Industrial & Commercial Development Commission

1 APPROVED 2 MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 3 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 4 5 Village Hall Terrace Room 6 March 20, 2012 7 8 Members Present: Chairman Patrick Lederer, Curt Wilens, Larry Herskovitz, David Gottlieb, Jill 9 Narens, Richard Rushkewicz and Dick Leopold. 10 11 Members Absent: Susan Elfant, Mark Freeman, and Tensley Garris. 12 13 Staff Present: David Schoon, Jeff Rowitz, Kelly Hamill, Rich Nahrstadt and Colleen Brunner. 14 15 Others: President Frum, Steve Lewis 16 17 Call to Order & Introductions 18 19 Chairman Lederer called the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall at 7:30 a.m. 20 21 Review of Minutes: 22 23 On a motion made and seconded, the minutes from the February 28, 2012 joint ICDC-EDC meeting were 24 approved as presented. 25 26 Public Comment- Hear from the Audience- None 27 28 Community Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Report 29 30 A written report was included with the packet. Schoon’s additional comments included; 1) An additional 31 property on Techny Road has been annexed into the Village, 2) Northbrook Public Library is proposing 32 an expansion of the building. The Board is open to the idea of viewing parking required for this project 33 as part of the large a civic campus plan with the Village Hall, 3) at the Apri10, 2012 meeting, the senior 34 living center located at 1000 Sunset Ridge will be presented for Board consideration 4) Red’s Garden 35 proposed transfer station will be discussed at the Plan Commissions April 3, 2012 meeting. 36 37 Discussion of Draft FY 12/13 Village Budget and Proposed Stormwater Utility Tax and Proposed 38 Telecommunications Tax Increase 39 40 President Frum stated Village has developed a two-year budget and two items of importance are 41 stormwater management issues and how to fund 911 emergency services. 1) The Board has made 42 stormwater issues a priority, and feels that government should address issues related to stormwater that 43 individual property owners cannot. In order to fund the various projects identified in the Master Plan, a 44 stormwater utility fee is proposed. The fairest method was determined to be based on consumption or 45 usage of water. A fee per gallon would go into a stormwater account and be used only to fund stormwater 46 projects. 2) 911 services are paid for by the telecommunication tax rate, which is currently 1% . Land 47 line numbers have decreased, therefore the funds collected are not covering the cost of the service and an 48 increase to 6% is proposed. This tax will also apply to cell phone lines. 49 50 Manager Nahrstadt stated that the Village wants to continue providing all existing services to the 51 community. In 07/08 the Village had $14.6 million in sales tax revenues, this year its $13.9 million,  ICDC Meeting Minutes March 20, 2012 1 interest on accounts has decreased and income tax revenue is down 20%. The Village has responded by 2 curtailing expenses without reducing services. It takes about $2.5 million to fund 911 services with 3 current dedicated income approximately at $300,000 with the difference coming from the general fund 4 revenue sources. We cannot continue to operate in this manner, therefore the proposed 5 telecommunication tax increase. This tax would go into effect January 2013. 6 7 Finance Director, Jeff Rowitz stated that the budget policy requires reserves be kept at 40%, but reserves 8 are actually higher. In the recent past, we used reserves so as not to increase water rates and parking at 9 the commuter lots, but it is not good practice to use reserves to run operations. 10 11 The proposed telecommunication increase of 5% does balance the Budget for 2 years. This will be 12 brought to the Board meeting on April 10, 2012. Members of the ICDC are urged to attend the April 10th 13 meeting to present the impact this increase will have on the business community. 14 15 Member Lewis expressed concerns on how this increase will affect businesses and how can they plan 16 accordingly. It will be a significant operating expense, as most businesses have numerous cell phones. 17 He feels the community does not have the appetite for more taxes. 18 19 Review and Discussion of Draft FY 12/13 Village Economic Development Work Program 20 21 In addition to the written report and presentation, Schoon will continue to; 1) meet with local business 22 owners to identify issues of concern, 2) partner with the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce and the 23 Chicago North Shore Convention & Visitors Bureau, 3) maintain memberships and involvement with 24 commercial and industrial broker organizations. 25 26 Old Business - None 27 28 New Business 29 30 Given that gas prices are so high, Member Rushkewicz suggested the idea of a car pool ride board for 31 both residents and employees. It could be on the Village website 32 33 Next Meeting 34 35 The next ICDC meeting had been scheduled for April 24, 2012, 36 37 Adjourn 38 39 On motion made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 a.m. 40 41 Respectfully Submitted – 42 Colleen Brunner