City of Lake Forest City Council met July 20.
Here is the agenda provided by the council:
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Immediately following the Finance Committee meeting
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS
1. COMMENTS BY MAYOR
A. Lake Forest Day Proclamation
A copy of the proclamation can be found on page 17
COUNCIL ACTION: Approve Lake Forest Day Proclamation
B. American Legion Lake Forest Day Update
- Dave Lipinski, McKinlock Post 264 Commander
- Ed Geraghty, Lake Forest Day Chairman
C. COVID 19 Financial Impact Update
- Elizabeth Holleb, Finance Director
2. COMMENTS BY CITY MANAGER
A. Fire Fleet Apparatus Update
-Pete Siebert, Fire Chief
3. OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL.
Members of the public can provide public comment by calling into the following number during the meeting: 847-810-3643
4. COMMITTEE REPORTS
FINANCE COMMITTEE
1. GFOA Award Presentation - Alderman Morris
The City recently received notification that it has once again been awarded the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its FY19 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment is a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
In a GFOA news release, it is noted that “The City’s CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive spirit of full disclosure to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.”
The City has received this prestigious award for the 41st consecutive year.
In addition to the Certificate of Achievement, an Award of Financial Reporting Achievement is presented by the GFOA to the individual designated as instrumental in their government unit’s achievement of the Certificate. I am pleased to present this award to Diane Hall, Assistant Finance Director. Diane serves as the primary liaison to the City’s independent audit firm, Baker Tilly. She coordinates the annual audit process and preparation of the City’s annual financial report.
GFOA is a major professional association servicing the needs of more than 20,000 appointed and elected local, state and provincial-led government officials in the United States and Canada. GFOA awarded the Certificate of Achievement to 4,354 governmental units for the fiscal year ended 2018. In Illinois, 353 organizations received the award – 5.1% of the total 6,963 units of Government in the state.
***PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CITY’S ANNUAL APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE***
OPEN PUBLIC HEARING
Mayor Pandaleon
CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING
2. Consideration of the Annual Appropriation Ordinance for FY2021 and Approval of Rollovers (Final Reading- Public Hearing Required)
PRESENTED BY: Elizabeth Holleb, Finance Director (847) 810-3612
PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: Staff requests conducting a public hearing and approving the final reading of the ordinance and rollovers.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: While the annual municipal budget represents the City’s financial “plan” for expenditures over the course of the fiscal year, the annual Appropriation Ordinance is the formal legal mechanism by which the City Council authorizes the actual expenditures of funds budgeted in the annual budget. It appropriates specific sums of money by object and purpose of expenditures. State statutes require the passage of an Appropriation Ordinance by the end of July, which must be filed with the County Clerk within 30 days of approval.
There are some differences between the budget and Appropriation Ordinance. The Appropriation Ordinance includes the Library, which was not included in the budget approved at the May 4, 2020 City Council meeting. The Library expenses are approved by the Library Board. Debt service payments are included in the budget, but are excluded from the Appropriation Ordinance. The ordinances approving the debt issues serve as the legal authorization for these annual expenditures.
The Appropriation Ordinance provides for a 10% “contingency” above the budgeted expenditures. Each separate fund includes an item labeled “contingency” with an appropriate sum equivalent to 10% of the total funds budgeted. This practice has been followed for more than thirty years and has worked very efficiently, while still providing for complete City Council control over budgeted expenditures. It is important to note that the City Council and City staff follows the adopted budget as its spending guideline, not the Appropriation Ordinance. Without the contingency, the City Council would have to pass further modifications to the Appropriation Ordinance to cover any unforeseen expenditures exceeding the budget.
In order to provide more accurate and efficient accounting and budgeting of City funds, an annual rollover of funds is required. This eliminates both under and over budgeting of funds in the new fiscal year and is a widely used standard practice for many municipal governments. The items on the attached rollover list (page 18) consist of projects that were appropriated in FY2020 and will not be completed until FY2021.
