St. Joseph village board meeting agenda updated
Three additional items were added to tonight's St. Joseph village board meeting for discussion and possible approval by trustees.
In addition to discussing the new village administrator position and taking care of routine budget duties, the board will also listen to a presentation from Roch's on outdoor dining and discuss moving lighting to accommodate potential out dining space.
The board will also discuss and approve the final draft of a new, long-awaited food truck ordinance.
The third addition to the agenda is a discussion on the county's upcoming redistricting options. An informational webpage at http://www.co.champaign.il.us/countyexecutive/redistrictingadvisory.php offers five possible plans under consideration. The mapping application compares redistricting proposals created by or submitted to the Champaign County Redistricting Advisory Group.
Village Administrator job on St. Joseph board agenda
The Village of St. Joseph moves one step closer to hiring a Village Administrator. A proposal from the Finance, Personnel, and Economic Development department will ask the board to approve a job description and new ordinance for the position of Village Administrator at Tuesday's board meeting.
The Village Administrator would be responsible for day-to-day operation of village services, keep track of financial health and capital projects, assist in zoning enforcement as well as ensuring permit fees are collected.
"The way we do things now, we are far from being efficient," said Tami Fruhling-Voges, Village President/Mayor. "The Village should be ran like a business."
She said the Village Administrator is needed to help her and the trustees with research and policy recommendations. The person in the new position would also actively apply for state and federal grants.
"It will truly be a benefit to the community."
According to agenda for Tuesday, Mayor Fruhling-Voges will present a new Village Public Works calendar and announce the recipient of the St. Joseph's first Employee Appreciation Award. She will also unveil a Halloween Proclamation as well as tax levy comparisons and late distributions from the County Treasurer's Office.
The board will also hear and vote to approve an audit report from Feller & Kuester CPAs LLP, receive an updated from the recent Sewer Committee meeting and an update on the Linden Street retention pond.
If you have something that you want to bring up at the Village Board Meeting but do not want to attend, residents are encouraged to email the information to tasmetzer@gmail.com. Your email should include your full name, address and phone number.
If you would like to attend the meeting in person, please use the side door which enters directly into the Village Board room. It will be the only door available for entry. Visitors may address the Board /Committee on subjects listed and not listed on the agenda during the Public Comment portion of the meeting. Speakers will must state their name and address for the meeting records. Masks and social distancing will be observed.
You can find the October 13 agenda here.
Village brush pick-up ends this week
After a suspension of service, the Village of St. Joseph announced public works employees will pick brush left on village curbs until June 21 today.
As long as weather conditions allow it, the village will remove brush currently placed curbside that conforms to guidelines until this Friday.
Despite recent issues, the board would like to have some sort of regular brush removal program for the community.
"The village sees the value in providing this service to our residents," says a media release from the village received earlier today. "Due to some of the issues that have evolved over the last several years, we will need to make some revisions to our policies."
After Friday homeowners will be responsible the removal of their own yard waste and brush disposal until further notice.
"I know residents have made recommendations on Facebook with different companies," said Debbie Routh, Treasurer for the village. "We are not advertising any companies at this point."
In addition to policy changes, scheduling issues will be addressed by village trustees.
"The board will review the current policy and man hours spent to provide this service," states the release. "It is our goal to continue to provide this courtesy to our village residents."
Items that are not allowed during this week pick up includes whole trees, bags of clippings weighing over 30 pounds, mulch, stump grindings, dirt and topsoil, plastic trash bags, and trash. Brush should be no longer than 6 feet in length and 10 inches in diameter. Employees will not take yard waste left in trash cans or landscape timber.
Residents are asked to leave 18 inches between each pile left on the curb.
For more information contact the Village of St. Joseph during regular office hours Monday thru Friday from 7:00am to 3:30pm. The office is closed for lunch between 12:30-1:00pm. Inquiries can also be made by phone at (217) 469-7371.
As long as weather conditions allow it, the village will remove brush currently placed curbside that conforms to guidelines until this Friday.
Despite recent issues, the board would like to have some sort of regular brush removal program for the community.
"The village sees the value in providing this service to our residents," says a media release from the village received earlier today. "Due to some of the issues that have evolved over the last several years, we will need to make some revisions to our policies."
