Benld Council (archived photo)

With one dissenting vote, the Benld City Council on Monday night agreed to offer water customers the option of paying their monthly bills online, while emphasizing that participation in the program is voluntary. Mayor Jim Kelly also allayed concerns about how quickly the city would receive deposits, noting the company with which the city is contracting will direct deposit payments to the city’s account upon receipt from the customer.

Ald. Jim Tilashalski voted against the motion by Finance Chair Lance Cooper, seconded by Ald. Brian Frensko, to contract with CourtMoney.com to provide online bill payment services to city water customers who wish to take advantage of the program. Ald. Cooper, Frensko, Teresa Tucker and Mickey Robinson voted in favor of the issue. Ald. Peyton Bernot was absent. Tilashalski offered no explanation for his negative vote.

Presenting the proposal to the council, Cooper said he had talked to the owner of the company as well as several nearby municipalities that use the service. Wilsonville and Royal Lakes are among area communities that offer online bill payment through CourtMoney.com, he said.

“I reached out to Shiloh,” Cooper said, adding that the representative he talked to, “said it was working really well and she very much recommended their services.” Using the service, he said, is completely voluntary for customers. Communities using the CourtMoney.com service continue to accept payments by mail or in person, he said.

The cost of the program is free to the city. Customers, however, will pay a convenience fee of $1.75 for payments under $50, or 3.25 percent of the amount for payments in excess of $50.

“I know there are some people on the council that don’t want this, but I think it’s a great idea to offer our citizens,” Cooper said. “It’s strictly voluntary. If they don’t want to use it they don’t have to. It doesn’t cost us a dime. To me, we’d be offering a service to our citizens that we don’t have to pay for.”

[pullquote]Cooper said the company also will provide a credit card terminal free of charge to enable customers to use their debit or credit cards to make payments in the City Clerk’s office[/pullquote]

In addition to providing a venue for Benld citizens to make payments to the city from their home computers, Cooper said the company also will provide a credit card terminal free of charge to enable customers to use their debit or credit cards to make payments in the City Clerk’s office—a service the city currently does not provide.

“This has nothing to do with the banks mailing us a check,” Mayor Kelly noted, citing last week’s discussion during a meeting of the Gillespie City Council regarding delays in receiving payments from online payment processors. “It’s a direct deposit to us on the day of the transaction.”

Established in 1994, CourtMoney.com was created primarily as a way for persons to pay court fines and fees online. The company has since expanded, however, to offer online payment services for municipalities and private businesses.

NUISANCE PROPERTIES

On a motion by Tilashalski, seconded by Cooper, the council voted to accept a bid of $4,300 from Robert McLain of Benld to demolish and remove the so-called “Carr property,” located at 105 South Fifth Street. The property previously declared a public nuisance and the city was authorized by the court to abate the nuisance. In his bid, McLain pledged to demolish and remove the nuisance property within one week, weather permitting. Two other bids, ranging from $4,448 to $10,000, also were received.

Following a 10-minute executive session to discuss real estate and litigation with City Attorney Rick Verticchio, the council voted unanimously to declare parcels at 408 South Main Street and 111 South Fourth Street as public nuisances. The action sets in motion a process under which the property owners will be served with a resolution calling on them to abate the nuisance or face legal action from the city.

Verticchio reported to the council reported that the court has entered an order enabling the city to seek collection of the cost of abating nuisances at 709 Rose St., 711 Rose St., and 416 S. Main St.

“They’ll either pay us or they will be sold on April 26,” Verticchio said.

Based on Verticchio’s report to the council, city aldermen voted to accept the title to a nuisance property on South Fourth Street in lieu of seeking reimbursement from the owner for the cost of demolishing the home. Verticchio said the owner, Lloyd Gillette, lives in Florida. In response to a resolution declaring the property a public nuisance, Verticchio said Gillette’s attorney called him and said, “We’ll just give you the house.”

“You can pursue it as a complaint to abate a nuisance,” Verticchio said. “But do you want to gamble on trying to get back what we have in it, or take the home?” He said the cost of pursuing the matter could cost upward of $4,500 to $6,500 since the city would have to hire an attorney to argue the case in Florida.

On a motion by Tilashalski, seconded by Frensko, the council voted to accept the house and discontinue further legal action.

Verticchio said he is trying to secure a court date for a hearing to resolve the latest wrinkle in the long-standing case against former resident John Tenikat, who owns property in the 300 block of Park Avenue. The city has a substantive lien against the property for mowing that the city is attempting to collect.

“Mr. Tenikat has filed a counter claim against us,” Verticchio announced. “He called the court and said he is removing the case to federal court.” While Tenikat, a resident of Iowa, told the court he is petitioning the court to remove the case to federal court, Verticchio said the actual petition he filed makes a “preemptive” argument, contending the federal court preempts any claims filed at the circuit court level.

“Removing a case to federal court is about a semester in law school,” Verticchio said. “I don’t think his claim has any merit but Mr. Tenikat is being as difficult as he possibly can be.”

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As a resident of another state, Verticchio said Tenikat could possible argue for removal if the amount of the claim exceeds $7,500, which the Benld claim does not. He said he is trying to get a hearing to get a ruling in the Circuit Court on whether or not Tenikat’s petition is for removal or preemption.

