 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.
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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