After Friday homeowners will be responsible the removal of their own yard waste and brush disposal until further notice.
"I know residents have made recommendations on Facebook with different companies," said Debbie Routh, Treasurer for the village. "We are not advertising any companies at this point."
In addition to policy changes, scheduling issues will be addressed by village trustees.
"The board will review the current policy and man hours spent to provide this service," states the release. "It is our goal to continue to provide this courtesy to our village residents."
Items that are not allowed during this week pick up includes whole trees, bags of clippings weighing over 30 pounds, mulch, stump grindings, dirt and topsoil, plastic trash bags, and trash. Brush should be no longer than 6 feet in length and 10 inches in diameter. Employees will not take yard waste left in trash cans or landscape timber.
Residents are asked to leave 18 inches between each pile left on the curb.
For more information contact the Village of St. Joseph during regular office hours Monday thru Friday from 7:00am to 3:30pm. The office is closed for lunch between 12:30-1:00pm. Inquiries can also be made by phone at (217) 469-7371.
Ogden Village Board to transition to new accounting firm
In a split decision during their regular session on January 3, the Ogden Village Board voted to retain the services of Royal Accounting in St. Joseph to handle their accounting and bookkeeping functions effective in February.
The change comes after an independent audit questioned how some Village assets were classified in recent financial statements by the current vendor.
"I think the Village should seek other options," said Trustee James Haan, who said he was former Certified Public Account while reading a prepared statement to the board before the call to vote.
During his presentation he highlighted his concerns and his personal commitment to ensuring Ogden received the best services it can from its vendors. He then introduced Mary Schmitz, President of Royal Accounting, LLC, who gave a brief presentation and fielded questions from the trustees.
In the discussion following Schmitz presentation, Trustee Sue Esposito lobbied for the board to continue its relationship with Puzey & Wright since it was a business local. Trustee Kelly Cooper echoed Esposito's position and was not a proponent of using a vendor outside the local business community.
"I don't think our bookkeeping has been getting the quality that we should be getting," Trustee Haan responded. He told fellow board members that his purpose was "... to protect the people I was elected by to protect."
After considerable dialog about the possible annual savings in accounting fees, Schmitz's experience in public accounting and the advantages of moving to a direct deposit payroll process, the Board voted 4-2 to discontinue their relationship with Puzey & Wright and retain the services of Royal Accounting.
On a related agenda item, the board ratified a motion 5-1 to diversify the Village's investment of liquid assets. Instead of investing in a single certificate of deposit for $300,000, the trustees agreed to equally split $225,000 into three 12 month certificate of deposits earling 2.5%. The move would mitigate penalties and fees should the Village needed to access funds due to an unforeseen emergency.
The trustees also unanimously agreed to purchase a new handheld device for the public works department to read meters.
The change comes after an independent audit questioned how some Village assets were classified in recent financial statements by the current vendor.
During his presentation he highlighted his concerns and his personal commitment to ensuring Ogden received the best services it can from its vendors. He then introduced Mary Schmitz, President of Royal Accounting, LLC, who gave a brief presentation and fielded questions from the trustees.
In the discussion following Schmitz presentation, Trustee Sue Esposito lobbied for the board to continue its relationship with Puzey & Wright since it was a business local. Trustee Kelly Cooper echoed Esposito's position and was not a proponent of using a vendor outside the local business community.
"I don't think our bookkeeping has been getting the quality that we should be getting," Trustee Haan responded. He told fellow board members that his purpose was "... to protect the people I was elected by to protect."
After considerable dialog about the possible annual savings in accounting fees, Schmitz's experience in public accounting and the advantages of moving to a direct deposit payroll process, the Board voted 4-2 to discontinue their relationship with Puzey & Wright and retain the services of Royal Accounting.
On a related agenda item, the board ratified a motion 5-1 to diversify the Village's investment of liquid assets. Instead of investing in a single certificate of deposit for $300,000, the trustees agreed to equally split $225,000 into three 12 month certificate of deposits earling 2.5%. The move would mitigate penalties and fees should the Village needed to access funds due to an unforeseen emergency.
The trustees also unanimously agreed to purchase a new handheld device for the public works department to read meters.
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