DeKalb Times

Hinckley Village Board met Monday, Dec. 19.

The Village Board is made up of the Village President and Board of Trustees. There are 6 elected Trustees. Each Trustee is elected to a 4-year term with three trustees elected every other odd numbered year.

Here are the minutes as provided by Hinckley:

VILLAGE OF HINCKLEY REGULAR BOARD MEETING - MINUTES December 19, 2016

CALL BOARD MEETING TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order by President Roderick at 7:05 PM. Present: President Jim Roderick, Trustees Joe Diedrich, Jeff Nier and Dale Clark. Quorum Established. Absent: Trustees Nancy Nelson, Mark Wrzeciona and Mike Constant. Also Present: Village Clerk Elizabeth Losiniecki, Attorney Kirsten Casas, Office Manager Cheryl Weiler, Police Chief Kim Everhart and Members of the Public. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The pledge to the flag was recited.

Comments from Persons Present: Resident Larry Menz stated that at the October 3, 2016 Regular Board Meeting, Trustee Constant had requested from Treasurer Thon a year to date revenue and expense report and that Trustee Nelson had requested a year to date general ledger report. He inquired as to whether or not the Trustees had received the report and the indication was that it had not been received.

Mr. Menz also stated that at the last Regular Board Meeting the Trustees had entered into Executive Session to discuss the Village Clerk’s pay and that the Board had returned from Executive Session indicating that there was no decision. He questioned why the Board now had on the agenda the approval of hiring the office assistant to a full time position when the issue of the Village Clerk had not yet been resolved. He stated that he felt that the personnel issues needed to be addressed.

He also stated that he had FOIA’d the monthly Treasurer reports and that October and November were not available because they had not yet been presented to the Board. Mr. Menz asked, “Where are the reports?” He continued to explain that of the copies he had received, many were marked “corrected” and he wanted to know if the Trustees also receive the “corrected” reports and suggested that the Trustees were not really getting an accurate view month to month of the finances when the reports are continually being “corrected”. Mr. Menz stated that he felt that the Board needs to look at timesheets and time cards to determine what office help is needed.

Mr. Menz went on to discuss the inconsistency of the enforcement of the employee spending policy specifically as it relates to police department expenditures. He concluded by stating that the Trustees had been told that there was money in the escrow account for Royal Estates but that there was actually a negative balance.

CONSENT AGENDA

# Item Description Action Details

1 Previous Meeting Minutes Vote December 5, 2016 Regular Board Meeting

2 Payment of Bills Vote Invoices Due

Trustee Clark moved to approve the consent agenda and Trustee Diedrich seconded. Roll Call Vote: Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye. Motion carried.

Treasurer

Agenda item for approval: FY 2016 Tax Levy President Roderick stated that Treasurer Thon was not present. Trustee Clark moved to approve the FY 2016 Tax Levy and Trustee Nier seconded. Roll Call Vote: Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye. Motion carried. President Roderick stated that Treasurer Thon would print out the proper paperwork for Cheryl Weiler to file with the County.

Attorney Attorney Casas stated that she had no report but wanted to be sure that the Trustees had received the Royal Estates development agreement that she sent via email. Trustees confirmed receipt of the email. She also reminded all present not to “reply to all” when receiving emails addressed to more than one Trustee. Village Clerk Losiniecki clarified that this direction does not just pertain to email from the Attorneys, but any email. To do such is in violation of the Open Meetings Act.

Engineer Not present.

Department Head Reports Agenda item for discussion/approval: 4yr Extended power train hydraulic warranty from Patten Cat for loader, not to exceed $1700.00. President Roderick indicated that Joe Moore was having trouble with the plow that needs to be taken care of tomorrow. There was a brief discussion of the extended warranty for the loader and Trustee Nier asked how many hours were on it now. President Roderick stated that he did not know. Trustee Nier asked for clarification that the 2000 hours were additional and President Roderick stated it was. Trustee Clark clarified that the warranty was for 2000 hours or 4 years, whichever comes first. Trustee Clark moved to approve the extended warranty for the loader, not to exceed $1700.00 and Trustee Nier seconded. Roll Call Vote: Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye. Motion carried.

Police Chief Everhart led a discussion regarding the repair estimate for the driver’s side air bag on the 2007 police car. She indicated that the State requires that all pursuit vehicles have working air bags. She estimated that it would cost at least $2500.00 to repair. There was a brief discussion regarding what the options were for a new vehicle. Trustee Clark moved to approve the air bag repair, not to exceed $2500.00 and Trustee Nier seconded. Roll Call Vote: Diedrich-Nay, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye. Motion carried.

Office Manager, Cheryl Weiler, reported that $12,000.00 in utility bills had been recovered from bank owned properties. She also stated that only one election packet had been turned in and it was for Village Trustee. Trustee Clark stated that people can still do a “write in”.

Committee Reports Public Safety None. Public Works None. Trustee Nier stated that the Public Works department was working hard on snow removal. President Roderick stated that, in an effort to save salt, intersections were being salted but roadways were receiving less. President Roderick also stated that the Board needs to address the cars that park on the street during heavy snowfall events. He indicated that there should be an ordinance and Chief Everhart agreed. Trustee Clark suggested expanding the existing ordinance rather than paying to have a new one written. President Roderick mentioned the “shoveling sidewalks” ordinance from 1992 and stated that it needed to be updated and re-worked due to unclear language. Trustee Nier suggested cleaning up the old ordinance as soon as possible. Chief Everhart agreed. Attorney Casas requested that copies of both ordinances be provided to her for review. Administration No report. PRESIDENT’S REPORT Agenda item for approval: Hiring Bonnie Hall to full time Office Clerk position. After a brief discussion regarding funding of the full time office clerk position, Trustee Diedrich asked if the Board was cutting off the other part time help in the office and Trustee Clark indicated that that was his understanding. Trustee Clark moved to approve the hiring of Bonnie Hall to full time office clerk and Trustee Diedrich seconded. Roll Call Vote: Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Nay, Clark-Aye. Motion carried.

President Roderick indicated that there is more training that Treasurer Thon needed to provide to Cheryl Weiler and Bonnie Hall and Trustee Clark indicated that the training needed to be phased out. Trustee Nier asked if a limit or timeframe should be put on the training. Trustee Clark stated that Cheryl Weiler should report to the Board on the progress of the training.

President Roderick asked Village Clerk Losiniecki if she would be willing to continue to provide the IT support the Village at the rate of $20.00 per hour, for four hours on Wednesday afternoons to continue her work with Daniel Roop. Village Clerk Losiniecki provided a handout to the Trustees and indicated that, based on the Board’s decision regarding the disposition of the Village Clerk, she was not willing to continue providing that support.

Open Discussion President Roderick indicated that he had had a conference call with the National EPA regarding the water test results and that the most recent test had come in at 2.7, which is well below the 5.0 required to be in compliance. He stated that the Village would still be monitored for water quality and that he would like to send a letter out to residents regarding the findings. Trustee Nier asked if there would be an Executive Session to discuss the litigation and President Roderick stated that it would most likely happen in January.

Trustee Nier stated that he would like the Planning Commission to begin reviewing the impact fees. After a brief discussion it was agreed that the Attorney would provide guidance regarding which fees could be changed. It was stated that the discussion would continue at the Committee of the Whole meeting on January 11, 2017.

ADJOURNMENT Motion: Trustee Clark moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:07 PM. Trustee Nier seconded the motion. Voice Vote: All members voted yes. Motion carried. The next Regular Meeting of the Village Board is scheduled for January 3, 2017.