School District 67 does not recognize the Appropriation Ordinance in their budgeting or auditing standards. However, due to the fact they are a special charter district, their budget must be included in the City’s Appropriation Ordinance. School District 67 numbers are estimates and subject to change.
PROJECT REVIEW/RECOMMENDATIONS:
| Reviewed | Date | Comments |
| City Council | 6/15/20 | First Reading of the appropriations ordinance and rollovers granted |
| City Council | 5/18/20 | Adoption of the FY21 Comprehensive Fiscal Plan. |
| City Council | 5/4/20 | Approval of the FY2021 Annual Bud |
COUNCIL ACTION: Conduct a public hearing on the City’s FY2021 Annual Appropriation Ordinance. Upon closing the public hearing, it is recommended that the City Council consider approval of the final reading of the Ordinance (page 21) and the rollovers. A copy of the ordinance is available for review by the public in the City Clerk’s office.
3. Approval of an additional $2 million transfer in FY2020 from the General Fund
PRESENTED BY: Elizabeth Holleb, Finance Director (847-810-3612)
PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: Staff requests City Council approval of an additional transfer of $2 million from the General Fund due to an operating surplus for Fiscal Year 2020 higher than projected. Due to the City Council’s desire to hold the fund balance of the General Fund at the FY18 level, approval to transfer this additional money would need to be completed as of 4/30/20. Direction from the City Council is requested as to the use of the additional funds.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: The General Fund is used to account for the majority of personnel and operating costs of the City. The City strives to transfer operating budget surpluses in the General Fund to the Capital Improvement Fund to supplement the City’s Five- Year Capital Improvement Program or to other funds to support one-time funding needs. In recent years, the City Council has elected to increase General Fund reserves in order to insulate the City against potential budget impacts of the State’s fiscal crisis. With General
Fund reserves now well above the City’s minimum threshold (35% of revenue plus accrued vacation/sick liability), the City Council has taken action to incorporate the following provision in its City Council Fiscal Policy:
Unassigned fund balances should be equal to no less than 35% of non-pass through operating revenues for the General Fund plus accrued sick and vacation leave. In recent years, the City Council has intentionally accumulated excess General Fund balance reserves to mitigate potential impacts of the State of Illinois fiscal crisis (ie. loss of State-shared revenue or imposition of property tax limitations). Recognizing that General Fund reserves as of 4/30/18 are sufficient to address State impacts, the FY19 operating surplus of the General Fund was transferred to the Capital Improvement Fund. Until further revision to the City Council Fiscal Policy is approved, the City may allocate future General Fund operating surpluses at fiscal year-end to one-time funding needs as determined annually by the City Council.
As of June 30, the Finance Department has completed entries to close out the 2020 fiscal year and prepare for the independent financial audit that began on July 6. Based on these pre-audit numbers, we project the FY2020 operating surplus of the General Fund to be $5.2 million, compared to an April 2020 estimate of $3.6 million. This allows for an additional transfer of $2 million in FY20, as follows:
| FY20 Budget | FY20 Projected | FY20 Actual (prelim) | |
| Revenue | $36,614,274 | 37,182,339 | 37,741,507 |
| Expenses | 34,326,516 | 33,535,702 | 32,575,865 |
| Gen Fund Transfer | 1,500,000 | 2,000,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Hold for COVID 19 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | |
| Net | 787,758 | 646,637 | 2,165,642 |
• Transfer funds to the Capital Improvements Fund for additional capital initiatives. Discussion regarding the allocation of these funds to specific purposes or projects would occur at a later date.
• Transfer funds to the public safety pension funds to offset FY20 investment performance that fell below actuarial targets (6.75%). A comparison of budget and actual revenues for the police and fire pension funds in FY20 follows:
Why did the City end up having this additional money?
