Thursday, February 16, 2012
 
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CITY BRIEFS:
Administrative fees, fire department vehicles and more

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[February 16, 2012]  Tuesday night eight aldermen were present for the committee of the whole workshop meeting of the Lincoln City Council. Alderwoman Joni Tibbs and Alderman David Armbrust were absent for the evening.

To the surprise of most of the council, Alderman Buzz Busby was present for the evening. Though he was wheelchair-bound and still recovering from surgery on a broken leg, Busby said he was happy to be with the council and is doing well.

For the last few years, Busby has suffered some form of health issue in February. He jokingly said, "If I can make it through a February, I've got it made!"

Police chief discusses charging administrative fees

Police Chief Ken Greenslate said that effective Jan. 1, new laws allow for all municipalities to collect administrative fees for costs related to arrests and vehicle towing.

He noted that any time an arrest is made, there is a great deal of paperwork involved in properly recording the arrest as well as in keeping proper records. He would like for the council to consider taking advantage of the new laws by passing ordinances to allow for the implementation of administrative fees.

Misc

City attorney Bill Bates asked who would be responsible for collecting the fees.

In the case of a towed vehicle, in Lincoln the vehicle goes to a tow company yard, and the driver must pay the tow company to retrieve the vehicle.

Greenslate said the violator would have to pay the police department the administrative fee. In turn the city would issue a receipt that would have to be shown to the towing company before the vehicle would be released.

Bates also wondered what happened if they didn't have the money to pay.

Greenslate said the real plan hadn't been worked out, but he had talked to the sheriff's department about how they handle this. If a person is in jail, the sheriff's office charges a booking fee. A prisoner has a financial record in the sheriff's department, and the sheriff keeps track of what is paid and what isn't. In long-term cases when friends or family members bring in cash for the prisoner's commissary use, the sheriff's office first takes that money against what is owed.

Greenslate asked if he should continue researching this and was answered by several aldermen at the same time: "Yes."

Moving on to parking violations, Greenslate said he is also looking at using towing or a boot for repeat offenders. In addition, a local business owner has suggested that the fines become more costly as repeat violations occur.

As Greenslate was speaking about this, Bates said that hopefully, something will be coming from the Illinois comptroller's office that would also help. The comptroller is looking at collecting debts for municipalities for things such as parking tickets and even sewer bills.

Bates said any check to an individual from the state of Illinois, be it a tax refund or some type of direct payment, would be eligible to have municipal fees deducted from it and paid directly to the city. Bates said if this goes through, the city of Lincoln could be able to benefit from it.

Fire department needs vehicles

Fire Chief Mark Miller asked for permission to go out for bid on a used SUV to replace the chief's ailing car.

He said he was looking at an SUV because it could be used for towing, while a car couldn't. In the specifications that he wants, he said he was going along the same lines as Greenslate did on the used vehicle the police department had bought. He did say, though, hat he was OK with a higher mileage limitation for the fire department vehicle, as it isn't driven as much as the police department vehicles are.

At the moment there is zero money in the budget for this type of purchase. Miller suggested the money could come from the general obligation bond.

In regard to the car, he was given permission to accept bids, but Alderwoman Melody Anderson stated that didn't mean the city would be buying anything right now.

Miller also spoke about one of the department's apparatus vehicles, a fire truck that is over 20 years old and literally falling apart. He said that in the last couple of years, the city has invested approximately $40,000 in repairing the vehicle, including a $16,000 pump, suspension repairs and a water tank.

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Miller said he would not ask for a custom vehicle like the last apparatus purchased, but he would contact sellers with a "what have you got; I've got to have something" approach.

Miller also said the vehicle the city owns now is in such bad shape it will have no trade-in value, but it can be sold as salvage.

In looking at paying for a new apparatus, he said if the city wants to finance the purchase, right now interest rates are running from 3.3 percent to 3.9; or once again, it could be money taken from the general obligation bond. Miller also said financing could be written on five-, seven-, 10- or 15-year notes.

Monsanto pays enterprise zone bill

Treasurer Chuck Conzo said the city has received a $20,000 check from Monsanto as part of the company's agreement to be allowed in the Lincoln-Logan Enterprise Zone.

The payment is for a bill that was issued to Monsanto in April of 2011 but somehow misplaced. Conzo said Gehlbach had realized the payment had not been received and contacted the company, which in turn promptly paid.

This brings the total of enterprise zone money collected recently to $35,000. The city recently received a check for $15,000 from the Rail Splitter Wind Farm, a payment of fees from the past three years. The wind farm had agreed to pay the city $5,000 per year. They made their first payment, but then due to an oversight on their part, made no more payments.

Snyder said he would like to consider using about one-third of the Rail Splitter money, or less, to give the city website a new look. He said the current website is kind of tired-looking and in need of improvement. He has talked to a consultant who can do the job for $5,000 or less.

Budget committee dates set

Anderson asked all the aldermen to set aside two Saturdays, March 10 and 24, for committee of the whole budget meetings. The meetings will begin at 8 a.m., with hopes of wrapping up by noon each day.

She told department heads that work has been under way trying to project the city's income for the next fiscal year, and she is seeing no increases in revenues.

She reminded the departments they have costs that will automatically go up, so to keep their budgets balanced, they will have to find cuts elsewhere to compensate.

She also commended the department heads for a good year as they have followed their budgets closely.

Finally she noted her appreciation for the cooperation between the police department and the city clerk's office. In recent weeks, the police department has lent Brenda McCabe back to the clerk's office to help work through the changes in that office. McCabe, who worked most of her career with the city in the clerk's office, has been assisting in the afternoons.

Greenslate also noted that other departments had come through for his department by finding means to share fuel money. He said this had helped him keep squad cars on the road recently.

Meeting adjourns

With all business completed, Busby made the motion for the meeting to adjourn and all signaled their favor with "Aye."

Next week's voting session will be on Tuesday due to the Presidents Day holiday on Monday.

[By NILA SMITH]

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