Village of Edgerton Budget Workshop Session

Monday, November 4, 2019 @6:00PM

The Edgerton Village Council, Mayor, Village Administrator and Fiscal Officer met with each of the Department heads for the Budget Workshop.  Also present was Administrative Assistant.

  • Scott Blue 6:00pm – 6:16pm
  • Dan Griffin 6:16pm – 6:33pm
  • Troy Nihart 6:33pm – 6:46pm
  • Kip Pahl 6:46pm – 6:59pm

The Department Heads discussed the Capital items needed for each of their departments.

Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes

November 4, 2019 at 7:00 PM

  • Mayor Bowsher called the meeting to order at 7:00PM with the Pledge of Allegiance
  • Y – Yes, N – No, A – Abstain, Abs – Absent
  • Roll Call:

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y

Day, Robert

Y

Wallace, Chuck

Y

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5 Members Present

Other Village Representatives Present:

  • Charles Butler – Solicitor
  • Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer
  • Zachary Dohner – Village Administrator
  • Amanda Herman – Administrative Assistant

Media Present:

  • Jeremy Scott, Village Reporter
  • Lucas Bechtol, The Bryan Times

Public Present:

  • Leslie VanAusdale
  • Scott Hartley
  • Colleen Hennessey
  • Dawn Fitzcharles
  • Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from 10.21.19:

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y 2nd

Thiel, Dean

Y M

Day, Robert

Abstain

Wallace, Chuck

Y

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

Motion passes 5-0

Introduction of new Clerk, Colleen Hennessey

Lance began by introducing Colleen as a familiar face and welcomed her to the Village team. Colleen thanked Council for the opportunity and is excited to work for the Village.

Administrator Update by Zach Dohner:

  • Zach will be attending Maumee Valley Planning Organization office 11.26.19 to discuss Small Government Grant for 100 block of Business Alley West.
  • New leaf machine went out today for first time, guys reported everything went well, but street department did have to slightly fabricate the box to fit the truck.
  • 323 N Crane estimate of $3500 to remove mobile home – There is a possibility of bringing in 3 dumpsters to separate recyclable items from landfill items. The tentative dates for removal are November 15 or November 29. Denise asked how cost would be allocated. Zach was unsure but they could discuss.

 

  • Motion to approve Village Administrator to enter into contract for the removal of 323 N Crane St. trailer at estimated cost of $3500:

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y M

Day, Robert

Y 2nd

Wallace, Chuck

Y

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

 Motion passes 5-0

  • Zach wanted to thank everyone for their involvement during the Trunk or Treat and Costume Judging- thought it was a success. Councilman Wallace said he was contacted by a few individuals/groups that would like to help out next year.
  • Bob Day asked about Hull St. bids. Zach stated there were none and he would discuss further when we go through the budget.

 

Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:

  • Denise stated she only had the budget to go over, line by line. It was decided to go on with other Council discussion before getting started on the budget.
  • October financials are not yet complete.

 

Council Discussion:

Councilman Dean Thiel presented to Council the recommendations on behalf of the wage & compensation committee to receive pay increase of 3%. New hires will not receive this increase until their anniversary date. Additionally, police & volunteer firefighters will receive a $1/hour raise.

Chuck would like to see evaluations based on performance given by department superintendents. He would like to see paperwork proving performance levels are deserving of raises. Bob Day agrees with Wallace and stated written evaluations are not out of line to request.

Councilman Day inquired about the increased percentage of health insurance premiums. Denise informed him there was a 6% increase. Bob went on to state he would like exact numbers that it costs the Village to pay the health insurance premiums for family and single coverage and also for HSA employer contributions. Day continued that he would like to be part of the budget process as he feels that the people benefiting from these decisions are the ones making these decisions. Fiscal Officer, Denise Knecht told Bob that she has had information and numbers waiting for Mr. Day to come and speak with her to answer his previous questions. Councilman Bob Day doesn’t have that kind of time, so he would like to be e-mailed dollar amounts for medical premiums. Denise said she would send the e-mail.

Councilman Wallace reiterated raises should reflect evaluations and performance.