The original FY20 General Fund budget projected a $2.3 million surplus with $1.5 million of that to be transferred to the capital fund. In April 2020, the Finance Department was projecting an operating surplus of $3.6 million. The current projection is a $5.2 million surplus for FY20. Finance Director Holleb will provide a presentation on July 20 demonstrating the primary reasons for the actual surplus exceeding the budget projections, but most of the difference is due to one-time revenues and expense savings.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT: This action would result in $2 million in one-time General Fund revenue and FY20 expense savings to be transferred to other one-time purposes, as directed by the City Council.
| FY2020 Funding Source | Amount Budgeted | Amount Requested | Budgeted? Y/N |
| General Fund | n/a | $2,000,000 | N |
COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of an additional $2 million transfer in FY2020 from the General Fund. The City Council is asked to provide direction on how the additional transfer should be allocated.
5. ITEMS FOR OMNIBUS VOTE CONSIDERATION
1. Approve the Extension of the Mayor’s Declaration of a Local State of Emergency until the next City Council Meeting
STAFF CONTACT, Jason Wicha, City Manager
PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: It is requested that the City Council extend the Declaration to the next City Council meeting.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: Over the past month, the U.S. Government and the State of Illinois have issued multiple orders declaring a state of emergency over the country and the State of Illinois in order to address the impact from the global pandemic from COVID-19. In order to address the impact this pandemic has had on the City of Lake Forest, Mayor Pandaleon exercised his authority to issue a Declaration of a Local State of Emergency on Saturday, April 4, 2020. At the April 6, 2020 City Council meeting, the City Council extended the Declaration to the next City Council meeting which was June 15, 2020.
In order to ensure that the emergency powers authorized by the local declaration remain in effect where necessary, the Mayor is asking the City Council to further extend the Declaration of a Local State of Emergency until the next City Council meeting that takes place after the July 20, 2020.
REVIEW/RECOMMENDATIONS:
| Reviewed | Date | Comments |
| City Council | 6/15/2020 | City Council Approved the Mayors Declaration until the next City Council Meeting |
| City Council | 6/1/2020 | City Council Approved the Mayors Declaration until the next City Council Meeting |
| City Council | 5/18/2020 | City Council Approved the Mayors Declaration until the next City Council Meeting |
| City Council | 5/4/2020 | City Council Approved the Mayors Declaration until the next City Council Meeting |
| City Council | 4/20/2020 | City Council Approved the Mayors Declaration until the next City Council Meeting |
| City Council | 4/6/2020 | City Council Approved the Mayors Declaration until the next City Council Meeting |
| 4/4/2020 | Mayor Pandaleon exercised his authority to issue a Declaration of a Local State of Emergency |
COUNCIL ACTION: Approve the extension of the Mayor’s Declaration of a Local State of
Emergency until the next City Council Meeting
2. Approval of the June 15, 2020 City Council Meeting Minutes
A copy of the minutes can be found beginning on page 32
COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of the June 15, 2020 City Council Meeting Minutes.
3. Approval of the Check Register for the Period of May 23 to June 26, 2020
STAFF CONTACT: Elizabeth Holleb, Finance Director (847-810-3612)
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: City Code Section 38.02 sets forth payment procedures of the City. The Director of Finance is to prepare a monthly summary of all warrants to be drawn on the City treasury for the payment of all sums due from the City (including all warrants relating to payroll and invoice payments) by fund and shall prepare a detailed list of invoice payments which denotes the person to whom the warrant is payable. The warrant list detail of invoice payments shall be presented for review to the Chairperson of the City Council Finance Committee for review and recommendation. All items on the warrant list detail recommended for payment by the Finance Committee Chairperson shall be presented in summary form to the City Council for approval or ratification. Any member of the City Council shall, upon request to the City Manager or Director of Finance, receive a copy of the warrant list detail as recommended by the Finance Committee Chairperson. The City Council may approve the warrant list as so recommended by the Finance Committee Chairperson by a concurrence of the majority of the City Council as recorded through a roll call vote.
