Finance Committee

Finance Committee Meeting Council Chambers May 21, 2014 8:00 a.m. Call To Order: Meeting opened at 8:10 am Roll Call: Finance Director Neukirch called the roll for Committee members. Committee Members Present: Chairman Joe LoVerde, Robert Callero, John Johann, Village Manager Steve Vinezeano(arrived after roll call) and Finance Director Scot Neukirch Committee Members Absent: None Non Committee Members Present: Asst Finance Director Laurie Nannini and Economic Development Coordinator Ross Klicker Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the April 16, 2014 Finance Committee meeting were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. Accounts Payable Approval: The approval of the Accounts Payable registers for 4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2 and 5/9 were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. New Business 6B Incentive Update: Economic Development Coordinator Klicker gave an update on the status of the businesses investment and taxes paid for properties that have been granted 6B status for property tax purposes in Niles. Klicker explained that there currently were not any incentives being considered for 6B status. The Committee will be updated on the status of existing 6B incentives each year after the 2nd installment of property taxes have been sent out by the County. VFW Fees: At the April Finance Committee Chairman LoVerde requested that the Committee consider reducing some of the fees charged to the Niles VFW. The Finance Department determined that the VFW currently paid $40 per year for a business license and $900 per year for a liquor license. Staff has already been working on a recommendation to lower the liquor license to $300. Information was provided to the Committee on this recommendation. Motion made and all concurred to recommend that the Village Board approve the reduction from $900 to $300 for the annual liquor license fee. Appropriation Ordinance: Finance Director Neukirch presented the FY 15 Appropriation Ordinance that will be up for approval at the May Board Meeting. Motion made to recommend passage by the Village Board, all approved. Water Service Program: Finance Director Neukirch gave the Committee an update on the Finance Department’s water shut off program for delinquent accounts. Neukirch explained that less than 1% of residential properties now owe over $1000 on their water bill. The two current lists are for 10 properties that were put on payment plans but have not kept up with the agreed upon terms. The Committee complimented Neukirch and the Finance Department for their work in collecting these outstanding fees. Neukirch further complimented his staff for doing a great job with this difficult task. Other Business: Finance Director Neukirch presented the appropriation amendment for the FY 14 budget that will be presented to the Village Board in May. The special service area that provided funding for the construction of a parking lot off of Nordica to provide parking relief to those residents has gone over budget by $49,684.89. These additional costs will cause the Capital Projects Fund to go over budget requiring the appropriation amendment. Expenses for engineering costs and costs associated with repairing a water line damaged during construction accounted for the majority of the additional costs not budgeted for. Motion made to recommend the Village Board approve the appropriation amendment and all approved.  Chairman LoVerde asked Finance Director Neukirch for an explanation as to why the Village’s sales tax returns are below the prior year’s receipts. Neukirch explained that the bad winter experienced by Niles this year probably was the major reason. In addition, the economy hasn’t fully recovered from the recession therefore these dips are not completely unexpected. Staff will continue to monitor this closely and the Committee will revisit this issue if the sales tax receipts do not improve. Public Comment: None Executive Session: None Return From Executive Session: None Adjournment: Motion to adjourn was made and all concurred at 8:45 am. Prepared by Scot Neukirch on 5/21/2014