City of Fairfield Council met December 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
Meeting called to order by Mayor Brent Maguire at 6:00 p.m.
Prayer led by Mayor Maguire followed by the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
City Clerk Tina Hutchcraft called the roll:
Mayor: Brent Maguire
City Clerk: Tina Hutchcraft
City Treasurer: Julie Duncan
City Attorney: Darrin Rice
Aldermen: Ralph Barbre; Mike Pottorff; Jim Griffith; Eugene McGill; Jerry Lisenbee; Terry
Stahl; Ed Prince
Absent: Alderman David Simpson
Also Present: Marty David, Wayne County Press; Keith Colclasure, Police Chief; Silas Eckleberry, Assistant Police Chief; Andrew Miller, Fire Chief; Kevin Leonard, Water Department; D.E. Young, Garage Department; Flo Simpson, FADC; Ryan Hawkins, CPA; and other citizens from the community.
The minutes of the meeting of November 28, 2017, agendas and bills of December 12, 2017 were sent out to those entitled to receive them. Mayor Maguire asked for approval of the minutes for the November 28, 2017 meeting. Motion by Alderman Stahl, seconded by Alderman Prince to approve the minutes of the meeting of November 28, 2017.
Vote yes: Griffith; Lisenbee; McGill; Pottorff; Prince; Stahl; Barbre
Vote no: none
Absent: Simpson
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Mayor Maguire asked for approval to pay the bills for the December 12, 2017 meeting. A motion was made by Alderman Barbre, seconded by Alderman Pottorff to approve the bills for payment.
Vote yes: Lisenbee; McGill; Pottorff; Prince; Stahl; Barbre; Griffith
Vote no: none
Absent: Simpson
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Audit Report – Kemper CPA Group – Ryan Hawkins with the Kemper CPA Group spoke to the Council about the audit his company recently completed for the City of Fairfield. He gave an overview of his audit findings and pointed out areas the City could improve upon concerning the finances. He said the water fund is losing money, we are losing money for the garbage collections, and he also pointed out that both the fire pension and the police pension funds are underfunded. Mr. Hawkins also mentioned that he feels the loan that was made several years ago from TIF 1 to TIF 2 shouldn’t have been allowed since the property of the two districts is not contiguous. Mayor Maguire stated the Joint Review Board for TIF is currently investigating this issue. Mr. Hawkins provided copies of the audit to the Mayor, City Attorney, Clerk, Treasurer, and Aldermen.
Ordinance No. 17-1212-142/Tax Levy - Mayor Maguire presented the tax levy for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2018. This ordinance is for levying the general taxes for the City of Fairfield. The amount of the levy is $745,831.00. This amount is the same as last year. A motion was made by Alderman Prince, seconded by Alderman Pottorff to approve Ordinance No. 17-1212- 142 being the Fairfield Tax Levy Ordinance.
Vote yes: McGill; Pottorff; Prince; Stahl; Barbre; Griffith; Lisenbee
Vote no: none
Absent: Simpson
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried and Ordinance No. 17-1212-142 approved and duly adopted.
Discussion Concerning Energy Systems Group Proposal – ESG had previously attended a Council meeting with a proposal with different options of cost saving projects they could do for the City. Mayor Maguire asked the Council if they are interested in pursuing some of those options or if they think more information is needed. Alderman Pottorff suggested that we receive some references before we consider using this company. Alderman Barbre stated he feels some of the proposed projects we could do ourselves. However, any project we do we would be going into debt to do the project. The savings is supposed to cover the cost of the project but initially we would have to go into more debt to begin a project. It was also mentioned that ESG is not the only company that performs this type of work and the aldermen stated they would not be against hearing other company’s opinions and proposals.
Local Debt Recovery Program – This program is through the State Comptroller’s office and it assists various units of local government in collecting unpaid bills such as utility bills. Currently we report unpaid debt to a collection agency and whatever they collect they take 30% off the top so we only receive 70%. To participate in the Local Debt Recovery Program we would need to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the Comptroller’s office and then we would report the unpaid debt to them and they would match it with records for people about to receive tax returns or lottery winnings. The Comptroller’s office will deduct the amount from their check and pay the City what is owed. There is no fee charged to the City for this service but they do charge the person a small fee. The Mayor, Billing Department, and the Collector attended an online webinar to learn more about the program. Mayor Maguire stated he will try to have the intergovernmental agreement on the agenda for the next meeting for Council approval. We want to get started with this program by January because people will begin receiving tax returns by the end of that month. This program will be a great benefit for the City.
Revenue & Expenses – Mayor Maguire reported that we continue to look for ways reduce expenses. We have had a reduction in force, not hiring to replace certain retirees, and we will continue to look at our workforce when it comes to reducing expenses. We have also identified ways to reduce spending. We recently implemented a $10.20 water meter charge to help increase revenue and a utility rate increase. This increase of revenue is helping but we still have a ways to go. We will be looking at our garbage disposal fees because we are currently losing money. We are also exploring other options for our health insurance and we will be seeking proposals from different insurance companies to see how we can still provide benefits and save money as well. Mayor Maguire is optimistic because there are several projects in the works regarding bringing new businesses into Fairfield and expanding existing businesses. He is hoping to see a positive change in the business climate in the near future.
Executive Session – Alderman Griffith made a motion, seconded by Alderman Barbre to go into Executive Session to discuss Section 2(c)(21) – discuss minutes of closed session meetings and Section 2(c)(1) – appointment, employment, discipline, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body.
Vote yes: Pottorff; Prince; Stahl; Barbre; Griffith; Lisenbee; McGill
Vote no: none Absent: Simpson
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Return to Regular Session – Alderman Barbre made a motion, seconded by Alderman Prince to return to regular session.
Vote yes: Barbre; Pottorff; Griffith; McGill; Lisenbee; Stahl; Prince
Vote no: none
Absent: Simpson
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried and Council returned to regular session at 7:19 p.m.
Adjourn Meeting – Motion by Alderman Pottorff, seconded by Alderman McGill to adjourn the meeting.
Vote yes: 7
Vote no: 0
Absent: 1
Mayor Maguire declared meeting adjourned at 7:21 p.m.
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