The Council action requested is to ratify the payments as summarized below. The associated payroll and invoice payments have been released during the check register period noted.
Following is the summary of warrants as recommended by the Finance Committee Chairperson:
The total identified as “All other Funds” includes $518,445 in medical and dental claim expenses associated with the City’s Self Insurance program.
COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of the Check Register for the Period of May 23 to June 26, 2020.
4. Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City and the Lake Forest Employee Association (LFEA)
STAFF CONTACT: DeSha Kalmar, Director of Human Resources (847-810-3530)
PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: Staff requests approval of the Lake Forest Employee Association (LFEA) collective bargaining agreement between the City and LFEA.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: The City recently reached tentative agreement with the LFEA, the local association representing the maintenance and Water Plant employees, regarding their collective bargaining agreement. The bargaining unit has ratified the contract, and it is now before the City Council for approval. The duration of the contract is three (3) years, from May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2024.
REVIEW/RECOMMENDATIONS:
| Reviewed | Date | Comments |
| Personnel Compensation Administration (PCA) Committee | 7/9/2020 | Reviewed electronically. Recommend City Council approval |
The group has once again adopted the City’s personnel policy as their guiding policies, and the employees have agreed to pay increases approved by the City Council for other fulltime, non-unionized employees of the City for all years of the Agreement and beyond this agreement. The top of the salary range for seasonal employees will also increase by 2.5% in FY2021 (or 40 cents). The 2.5% increase for fulltime employees was included in the FY2021 budget, and the departments can absorb the seasonal increase in their budgets due to vacancies and delayed hiring because of COVID-19.
For those employees on-call for emergency J.U.L.I.E. locates where the employee is able to accomplish the locate on a virtual basis, the employee will be compensated $25 for each emergency locate phone call that requires no in person response. This is an increase of $5 and will have nominal impact on the budget as there are typically only a modest number of these annually. Employees are not otherwise compensated for on-call time.
We added language in the contract to reflect actual practice for calculating both scheduled and unscheduled overtime. This is to insure that all sections are being consistent in this calculation.
Fulltime employees will be increasing their contributions into a Retiree Health Savings account from 1% to 1.5%. These are employee contributions and have no fiscal impact to the City.
COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City and the Lake Forest Employee Association (LFEA)
5. Authorization for the City Manager and City Clerk to execute a First Amendment to the Fiber Optic Facilities License Agreement between the City of Lake Forest and Abbott Laboratories
STAFF CONTACT: Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager (810-3680)
PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: City staff recommends approval of a First Amendment to an existing Fiber Optic Facilities License Agreement between the City and Abbott Laboratories to authorize the continued use and access of underground facilities located in and around Conway Park, Route 43 and Route 60 for the City’s fiber optic cable equipment.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: In 2008, the City entered into an approximate 15-year agreement with Abbott Laboratories to access and utilize an empty fiber optic duct located within Abbott’s underground facilities to allow for interconnection between the City’s fiber network and the Municipal Services building on Field Drive. While the existing Agreement is set to expire in 2022, the City is desirous of seeking an extension to allow for its continued use of these facilities.
The location of the ducts that are currently begin utilized by the City for interconnection are generally located within Conway Park, and along Route 43 and Waukegan Road. These interconnections allow the City to maintain redundant network service connectivity between the Municipal Services building and other City facilities.
The proposed amendment generally represents a continuation of the terms of the existing Agreement for a period of up to 10 additional years. The only additional modification worth noting is an amendment to the Alternative Dispute Resolution provision to ensure such procedure is non-binding.
A full copy of the First Amendment, and original executed Agreement, can be found on page 36.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT: Based on the terms of the Agreement with Abbott Laboratories, general installation and maintenance costs of the fiber ducts and underground facilities are the responsibility of Abbott Laboratories. However, in addition to costs of maintaining the actual fiber optic system, the City shall be responsible for any costs related to repairs or maintenance that is requested beyond Abbott’s general maintenance obligations.
