Mark Stewart of the Coal Country Sports Complex addresses members of the Gillespie City Council Monday night regarding the group’s plans for a fireworks display and Fourthof July Celebration on July 4.

Gillespie City Council members on Monday night approved a $4.7 million annual appropriation for the fiscal year that began May 1 and approved the purchase of a new $35,000 police car.

Approval of the appropriation ordinance followed a 15-minute mandated public hearing prior to the regular council meeting. No one from the public attended the hearing, but City Treasurer Dan Fisher used the time to briefly outline some details included in the ordinance. Fisher called the ordinance a first step in a three-step process enabling the city to spend funds. While not a formal budget, the ordinance estimates revenues and anticipated expenditures for the coming year. The approved ordinance essentially sets spending ceilings for specific line items that the council cannot exceed without special action.

During the fiscal year, Fisher said, items that are not routine bills, such as equipment purchases, come before the council for authorization. Payment for those items, as well as routine bills, are subject to the council’s approval on a monthly basis.

[pullquote]The total appropriation approved Monday night amounts to $4,739,305—up $294,510 from last fiscal year’s appropriation[/pullquote]The total appropriation approved Monday night amounts to $4,739,305—up $294,510 from last fiscal year’s appropriation of $4,444,795. Broken down by specific funds, the council appropriated $37,700 for public officials’ salaries; $754,500 for the Police Department; $477,000 for the Street Department; $240,125 for general administration expense; $52,100 for administering the Municipal Building; $487,660 for the Sewer Department; $1,680,750 for the Water Department; $398,800 for City Lakes and Parks; $20,900 for Emergency Services and Disaster Administration; $38,270 for the Public Library; $43,500 for Parks and Recreational Areas; $3,000 for the Municipal Band; $90,000 for FICA participation; $50,000 for liability insurance; $150,000 for Motor Fuel Tax fund expenditures; and $215,000 for TIF District expenditures.

Fisher noted that actual expenditures for the fiscal year just concluded were substantially less than the amount appropriated last spring. “That doesn’t mean we came in under budget,” he said. “It only means we spent less than what we thought we might.”

Anticipated increased expenditures included in the new appropriation include $50,000 for capital expenditures, $25,000 for equipment needed for the new police station, $35,000 for a new police car (approved Monday night), an increase of $3,000 for police training, and an increase of $5,000 for donations.

In addition to the appropriation ordinance, Fisher distributed to council members a budget document breaking down expected expenditures on a month by month basis and totaling slightly more than $3,193,000—about $1.5 million the current appropriation. He indicated that expenditures for the Water and Sewer departments are largely offset by revenue. The city expects to spend $500,000 to $600,000 on police protection while the Police Department brings in only approximately $71,000 in fines.

“The Street Department is the same kettle of fish and there is nothing we can do about that,” he said.

He also warned against viewing Gillespie Lake as a “cash cow” for the city. While the Lake Fund collected about $183,000 in revenue last year, its expenditures exceeded $162,000.

“That’s with one part-time employee,” Fisher said. “If we added another part-time employee, that would wipe out that surplus.”

POLICE CAR & TRAINING

Council members voted 5-1 to purchase a 2017 all-wheel drive utility vehicle from Morrow Brothers, Greenfield, at a cost of about $35,000.

Police Committee Chair Steve Kluthe recommended the purchase, citing the Police Department’s aging fleet of squad cars.

“It’s been several years since the city bought a new squad car,” he said. “The last time we purchased cars was in October 2012 when we purchased two used cars. If you remember, that was an emergency situation, and we are getting back into that situation again.”

One car with 120,000 miles on the odometer has been taken out of service, he said. Yet another high-mileage car has required $800 in repairs last month to keep it on the road.

Kluthe said United Community Bank would finance the purchase at 1.9 percent. An alternative to the utility vehicle, he said, would be a sedan costing about $5,000 less. He recommended the utility vehicle, however, for its versatility and comfort for police officers using it.

“The SUV is more money,” said Ald. Janice Weidner, who voted against the purchase, “and the SUV is a lot thirstier on gas.”

[pullquote]It’s been several years since the city bought a new squad car[/pullquote]Kluthe said he is asking local police to “patrol more with their eyes and less with their cars” to cut down on expenditures for gasoline.

His motion to purchase the vehicle was seconded by Ald. Frank Barrett.

Council members unanimously approved a measure to send two individuals–Austin Semplowski of Gillespie and Josh Montine of Benld–to police academy training at a cost of $1,900 each to qualify them for service as part-time city police officers. Police Chief Jared DePoppe said the cost of the training is 100 percent reimbursable if the candidates successfully complete the training. The additional part-time officers will enable DePoppe to better control overtime costs, but will not be a factor in filling a full-time vacancy on the police force.

“My part-time list is full of people who work elsewhere full-time,” DePoppe said, which often makes them unavailable for service when needed.

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DePoppe reported that part-time office Doug Hubbard resigned as of May 31 to accept a full-time position with the Bunker Hill Police Department. He said he has posted a full-time position to fill the void left by Hubbard’s resignation and the dearth of available part-time officers.

