Lake County Gazette

Village of Deerfield Committee of the Whole met Oct. 2.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The Village Board met as a Committee of the Whole in the Council Chambers of the Village Hall at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 2, 2023. In attendance were:

Village Board 

Dan Shapiro, Mayor 

Bob Benton, Trustee 

Larry Berg, Trustee 

Elaine Jacoby, Trustee 

Rebekah Metts-Childers, Trustee 

Mary Oppenheim, Trustee 

Bill Seiden, Trustee 

Staff

Kent Street, Village Manager 

Andrew Lichterman, Assistant Village 

Manager/Director Community Development 

John Sliozis, Chief of Police 

Brian Budny, Deputy Police Chief 

Chris Fry, Deputy Police Chief 

Eric Burk, Finance Director 

Robert Phillips, Director of PW and Engineer.

Justin Keenan, Asst. to the Village Manager

Desiree Van Thorre, Admin. Services Coord.

Tyler Dickinson, Asst. Dir. of PW and Eng.

Daniel Van Dusen, Deputy Village Clerk

Matthew Weiss, Director of IT

Public Comment

There were no public comments on non-agenda items.

Business

1. Departmental Budget Requests – Departmental Summaries (p. 13-34) (Revenue summary blue pages; Expenditure summary yellow pages; Revenue detail gold pages; Expenditure detail green pages) 

• Finance

Director of Finance Eric Burk noted page 13 shows the summary of the Finance Department as well as the memorandum. He thanked Administrative Services Coordinator Desiree Van Thorne for all her assistance. Mr. Burk noted last week, there was a question in the capital outlay section of the Police budget, but the expense was for body cams and a one-time expenditure for equipment. Chief Sliozis noted those are mandatory requirements. Mr. Street reported the Village got a $250,000 grant to offset the cost.

Mr. Burk reported the Finance Department will have the same number of employees for 2024. He noted training and development costs are flat for 2024. Mr. Burk stated the Village has two CPAs, an HR professional and other personnel that need training. He noted there is an increase in the proposed contractual services budget due to economic incentives. Mayor Shapiro questioned whether Walgreens leaving part of their operation would affect their agreement. Mr. Burk reported this expenditure is due to the revenue increase. Mr. Street added it is dependent on their operation staying the same. Mr. Burk noted other increases include some allocated increases at Village Hall, tracking the EAP program (dollars), applicant tracking and evaluation software. He reported there is no change in the Village’s portion of the Patty Turner Center, but there is $100,000 included in the capital improvement budget proposal for parking lot expenses. He reminded the Trustees that the Village contributes 50% to that expense. Mr. Burk noted commodities are flat, and if they are not needed, the funds will not be spent. He reported utilities include the costs of gas, water, sewer and telecommunications in the Village. Mr. Burk noted the capital outlay has an increase, but it is small. He stated there is also an expense for refuse service. Mr. Burk reported the Village pays almost $1.1 million and residents pay about 40% of the overall fee. Mr. Street noted other municipalities do not have this expense. Mayor Shapiro asked about the contractual services, specifically the difference between the budgeted numbers and actual expenditures for 2023 which show about $1 million less. Mr. Burk noted the amount may need to be adjusted. He reported when the budget preparation was initially started, Walgreens was having slower months. He noted their sales tax number will also increase.

• Administration

Assistant Village Manager/Director of Community Development Andrew Lichterman discussed the administrative services budget requests including IT and the Village Manager’s office on page 14 and the corresponding memorandum. He thanked the team for their assistance. Mr. Lichterman reported they plan to continue the programs and services at the same level as expected by residents. He noted personnel services are working through their STEP phases and there will be COLA increases. Mr. Lichterman stated training is flat this year as the entire budget was not spent in 2023. He reported contractual services have a 9% increase for janitorial services and one-time equipment replacements. He noted the professional services cable account is flat.

Mr. Lichterman asked the Trustees if they would like to offer closed captioning for the Board of Trustees meetings and reported it would initially cost about $30,000 and several months of lead time. He noted this would apply to the Board of Trustees meetings only. He believes the annual cost would be upward of $10,000, which represents a significant increase in this account. Mr. Lichterman noted it was requested during the Bridge Industrial/Baxter public hearing. The Trustees expressed they do not believe there would be a strong demand for regular Board of Trustees meetings. Mr. Lichterman noted there would be a lead time to consider. Trustee Benton does not believe the AI closed captioning is at the appropriate level. Mr. Street reported it can be considered, if there is a need in the future.