“If it’s removed, we have to go to federal court to get it back,” he said. If the Circuit Court agrees that Tenikat has petitioned for preemption, Verticchio said the matter can be heard locally.

AUDITOR’S BID

On a motion by Tucker, seconded by Frensko, the council accepted a bid from Scheffel & Loy Public Accountants to perform the city’s annual audit at a cost not to exceed $4,800.

The price is contingent upon whether or not the city uses a cash or accrual basis for its accounting activities. Like other small municipalities, Benld intended to convert from cash to accrual in response to a mandate from the State Comptroller’s Office. The bills, however, are pending in the legislature that would allow small communities to continue on a cash basis for their bookkeeping, if passed and signed into law.

“If they allow us to go with cash, it would be less than that amount,” City Clerk Terri Koyne said.

“We’ve never paid that much for an audit before,” Mayor Kelly noted. “It’s okay for us to go ahead and get them (Scheffel & Loy) hired and hold them off a little to see what happens in Springfield before we have them start.”

CAPONE’S CHANGING HANDS

The council tentatively agreed to issue a liquor license to Tina Fisko to operate a bar at the current location of Capone’s Saloon, pending completion of a background check and other requirements. Fisko said she has managed the business for the past 14 years and plans to change the name of the business when she takes over ownership late next month.

Fisk must pass a background check before the city can issue the license. She must have a city license in hand before she can be issued a state liquor license. Fisk also will be required to obtain Dram Shop insurance before assuming control of the business.

PART-TIME POLICE PAY ISSUE TABLED

At the request of Tilashalski, the council tabled a measure to authorize increasing wages for part-time police office by 11 cents. The increase would put the rate at $15 per hour.

“I’d like a lot more information on this before we vote on it,” Tilashalski said. He noted the city spends 40 percent or more of its budget on the police department. When the council authorized increasing the number of part-time officers from three to four, he said, it was with the provision that it would reduce the amount of overtime paid to full-time officers. “It didn’t work out that way.”

“I would argue with that,” said Mayor Kelly. “Our overtime has gone down.” Kelly said some overtime is unavoidable, such as when a full-time officer has to complete paperwork or complete an investigative procedure before clocking out from his or her shift.

The measure apparently will be brought back for a vote by the council next month.

IMPOUNDMENT LOT PROPOSAL TABLED

Council members agreed to table further discussion of the possibility of building an impoundment lot for vehicles impounded by police, and opted to not open bids from vendors after being advised that the project should be publicly advertised for bids. Ald. Tucker, Chair of the Police Committee, had solicited bids from three private vendors, but Mayor Kelly declined to open the bids after asking Verticchio whether or not the project should be publicly advertised.

Kelly said that since the project needed to be publicly bid, it would be unfair to open the bids Tucker had obtained.

Tilashalski and Frensko debated whether or not the fees collected for impounding vehicles would pay for the cost of the lot. Cooper said he asked the Chief of Police for an estimate about how many vehicles the Police Department impounds and was told about 10 vehicles had been impounded since Jan. 1.

Koyne said 32 vehicles impounded for one day only would generate $3,000 for a year. Vehicles typically are impounded for more than one day.

Frensko voiced concerns about getting stuck with vehicles that might be abandoned by the owner. An abandoned vehicle might generate a bill of $3,000 for impoundment, but only bring in $2,000 if the city gains the title and sells the vehicle. He said such a scenario would result in a $1,000 loss.

[pullquote]Mayor Kelly said he would like to advertise for bids before next month’s meeting so the council will have an accurate idea of how much building the lot will cost.[/pullquote]

“Not really,” said Koyne, “because that’s $2,000 you wouldn’t have otherwise.” Even though the bill might total $3,000, she said the city would not actually be out that much money.

Tucker recommended tabling the issue and referring it back to the Police Committee so the committee can research city ordinances to determine how long the city has to hold a vehicle before selling it.

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“We can table it if you want,” Kelly said, “But we’ve drug this out a long time.” He said he would like to advertise for bids before next month’s meeting so the council will have an accurate idea of how much building the lot will cost.

“If we’re interested in doing this, we need to get bids,” he said. “This has been going on for quite a while.” The vendors from whom Tucker solicited bids may resubmit formal bids after the project is advertised, he said.

The current proposal calls for building an impoundment lot capable of holding 10 vehicles at a time adjacent to the city shed on the north side of the city. The lot would be lit with lighting already in place and would be equipped with surveillance cameras. Currently, impounded vehicles are placed in an unsecured area behind the police station or sent to a Gillespie facility for which the city pays a storage fee.

DAMAGED BASEMENTS

Kelly reported that the city had received bills from several city residents who claimed damage to personal property caused by water backing up into their basements during recent heavy rains.

“We have never paid for damage to basements,” Kelly noted. “If there is a claim, we can turn it in to insurance. It has to our fault for our insurance to pay.”

Verticchio agreed, saying the claims should be a matter for the city’s and homeowner’s insurance companies to resolve.

“If you decide you’re going to start paying claims, you’re opening up a big box,” Verticchio said.

Frensko suggested the city should start setting aside money annually to fund improvements to the city sewer system, attacking a small section of the system at a time. He also advised homeowners to contact the city as soon as they notice water entering their basements. If the city is notified early enough, he said, it might be possible for the city to address the issue before the back-up causes serious damage.

“They need to call us before it gets to be two or three feet,” he said.

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