Friday, January 27, 2012
 
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CITY BRIEFS:
Sewer collections, old equipment and more

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[January 27, 2012]  Tuesday evening, after spending two hours hearing about and discussing electric aggregation, the 10 members of the Lincoln City Council sat down to address the matters of the city and build an agenda for the next voting session, which will be Feb. 6. 

HardwareAs Mayor Keith Snyder made his way around the room, asking aldermen if they had items to present, it began to appear that the meeting was going to go quickly, with little to discuss. 

That soon changed as first Alderman Buzz Busby, then Alderwoman Melody Anderson introduced some very serious issues for the city of Lincoln. 

A work-out on delinquent sewer bills?  We don't think so. 

To date, the city has sent out 20 letters to delinquent sewer accounts, advising their water would be shut off soon for lack of payment. In the first mailing of 10, the dollars represented came to $28,900, and in the second mailing the total was $14,641.00. 

Busby told the council the city clerk's office is now getting several calls from folks who have received their water shut-off notices, wanting to work out a payment plan on their delinquent sewer bills. 

He cited as an example, one person had called wanting to pay a payment of $50 per month on the overdue amount. Busby said this one person had a total obligation to the city of over $5,000. He said at that rate it would take four years for the debt to be paid. 

He said he wanted the council's opinion on the issue. 

The first to speak was Alderman David Wilmert, who said these people should secure a loan and pay their bill. Alderwoman Joni Tibbs agreed, saying it wasn't up to the city to help them. 

However, Anderson countered that many of the people who owe the money to the city would not be able to get a loan. She said a short-term payment plan of perhaps one year might be OK, but not a term of four to five years. 

Wilmert agreed with the thought of a short-term program but then wondered if the city could help by knocking off some of the fees that had been added due to the delinquency. 

City attorney Bill Bates said these people had had plenty of opportunities under city code to create an installment plan any time they wanted to before they were sent the shut-off notices. 

In the midst of this, Snyder brought up an additional issue. He said that in October or November last year, a customer had contacted the clerk's office and had established a payment plan for the delinquent account. Snyder said the payment had been made in November but not December, but then a double payment was to be made in January. 

The clerk's office has also received a few letters, one stating the customer had been unable to make payments because of a loss of work and a health condition. The letter stated the customer was soon starting a new job and would be able to make monthly payments of $100 in the future. A second customer wrote stating he or she would be able to make payments of $150 per month. 

Alderman David Armbrust asked about the fees that are added monthly to the past-due bills, and Susan Gehlbach, city clerk, said those had to be added according to city ordinance. The fee is $25 per month. 

Tom O'Donohue said these customers have known they were behind, and they've had opportunity to come in and make arrangements and didn't. Now he is hesitant to give any more to these people. He added that giving in to this would take away from the strength of the program, and he didn't want to see that happen. 

Alderwoman Stacy Bacon said she agreed completely. 

Busby also noted the clerk's office is very short-staffed right now, and dealing with payment plans would be time-consuming and taxing on that office. 

The group appeared to agree to what they called a "tough love" approach. In other words, customers have lost their chance to work out a payment plan, and now they have to pay up. 

Snyder asked what to do about the person who said they had made an agreement in November. Bates said he felt the city was obligated to honor that, but at the same time, they broke their agreement when they missed their December payment. 

Snyder said in this particular case, he felt a new written agreement stating they would pay the $100 and pay their current bill as well would be the best idea. 

Anderson asked if people would come in before they received their shut-off notice, were they entitled to a payment agreement?

Bates said the city clerk has always had the ability to establish a payment plan. At the same time, it was noted that the office needs to have some parameters set, and the council needed to be the ones to decide how the clerk should respond to such requests. 

The question was then posed about people who are not really late: Could they establish a pay plan?

Gehlbach said yes, they could. The city has always taken monthly payments on current bills, plus they have a discount plan for those who want to make an annual payment in advance. 