In a matter related to police business, the council accepted a bid of $500 from Lou Kenkle of Mount Clare to purchase a non-operable police car that has been taken out of service.

FUTURE PROJECTS

In a series of actions recommended by City Treasurer Fisher, the council agreed to investigate the possibility of installing solar panels to reduce utility expenditures, move forward with a remediation study targeting the New Gillespie Lake dam and developing bidding specifications to purchase new remote-read water meters, but balked at approving further exploration of development for the former United Community Bank building on Macoupin Street.

Fisher said the cost of electrical service for city properties ballooned to $125,000 last fiscal year, and is headed toward $200,000 per year. Installation of solar panels, he said, could help mitigate those costs and he asked for authority to work with Curry and Associates Engineers to investigate the issue.

“There are a lot of business that are going to these and I think we need to take a hard look at them,” Fisher said. He indicated there is enough space on the south-facing wall of the former UCB building, now owned by the city, to install enough panels to power downtown city offices.

He said the city needed to move forward with developing specifications for repairs at the New Lake dam, and that the city needed to decide next month what it intends to do with remaining space in the UCB building. A portion of the building is occupied by the Coal Mining Heritage Museum. Fisher also asked for approval to move forward with developing specifications for the purchase of remote-read water meters. He asked for a single motion to approve all four measures, but Ald. Weidner asked to vote on them separately.

“Some of these I’m in favor of and there are some that I’m not,” Weidner noted.

Weidner cast the single negative vote on a measure to develop specifications to bid remote-read water meters. Fisher said installing the meters would free up Water Department employee time and that the time saved could be used to start replacing aging water lines with city labor.

“We already raised our water rates to do this,” Fisher said. “I don’t know why we’re having this discussion because we’re doing what we promised the taxpayers we would do.”

Weidner’s motion to move forward with the dam remediation study was approved unanimously, as was Ald. Kluthe’s motion to look into solar power. However, Weidner was joined by Ald. Colin Mussatto and Ald. Jerry Dolliger in voting down a measure to explore further development of the former UCB building.

Ald. Jim Alderson, who moved to approve the measure, noted the city would be spending TIF district money for the project.

“We’re not taking money away from the Street Department or Water Department or anyone else,” Alderson said. “You can’t leave that building the way it is.”

PAY INCREASE FOR CITY TREASURER, CITY CLERK

On a motion by Weidner, seconded by Barrett, the council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance increasing the salaries of the City Clerk and City Treasurer to equal that of city aldermen. The increase, first proposed by Fisher last month, will not take effect until after the next election for those offices. The increase will take those office-holders from a stipend of $200 a month to $250.

Council members also unanimously approved an ordinance certifying that the city will hire only contractors who pay prevailing wages as established by the Department of Labor. The ordinance is a routine measure that is required on an annual basis.

Council members tabled action on an ordinance revising building permit fees because of a discrepancy in the ordinance language. The new measure was supposed to call for a fee of $25 for construction projects costing up to $6,000, with an additional fee of $2 per $1,000 for projects costing more than $6,000. Ald. Alderson pointed out, however, that a provision was inadvertently left in the new ordinance proposal calling for $4 per $1,000 for projects exceeding $7,000 in cost. The council opted to table the measure until the language can be corrected.

MFT FUNDS

On a motion by Ald. Barrett, seconded by Ald. Mussatto, the council voted unanimously to “close out” the motor fuel tax fund from last fiscal year. Last year’s appropriation was for $100,000, of which the city spent about $22,000 on MFT-eligible expenditures. Fisher said the new MFT appropriation, included in the city’s appropriation ordinance, sets a spending ceiling of $150,000 and includes all MFT-eligible expenditures, including sidewalks, mowing, street cleaning, snow removal and labor.

One reason for the increase in the appropriation is the inclusion of power expenses for street lights.

“We’ve never done it before, but we are allowed to pay for street lights with motor fuel tax funds,” Fisher said. Paying those expenses from MFT funds will preclude using General Revenue funds for those costs.

Fisher noted that last fiscal year, the cost for electrical power for street lights totaled $58,000—up from $38,000 the previous fiscal year.

BUSINESS LICENSE ENFORCEMENT

At Ald. Kluthe’s request, Mayor Hicks directed Kluthe to develop a form for ensuring that licensed businesses in Gillespie are engaging in the business for which they are licensed. Kluthe said at least one business in the community was granted a license for fabrication, but has since started selling used cars. He said the city needs to take steps to make sure businesses are engaged in the type of business for which they were granted a license, and that those responsible for the business have the proper state licensing and certifications.

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MAPLE STREET PARKING

The council deferred action on a request by Macoupin County Public Health Department Director Kent Tarro to allow Maple Street Clinic employees to park on the city hall parking lot. Tarro said the clinic is attracting more clients and to make room for client parking, he has asked employees to park behind the Tropical Snow business. That area, he noted is earmarked for future construction by the Community Unit 7 Fire Protection District.

Council members deferred action on the request after Ald. Jerry Dolliger reported that the start of construction may be several years in the future.

The council members voted unanimously to permit Coal Country Sports Complex supporters to solicit for cash donations on June 25, but took no action on a request for a city donation to support a Fourth of July celebration planned by the group.

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