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Clerical workers will receive raises of
3 percent the first year, 3 percent the second year and 3˝ percent
the third year, according to city attorney Bill Bates, who served as
chief negotiator for the city. The raise is applicable to both base
pay and longevity pay. Base pay for new clerical workers is between
$900 and $1,600 per month, depending on the worker’s qualifications.
Clerical workers will also accrue extra
vacation days after 30 years of service under the new contract.
Formerly vacation time went up after 20 years but was capped at 30
years.
Like other city workers, clerical
workers will be allowed to live within a 10-mile radius of the city.
The contract was also modified to bring
the clerical workers into conformity with the street department
rules on discipline for illegal drug and alcohol use. Under the new
"zero tolerance" clause, the first positive test for illegal drugs
brings immediate discharge.
The first positive test for alcohol or
non-listed drugs, such as prescription or over-the counter drugs,
requires the employee to enter a rehabilitation program, and the
second positive test for alcohol or unlisted drug misuse brings
discharge.
In other business, the city approved an
ordinance that will allow Lincoln Christian College to pay a lower
interest rate on a revenue bond it issued through the city in 2001.
Issuing the Economic Development Revenue Bonds through the city
allowed LCC to be exempt from federal taxes, though not from
Illinois taxes. The $5 million bond issue was used to build the new
athletic facility and make other improvements to the campus.
Reissuing the bonds will bring the
interest rate down from 5.99 percent to 5.19 percent during the
period from Nov. 1, 2002, to March 1, 2006, according to city
attorney Bill Bates. The sole bond holder, Central Illinois Bank,
agreed to the lower interest rate.
The council also voted to have the
city’s insurance consultant bid out all city insurance plans, with
the exception of health, dental and life insurance. Alderman Glenn
Shelton, chair of the insurance committee, said it had been several
years since the city looked at what other plans were available.
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The council also authorized that a
clause be added to contracts for equipment and labor for the upgrade
of the wastewater treatment plant, with an option to remove the
clause if contractors object to it.
The wording of the clause would leave
the city liable for payments to contractors in case the state did
not appropriate funds for the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency loan that is funding the sewer plant upgrade, Bates said. The
clause would say that the city’s ability to pay is contingent on
receiving the loan from the state.
He said he had talked to an IEPA staff
attorney, who told him the likelihood of nonpayment by the state is
"extremely remote." The attorney said the IEPA loan is not a line
item in the state budget but a revolving loan fund that has a large
pool of money. As money from previous loans is repaid, it goes into
the pool. Federal money makes up 80 percent of the pool, and only 20
percent is state money, according to the IEPA attorney.
However, Bates said, the clause in the
loan agreement, which says the money will be paid to the city
subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, cannot be taken
out, and he is still concerned about the city’s possible liability.
Sewer plant manager Grant Eaton said he
thought most contractors would object to the clause and it would
have to be removed. If the clause is removed from one contract, it
must be removed from all contracts, he said.
Work in the sewer plant upgrade,
necessary if the city is to add more industry or housing, is
expected to begin in mid-November.
The council
also approved authorizing Alderman Bill Melton, chair of the sewer
plant committee, to sign purchase orders for the sewer plant upgrade
when Mayor Beth Davis is not available.
[Joan Crabb]
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Compiled by city treasurer Les Plotner,
the fact sheet explains what the tax will cost and why it is needed.
Because of historically low interest rates and also lower sales tax
revenue, the city has no money to upgrade its infrastructure,
Plotner said. There is no money for street repair in the current
city budget, he pointed out, not because the council doesn’t see the
need but because funds are not available.
The projected annual income of $550,000
from the tax increase will be used only for improvements to city
streets and alleys, drains and sewer line extensions, and other
infrastructure.
See
fact sheet below.
[Joan Crabb] |
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• The voters of Lincoln
will have the opportunity to vote on the sales tax increase
referendum at the general election on TUESDAY, NOV. 5.
Your city council in Lincoln is asking you to approve an increase of
one-half of 1 percent on the Retailers’ Occupation Tax, which is
commonly known as the SALES TAX.
• People want to know how
such an increase in the sales tax would affect them. Perhaps the
following examples will give people an idea about how the sales tax
increase would directly affect them as individuals purchasing
various items:
Consumer pays $10 for a pair of gloves.
Increased tax cost, 5 cents.
Consumer pays $50 for two gallons of
paint.
Increased tax cost, 25 cents.
Consumer pays $100 for a new lamp.
Increased tax cost, 50 cents.
• The new sales tax WOULD
NOT be imposed on certain items. It would not be added to food
products people purchase for home consumption. Other items that are
exempt from the increased sales tax include prescription and
nonprescription medicines, drugs, medical appliances, insulin, urine
testing materials, syringes and needles used for diabetics. In
addition, the tax WOULD NOT be charged on the sale of motor
vehicles.
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• The burden of a sales
tax would be spread out over anyone who purchases items in Lincoln,
including out-of-town shoppers. Lincoln has one of the lowest sales
tax rates among the larger cities in the central Illinois area.
• Lincoln has a desperate
need to expand and improve our public infrastructure. We simply
don’t have the funds to complete projects or to maintain our current
infrastructure, nor do we have the funding for future growth
expansion.
• What does this word
"INFRASTRUCTURE" mean? Public infrastructure includes streets and
roads, bridges, access roads, sidewalks, sewer line extensions,
storm water drainage, and sewer treatment facilities.
•
Based upon current projections the city
of Lincoln should be able to realize about $550,000 each year in
increased revenues as a result of the sales tax increase. The
increased revenues must by law be used to update the city’s
infrastructure system.
[Compiled by Les Plotner, city
treasurer] |
