, Tom O’Donohue and Jeff Hoinacki.
City discusses hiring collection agencies for delinquent sewer
accounts
Denise Martinek, city clerk, said she has contacted three
collection agencies that could take on the delinquent sewer account.
Two of the three charge 30 percent of the amount collected, and the
other takes one-third of the amount collected.
The city has been using Midwest Credit Collections out of Decatur
for collection of old parking tickets. Martinek said they have been
effective in collecting some of the oldest amounts on the books, but
she didn’t have specific figures on their success rate.
Bates explained the process used by collection agencies, saying
they begin with personal contact with the customer, and if that
doesn’t yield payment, they move on to legal processes, generally
filing suits in small-claims court.
He explained the city would more than likely have to front the
money for the filing fees but would also be able to recover those
costs if the suit was won.
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Chuck Conzo, city treasurer, suggested that the city work with
multiple collection agencies. He said this is a very competitive
business, and it could be to the city’s advantage financially to
have more than one.
In the end, no vote could be taken on this matter as there was no
official motion on the agenda, only discussion.
The topic will be researched further, and a motion may appear on
the next voting agenda.
City will survey land
The council decided by unanimous vote to hire a professional
surveyor to identify the legal boundaries of property owned by the
city and located on South Kickapoo across the street from the waste
treatment plant.
Mayor appoints department heads
At the beginning of each fiscal year, the mayor is responsible
for making recommendations for city department heads. This year
Snyder made the recommendations with no changes. By and large the
council approved all the department head appointments by unanimous
vote with the exception of Tracy Jackson, street and alley
superintendent.
After the recommendation from Snyder, a motion for Jackson was
made and seconded with no discussion following. When it came to
vote, three aldermen voted "no" to the appointment: Wilmert, Bacon
and Hoinacki.
In addition to the mayor’s appointment of department heads,
police Chief Ken Greenslate appointed Michael Geriets as his deputy
chief. That appointment also was approved by unanimous vote.
Oaths of office were administered by Bates to John Lebegue,
building and safety officer; Ken Greenslate, police chief; Mark
Miller, fire chief; Tracy Jackson, street and alley superintendent;
and Michael Geriets, deputy police chief.
No changes in committees
At the beginning of the new fiscal year, the mayor is also
responsible for making appointments to the various committees
aldermen are to serve on. Snyder said he is leaving everything as it
is for now.
Snyder is interested in revamping the committee structure and
bringing it more up to date with what the committees actually do. He
said he’d like to work on that in the future, and once everyone
agrees on a new structure, new appointments will be made then.
A big round of thank-yous
At the end of the evening, Anderson said she wanted to express
her appreciation for the flower basket she received upon the passing
of the budget last week.
She said she had been so surprised by the act, she didn’t feel
she’d expressed her appreciation properly.
She also noted that the effort of putting together a working
budget involved several people, not just herself. She noted
tremendous help from Conzo, saying he was "following in the steps of
his predecessor." She acknowledged all the department heads and
noted that the work of Susan Gehlbach and the city clerk’s office
had been invaluable in the process.
Conzo also spoke up, saying that he was very appreciative of Les
Plotner, the previous city treasurer, who had made himself available
to Conzo, not just for the budget-building process, but on other
occasions as well in Conzo’s first year of office.
Words of appreciation continued as Snyder acknowledged the work
done by Tibbs and police Chief Ken Greenslate in getting the
downstairs hallway of City Hall painted, and Tibbs expanded on that,
saying Snyder had helped as well, and his efforts were also
appreciated.
Quinn delivers another blow to municipalities
While nothing has been passed on a state level yet, legislators
are being asked to consider taking away the share of income tax
generally distributed to municipalities.
Snyder said that if this were to pass, it would cut revenues for
Lincoln by approximately $1.2 million per year. These are funds that
go into the city’s general operating fund, which is the area the
city struggles with each year as it is.
Snyder said such a cut would have to result in reductions in
manpower as well as services and would have a dire effect on the
city and its residents.
Conzo explained that the amount given to all municipalities is
only one-tenth of the total collection. He noted that the state
income tax reimbursement is the one payment that is always late in
being made by the state. He said they are habitually three, four and
five months late on making the payment.
He also said that to the state it was a small amount that they
would be able to squander away in a matter of a few weeks.
Snyder is going to construct a letter of protest to this measure.
All aldermen will sign the letter and it will be sent to state
legislators.
[By NILA SMITH]
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