City Council Special Meeting

CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES DATE: Monday, April 15, 2019 TIME: 7:00 P.M. PLACE: Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S. Vine St., Urbana, IL 61801 The City Council Committee of The Whole of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in special session Monday, April 15, 2019, in the Council Chambers of the Urbana City Building. ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Maryalice Wu, Ward 1; Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2; Shirese Hursey, Ward 3; Dennis Roberts, Ward 5; Jared Miller, Ward 7; Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; Charles A. Smyth, City Clerk ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: None ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: Bill Brown, Ward 4; Dean Hazen, Ward 6 STAFF PRESENT: Carol Mitten; Elizabeth Hannan; John Schneider; James Simon; Elizabeth Beaty OTHERS PRESENT: Chair: Shirese Hursey, Ward 3 1. Call to Order and Roll Call There being a quorum, Chair Hursey called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 9:22pm, following a meeting of the Urbana City Council. 2. Public Input There was none. 3. Ordinance No. 2019-04-028 An Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code Chapter 14, Section 14-7, Regarding the Schedule of Fees (July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020) – Finance Elizabeth Beaty, Administrative Services Manager, Finance, presented the staff memo describing the proposed changes to the Annual Schedule of Fees that, on approval, will take effect July 1, 2019. The proposed fees will generate approximately $79,150 additional in revenue. There are no annual liquor license increases but otherwise, fees have been increased to keep up with costs, work involved, and inflation. Questions and discussion followed. CM Wu asked about vehicle for hire fee changes which Ms. Beaty addressed as upcoming fees later this year related to transportation network companies as vehicles for hire were approved last year. CM Roberts asked about fee increases that have minimal impact such as erosion control which Ms. Beaty indicated are related to cost of personnel, related work, and processing time. CM Roberts asked about several items including fingerprinting services. Ms. Beaty provided clarification for each and explained the uses for the public related to fingerprint services. CM Roberts was concerned about the significant increase in special event permits understanding that there are costs for providing services but doesn’t want to negatively impact events beneficial to the city. City Administrator Mitten explained that in working with Public Works she noted how much staff time is involved with these and proposed the increases to reflect this work, particularly in reviewing materials. She added that the fees are agnostic to the events but that accommodations to fees can be requested. She hopes to have a better analysis of the costs related to these events next year. CM Wu asked where the fees raised go in the budget. Finance Director Hannan explained that Committee of the Whole Minutes Monday, April 15, 2019 Page 2 of 2 these go to the general fund and are not earmarked unless there are specific funds such as the sewer benefit fund designated with the fee. CM Wu asked about the application process for grants related to event fees to which City Administrator Mitten stated that the existing process is being revised and that her office can be contacted. Mayor Marlin added that the plan is to make the process more consistent and transparent. CM Miller asked about provisions related to the liquor license expecting that those fees will be addressed as part of the upcoming revision of the liquor code. Mayor Marlin noted that fees had not been increased since 2016 partly reflecting their being significantly higher than Champaign. There is a good start on the revision of the liquor code and there will be a new set categories and related fees. This will take several months and then a fee schedule will be worked out. CM Miller added that he is looking forward to seeing our new competitive rates. City Council Member (CM) Miller moved to send Ordinance 2019-04-028 to the May 20, 2019 City Council meeting with a recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Wu and carried by unanimous voice vote. 4. Adjournment With no further business before the Committee, Chair Hursey declared the meeting adjourned at 9:37pm Charles A. Smyth City Clerk Materials and video for this meeting can be found at: https://www.urbanaillinois.us/node/7944 Minutes approved: May 22, 2019