Mr. Lichterman reported contractual services include Family Days, which is a $110,000 expenditure. He noted there is also an advisory board expense account that includes the food trucks, Harvest Fest, Winter Celebration, Festival of Fine Arts, the Farmers Market and Community-The Anti-Drug. Mayor Shapiro noted those events are an investment in our community. Mr. Lichterman reported commodities are down 7% due to the addition of electric vehicles. He noted the budget for electronics is flat. Mr. Lichterman reported capital outlay is up about $500 for IT. He noted VERF and board room audiovisual equipment will have a $100,000 investment. Mayor Shapiro noted that two years ago the Winter Celebration had a huge increase in the cost of tents. Mr. Lichterman reported last year it was moved indoors and will be held indoors this year as well. Mr. Lichterman noted the Village is trying to have the events while being resourceful. He stated the budget reflects a $126,000 increase.

Mr. Weiss summarized the IT expenditures. He noted most of the IT budget items are recurring software renewals, and that all of the costs get divided by the departments that use the services. Mr. Weiss stated the payments are cyclical in nature and the Village tries to get multi-year proposals. He noted the highlights include a re-budget in the network switching account due to significant supply chain challenges. Mr. Weiss stated there is some backup data storage equipment that has reached the end of life. He reported the purchase of additional network firewall equipment is proposed to prevent new types of failures. He noted the top costs include the Microsoft software and security. Mr. Weiss noted the IT fund is more reactionary and the year an item is added to the list is the year the Village starts to think about it. Mr. Weiss noted the expenses would rarely fall in the same year.

• Community Development

Mr. Lichterman discussed community development budget requests (on page 15 and a memorandum). He reported there are no additional personnel requirements and that personnel services are up five percent. Mr. Lichterman noted the contractual services show an increase in the janitorial services which is split between four departments. He stated the IT equipment repair expenses decreased and there was an increase for legal notices, which are reimbursed by applicants.

Mr. Lichterman noted the Village budgeted $12,000 for administrative hearings for building code violations. He reported the Village is learning about the administrative hearing process which could be applied to code enforcement matters in the Village. Mr. Lichterman noted the fines often pay for the hearing process, but this is for the software. He noted staff has observed administrative hearings in neighboring towns and this proposal will require additional research. Mr. Lichterman stated several municipalities have substantial fines which could result in thousands of dollars per case. He stated the first approach is to gain compliance; but in many instances, there is push-back on compliance. Mr. Street added that different towns have their own approaches. He stated the thought is to put this tool out there and see how it could be used. Trustee Berg believes there is a lot of potential as any municipal violation could be handled through an administrative hearing. Trustee Berg noted that other than the financial component, juvenile hearings could be handled through a social worker and community service. Mr. Street noted the Municipal Code has to be very clear with the timing and fines. Mr. Lichterman reported the timing would include the lead time to obtain the software and counsel. He further stated that it would be a matter of months as the software selection may be complicated.

Mr. Lichterman noted the proposed budget includes additional studies including a housing analysis, an impact fee analysis, the affordable housing contract and ongoing TIF expenses. He reported all four are about $20,000 each. Mr. Lichterman stated the housing analysis includes a demographic study and determining the type of housing that will be needed. He stated an impact fee study would result in the Village working with a consultant to generate what fee should be paid to add a residential unit that would impact the schools, library, police and fire services. Mr. Lichterman noted it has not been updated in more than 20 years, and that the Village’s methodology needs to be justifiable. Mayor Shapiro noted impact fees can be challenged in court, so if they are outdated, they may not be accurate. Mr. Lichterman noted there is carry-over in the budget for the affordable housing contract that the Village will consider once it comes to the Board for review. He reported this would help the Village manage and vet the process. He noted there are budget dollars to continue to review TIF districts. Mr. Lichterman reported the Capital outlay includes $8,000 for a conference room conversion. Mayor Shapiro noted some of these projects may need additional staff. Mr. Lichterman noted the Village has a part-time consultant through a service and services can be ramped up as needed.

2. Capital Improvement Progra

Mr. Lichterman noted staff discussed the green initiatives account, which is currently at $250,000. He reported the façade improvement program is currently at $200,000. Mayor Shapiro questioned whether to increase the green initiative budget. Mr. Lichterman noted the Village had a hard time spending the budget this year due to lead times and the calendar. He further noted there are a lot of projects to get done. Trustee Oppenheim noted some of the items include planting. She reported after the initial phase, the budget may need to be smaller than in the future.

Director of Public Works and Engineering Bob Phillips reported the Village received good news on the Hazel Avenue reconstruction project including water main replacement, sanitary and storm water maintenance, sidewalks, etc. He stated the Village has been awarded a Federal grant of $4.7 million for the project. Mr. Phillips reported construction will take place in 2025 or 2026 based on material availability and IDOT. Mr. Street noted it may require looking at the debt as well.

Assistant Director of Public Works and Engineering Tyler Dickinson provided an update on Waukegan Road. He reported the project should be substantially completed by next week due to water main challenges. Mr. Dickinson stated IDOT will handle the resurfacing from Route 22 to Lake Cook Road starting next spring.

3. Adjournment

Trustee Benton moved to adjourn the Committee of the Whole. Trustee Metts-Childers seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by a voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 6:46 p.m.

https://www.deerfield.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10022023-1031