General Government & Information Technology

General Government / IT Committee Meeting Summary August 10, 2016 The following Voting Persons were in attendance: Chair George D. Alpogianis, Village Manager Steven Vinezeano, IT Director Bill Shaw. Absent: Cammy Fortuna. Staff present were: Kathy Thake, Cathy Spadoni, Katy Darr, Mitch Johnson, Hadley Skeffington-Vos, Marlene Victorine, Steve Cusick, Beata Gora. Member of the press present was: Igor Studenkov. No Members of the Public were present. I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 8:48 a.m. in Room 218 at the Niles Administration Building II. Approve Meeting Summary – General Government/IT Committee – July 13, 2016 Unanimous Approval III. Old Business a. Discussion of Village Longstanding Contracts/Service Agreements The Finance Department was brought in to oversee some of the Village’s larger contracts such as Comcast and Cell Towers. A representative from the IT department reviews some of the communication bills and compares on a monthly basis for discrepancies. If a discrepancy is found on the bill, it is challenged with the utility company. Further investigation into billing and contracts must be an ongoing process. IV. New Business a. Proposed Storage Facility Tax The Village of Niles, some of the surrounding municipalities and the City of Chicago are looking into a Proposed Storage Facility Tax. Community Development and the Building and Zoning Committee are in the process of drafting new fee structures for business licensing. The restructuring of fees would not take place until the next fiscal year. Storage fees could fall into a different category, the proposed fees need to be further looked into. b. Performance Measurement ICMA is discontinuing their Insights program; this is the Performance Measurement software platform that the Village was going to use. RFPs will be sent out to different companies requesting proposals for software. All  GG/IT August 10, 2016 Meeting Summary/2 departments will still continue to measure via Excel. The online reporting for transparency has therefore been delayed because of this discontinuance. Our system works now, however residents are not able to interact with the system. Also all information is being entered manually, and at this time the Village is not able to compare itself to other municipalities. Performance measurement is very worthwhile and will be pursued. Other municipalities will also be polled as to what software they are using. IT is working on an interim tool for all departments to use until a new software solution is chosen. c. Farm on Franks The Village received a ComEd Green Region Grant. A couple donations to Farm on Franks have also been received. In addition, the Community Block Party will also have a fund-raising aspect for Farm on Franks. Public Works has started work in preparing the area for Farm on Franks. Volunteers will start preparing the beds. Some quotes for supplies are coming in a little bit lower because of local business donations offsetting the costs. The garden should be completed by October of this year and up and ready for planting next spring. Further information will be available this fall and winter on registration and applying for a plot. Plot rental fees need to be researched and decided. A work day is scheduled for Friday, August 26, possibly a second work day will be planned. The Farm on Franks is being assisted by the Eagle Scouts as an Eagle Scout project, and Coca Cola volunteers. d. Revised Solicitor Ordinance The Solicitor Ordinance has been rewritten instead of revised. A lot of other municipalities were studied in the process. One of the changes is that in the existing ordinance, anyone who has a felony conviction within the last five years can be denied a permit. Now the ordinance will be anyone who has a felony conviction within the last ten years will be denied a permit. Also certain misdemeanor convictions involving - Moral turpitude – will be considered as well. Religious organizations are exempt, no permit is required. Solicitor permits can be pulled for violations of the ordinances. The hours for solicitation will be changed on Saturdays and eliminated on Sundays and national holidays. A certificate of liability insurance must be provided with liability of one million dollars for any occurrence. At this time there is not a pan-handlers ordinance in place. Legal and Police will further review this issue. The new solicitor ordinance, with amendments, will be presented to the Board for approval at the September 27 meeting. The committee voted and there was unanimous approval.  GG/IT August 10, 2016 Meeting Summary/3 V. IT Project Updates IT projects are making progress, nothing significant to report. VI. Open Discussion / Public Comments A lot of progress has been made on Environmental Initiatives. A Metropolitan Mayors Caucus meeting was hosted by the Village including a tour of the rain garden and a presentation on Stormwater and Green infrastructure. Pollinator Sites were discussed. The Village is looking to enhance the Mayor’s Monarch pledge and enhancing Monarch friendly species throughout the Village. Beekeeping and pollinator opportunities are being looked into. The Village is looking to enhance its recycling program through further education. Culver School is starting a food scrap recycling program with Groot. A ribbon cutting will be scheduled to promote this pilot program. The Arts and Culture Council had a meeting and looked at two main issues. The group took a close look at new logos that were developed for them. Now the Arts and Culture Council membership will further review. A Council sub- committee decided to go with the Lakota Group for the creation of the Master Plan which came in under budget. Once the full Arts and Culture Council votes to recommend the Lakota Group, it will be brought to the Board for approval at the September 27 meeting. It is important to get the community involved in the committees. There is a vacancy on the Arts and Culture Committee; the Mayor will appoint a new member at the August 23 Board Meeting. VII. Next Meeting – Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 8:45 a.m. VIII. Adjournment With unanimous approval, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 a.m.