COUNCIL ACTION: Authorization for the City Manager and City Clerk to execute a First Amendment to the Fiber Optic Facilities License Agreement between the City of Lake Forest and Abbott Laboratories
6. Approval of Revised Employment Agreement for City Manager Wicha
STAFF CONTACT: DeSha Kalmar, Director of Human Resources, 847-810-3530
PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: The Mayor and PCA Committee recommend approval of an updated Employment Agreement for City Manager Jason Wicha.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: The Employment Agreement entered into with City Manager Wicha in December 2018 contains language about relocation expenses and a housing allowance. Since Mr. Wicha has now purchased a home in Lake Forest, the references to relocation expenses are proposed to be removed from the agreement. The housing allowance is also proposed to be eliminated. Alternatively, the annual contribution to a deferred compensation plan is proposed to be increased from 3.0% to 8.75% of base salary, which is a similar amount to the housing allowance. Thus, the cost to the City will be the same in FY2021. Finally, his salary is proposed to be adjusted by 2.5%, which is the same as the general increase for City employees approved in the FY2021 budget.
PROJECT REVIEW/RECOMMENDATIONS:
| Reviewed | Date | Comments |
| PCA | 7/2020 | Reviewed electronically on an individual basis |
The elimination of the housing allowance and adjustment of the deferred compensation contribution is cost-neutral to the City. The salary adjustment is the same general increase approved by the City Council as part of the budget process.
Beginning on page 56 of your packet is a copy of the revised Employment Agreement. COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of Revised Employment Agreement for City Manager Wicha
7. Award the Thermoplastic Lane Marking contract to Superior Road Striping Inc. in the amount of $94,000.00
STAFF CONTACT: DAN MARTIN, SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WORKS (810-3561)
PURPOSE AND ACTON REQUESTED: Staff requests approval to award the contract for thermoplastic lane marking to Superior Road Striping.
PROJECT REVIEW/RECOMMENDATIONS:
| Milestone | Date | Comments |
| Public Works Committee | 7/8/2020 | Reviewed and Recommended Approval |
One of SPC’s annual joint purchasing initiatives is the thermoplastic lane marking bid for member agencies. The City has been participating in the thermoplastic lane marking for the
last 19 years. SPC’s lane marking specifications meet Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) standards. Bids and selection of the lowest responsible and responsive bidder are approved by IDOT.
The 2020 SPC/IDOT thermoplastic lane marking contract was awarded to Superior Road Striping Inc. of Melrose Park, Illinois. The table below shows the unit price cost of the contract that City Council approved in 2019. Due to COVID 19, the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative Governing Board has decided that it is in the best interest of our members to extend the SPC
2020 Thermoplastic Lane Marking Contract #158 to Superior Road Striping, Melrose Park, IL from April 12, 2020 through April 11, 2021, with no price increases.
Under this contract, Superior Road Striping agrees to all terms and conditions as set forth in the specifications contained within the contract and Superior Road Striping must comply with all IDOT rules and regulations.
| Description | UOM | 2019 Cost per Unit | 2020 Cost per Unit |
| 4” Line | LF | $0.52 | $0.52 |
| 6” Line | LF | $0.76 | $0.76 |
| 12” Line | LF | $1.52 | $1.52 |
| 24” Line | LF | $3.78 | $3.78 |
| Letters & Symbols | SF | $3.51 | $3.51 |
| Removal | SF | $0.41 | $0.41 |
This year, the City is requesting 134,584 linear feet of thermoplastic pavement marking to zone 2 (east of RT. 41) which includes 4”, 6”, 12”, and 24” wide lines, as well as various letters and symbols. The total cost for the Lake Forest’s 2020 contract for striping and marking will be $94,000.