Mayor Lance Bowsher voiced that the biggest investment and most important asset of the Village is personnel.

Councilman Roger Muehlfeld suggested that Council table the wage increase discussion and decision until next meeting to give time for proper evaluations.

Chuck Wallace- are we selling old leaf machine? Zach answered yes, but we are in full swing of leaf pick up right now it will have to wait until next year, as the street department doesn’t have proper time to clean up the old machine. Mr. Wallace continued saying that once an item is approved for purchase through the capital budget, we should not wait until last minute to order so we don’t end up in a situation where we are scrambling to get things taken care of, such as leaf pick up.

Bob Day mentioned the interest of planting a memorial tree for Wayne Dennis.

Dean Thiel- as far as our leaf situation goes, he believes we ended up with a better machine than originally planned for, and we’ll get the job done.

Roger Muehlfeld- there was discussion of a new business coming to town, is there any news or has anything been heard in relation to this? Zach reached out last month and the business owners are waiting for verification from their architect for building plans. Councilman Muehlfeld also brought up our asset management plan and asked where are we going next with this? Denise informed that we need to choose what phase we would like to go forward with and get it in the budget.

Councilman Wallace was approached by a resident regarding the generators at the lift stations, specifically the one located next to the river off of S Michigan Ave. What happens if a diesel line breaks and it gets into river or storm sewer system? Is there a possibility of switching to propane? Zach said it would most likely be a large amount of money to convert/replace. Bob agreed and added there may be something in place that would encapsulate an overage to prevent a spill. Lance said there may be a safety feature built into the generator that we are unaware of. It will have to be brought to the Public Works Superintendents attention and looked into.

  • Motion to increase employee wages by 3% based on wage & comp recommendations: TABLED

Muehlfeld, Roger                                 

 

Thiel, Dean

 

Day, Robert

 

Wallace, Chuck

 

Gruver, Jason

 

Perry, Jackie

 

 

  • Motion to pay bills 11.4.19 :

Muehlfeld, Roger

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y

Day, Robert

Y

Wallace, Chuck

Y M

Gruver, Jason

Y 2nd

Perry, Jackie

Absent

    Motion passes 5-0

Denise Knecht, Fiscal Officer, presented the 2020 draft Budget to Council. The Village is continuing to follow along with 5 year forecasted budget of revenues and proposed expenditures as recommended by LGS.

Revenues are fairly similar in general fund for 2020.

Councilman Day believes Land and Buildings capital expenditures in the General fund seems high. Zach informed that was mostly due to our projected portion of the Hull St project.

Ccouncilman Wallace- is tree commission fund only for purchase of trees? Denise said it also could include expense for trimming trees, fertilizer, memorial trees.

Due to new regulations, all revenue from Village auction items is put into a Permanent Improvement fund, instead of going back to the department from which the item was originally purchased. Mr. Wallace doesn’t believe it is right that state controls where auction proceeds are directed.

Mayor Bowsher exited at 8:28pm.

After Knecht finished with the budget details and asked for any questions, Village Administrator Zach Dohner began to discuss the Hull St projects. The Village did not receive any bids on East/West Hull St Improvement Project for a 2nd time.

Mayor Bowsher re-entered at 8:30pm.

According to Tim Bock with Poggemeyer Design Group, there was interest expressed from contractors on bidding the projects, but the contractors numbers did not align with the engineers estimated cost. No bids were received. After speaking with Tim Bock, it was found that the Village will have to come up with a larger portion than previously expected to fund the Village’s portion of the projects. Zach presented some options to council and gave his recommendation to continue moving along without losing any funding through the OPWC. At this time no decision was made.

Solicitor Charles Butler questioned what the risk is of asking for an extension from OPWC? Because we are not changing the scope of the projects we are waiting on a response from the engineer before pursuing other avenues.

Zach- “This is not an ideal situation, but we do have options.”

  • Motion to adjourn at 8:59 PM:

Muehlfeld, Roger

Y 2nd

Thiel, Dean

Y

Day, Robert

Y

Wallace, Chuck

Y M

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

Motion passed 5-0