Getting back to the delinquent accounts, O"Donohue restated he was opposed to making any kind of agreement with anyone who has already gotten their shut-off notices. Busby added to this, saying he felt the council should just say no payments at all on delinquent accounts. 

Armbrust wondered if perhaps the city might be shooting itself in the foot with this plan.  He commented on smaller bills of $500 or so, where something might be better than nothing. 

Bates also offered that the city can take a payment without canceling the shut-off order. 

In the end, Busby asked that the motion be part of the consent agenda and that it would state the city will not accept payment plans on delinquent sewer accounts. 

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Fire and police departments have serious money issues 

Anderson told the council the fire department and police department have some serious money issues. 

In the fire department, the older equipment they are using is requiring more repair than the city can afford. Right now the department is over budget on repairs, and if anything else goes wrong, she sees nothing that can be done except park the broken vehicle. 

Anderson said it wasn't the fire department's fault that the budget was busted. They are working with equipment that is older, and as it continues to age, it falls apart. 

On the police side, gas prices are hitting that line in their budget, and once again, there is a question of what to do. The city has no money to add to the budget, so the next solution is park a squad car, thus reducing patrols in the city. 

Chief Ken Greenslate said he had communicated the issues to his officers, and they have established a temporary solution. However, Wilmert also said it was in the best interest for the safety of the city that the plans initiated not be discussed in the media. 

O'Donohue asked for an ordinance authorizing the purchase of property 

The city is ready to authorize the purchase of a strip of property along South Sangamon for the expansion of parking spaces in the vicinity of the Blue Dog Inn. 

The decision comes from a request from the owner of the Blue Dog for help in the parking situation near his place of business. He indicated to Snyder he wanted to expand his business, but the lack of parking was an issue. 

In discussing this over the last several weeks, the council has determined that expanding parking in that area would benefit several businesses along that block. Therefore, they have negotiated with the owners of the property, Neal Tire out of Toledo, Ill., for the purchase of a strip of land along the east side of the street. 

With the purchase complete, that block of Sangamon will be converted from parallel parking to diagonal parking and will nearly double the number of parking spaces in the area. 

Chuck Conzo, city treasurer, said in discussing this Tuesday night that the city could use funds from an Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity revolving loan program to finance the work, but in doing so, the owner of the Blue Dog would have to submit financial information to DCEO, even though the city would be using the money. 

Snyder asked if instead of the revolving loan, money from the general obligation bond could be used, and Bates also mentioned the money could come from the infrastructure sales tax. It was agreed the latter would be the best method of paying for the project. 

1020 Broadway technically is now acceptable 

In December, Pat Moos, a resident in the 1000 block of Broadway, came to the council, seeking help with a run-down property next door to his home. He said he and neighbors had tried to remedy the situation with the homeowner, who has left the home abandoned and in disrepair for years, but they have had no luck. He asked the council if something could be done, and it was agreed that John Lebegue, city building and safety officer, would increase his attention on this property. 

Lebegue at the time said he was well aware of the property and the problems with it, but unfortunately it is like at least a dozen other properties in the city, and there is little money to force property owners to demolish such buildings. 

On Tuesday night, Lebegue handed out a memo regarding the property and advised the council they should expect to be hearing from Moos again. He said the building is far from being something he wants in the city of Lincoln, but technically it meets with safety codes and there is little that can be done.

He did comment he had notified the property owner, Michael Drake, and ordered repairs to the front porch. He said he cited to Drake that should a fire occur in the building, firefighters would not be able to safely enter by way of the porch; therefore, it had to be repaired. 

Lebegue also told the council the codes are not tough enough on these issues, and he is working to make them stricter so that more may be done about properties such as this one. 

No meeting next week 

Due to January being a month with five Mondays, there will be no meeting of the Lincoln City Council next week. The council will meet again on Feb. 6 for their first voting session of that month. 

[By NILA SMITH]

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