Has competitive pricing been obtained for proposed goods/services? No
If no, indicate the specific exception requested: Administrative Directive 3-5, Section 6.1D – Government Joint Purchases
The FY2021 budget allocation for the lane marking program is $94,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund:
| FY2021 Funding Source | Amount Budgeted | Amount Requested | Budgeted? Y/N |
| 311-5103-467.67-22 | $94,000 | $94,000 | Y |
8. Consideration of a Recommendation from the Public Works Committee in Support of Amendments to Section 150.391 of the City of Lake Forest Code Relating to Storm Sewers and Surface Drainage (Waive first reading and grant final approval of an Ordinance.)
STAFF CONTACT: Catherine Czerniak, Director of Community Development 847-810-3504
PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: The Council is asked to consider a recommendation from the Public Works Committee in support of amendments to the City Code for the purpose of updating and clarifying requirements relating to storm sewers and surface drainage.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: On an ongoing basis, City staff reviews the City Code and recommends clarifications and updates. As we continue to experience heavy storm events, staff has become increasingly aware of situations where residents have installed pipes to drain tile systems, footing drains, yard drains and sump pumps that discharge at or near property lines. The goal of these connections on the part of the property owners who install them is obviously to move water away from their homes and off of their property however, discharging water at or near property lines, rather than allowing pipes to daylight in an area more centrally located in a yard, often impacts neighboring properties, public sidewalks, parkways and streets. This is particularly of concern in the winter when some of these discharge locations cause icing over public sidewalks and streets creating hazardous conditions.
Currently, the City Code does not provide direction on how close to a property line storm water can be discharged. This issue is the impetus for the proposed Code amendments. Staff is also taking this opportunity to recommend some non-substantive updates and clarifications to this section.
When issues have arisen due to stormwater discharge near a property line, staff has encouraged residents to relocate the discharge points away from property lines however, those discussions can be difficult without proper Code language to back up the request. It is important to have supporting language in the Code to allow staff to effectively resolve neighbor disputes around drainage issues resulting from discharge points, and to alleviate problems on public property.
In summary, the proposed changes are as follows:
• Rather than requiring connection to a public storm sewer in all cases where one is available, the proposed amendments leave connection of private drainage pipes to the discretion of the City Engineer. Consistent with discussions at the Council in recent months, in some cases, the best solution may not involve connection to a public storm sewer but instead, the best solution, from an environmental and system capacity perspective, may be to provide an on site location such as a low spot with wet- tolerant vegetation or a more formal rain garden, to allow water to more slowly infiltrate into the soil on the property.
• An update to the material that should be used as a base and covering for pipes; CA-6, rather than pea gravel, sand or other materials.
• Clarification of the type of pipe required in order to allow storm and sanitary sewers to be located in the same trench.
• A limitation on when connections can be made to road drains. In general, road drains are not adequate to support connections of private drainage systems. The Code language is changed to only allow connections to road drains if the City Engineer determines that the road drain is adequate to support the connection.
• Establishes a minimum distance from property lines for discharges from private pipes. As noted above, this is the primary purpose for bringing this amendment forward. Currently, the Code does not address discharge locations and, as a result, off-site impacts are common due to location near the property lines.
The amendments as recommended are detailed in the ordinance beginning on page 61 of the Council packet. A blackline is also provided in the Council packet beginning on page 64 to clearly identify the text changes proposed.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impacts are associated with the proposed amendments however with the clarification and specificity provided by the amended language, staff time spent on storm water related Code enforcement issues may be reduced to some extent.
COUNCIL ACTION: Waive first reading and grant final approval of Amendments to Section 150.391 of the City of Lake Forest Code Relating to Storm Sewers and Surface Drainage.
COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of the eight (8) omnibus items as presented
6. ORDINANCES
7. OLD BUSINESS
8. NEW BUSINESS
9. ADDITIONAL ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ COMMENTS BY COUNCIL MEMBERS
10. ADJOURNMENT
https://www.cityoflakeforest.com/assets/1/27/CC_2020_07_20.pdf
Alerts Sign-up