City Council - Regular Meeting

The Aurora City Council for August 11, 2026 is hereby called to order at 6 p.m. I'll ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Alderman Barrera?

Here.

Alderman Garza? Here. Alderman Maciakos? Present. Alderman Nunez?

Here.

Alderman Franco? Here. Alderman Savelle? Here. Alderman Banuelos? Here. Alderwoman Smith? Here. Alderman Bogue? Alderwoman Bate? Here. Alderman Larson?

Here.

Alderman White?

Here.

Mayor Lash is present.

Is there a motion to approve the appointment of the Sergeant at Arms for this meeting? So moved. Second. Motion is made by Alderman Smith, second by Alderman Franco. All those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries by a voice vote. Next, I'll ask Alderman Maciakos if he'll lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one

Thank you. And then we'll move to the mayor's report. John, take it away.

Perfect. Thank you so much, Mayor. We have a number of recognitions and news to get to here tonight. We will begin with National Night Out here in Aurora. 24 different sites hosted events last week. Thousands of residents got in on the fun. This yearly celebration is certainly a great way to bring the community together. And the cool thing about it is it's not just one person that makes it all happen. Tonight, along with our Community Engagement Division, we're going to honor all of the selfless site leads who volunteered their time and efforts to make National Night Out a huge success. Round of applause for our site leads here tonight. They made the event one to remember. We'll invite them up now as the mayor comes on down to read out a special recognition for all of them and their hard work. Come on up, guys. All of our site leads, come on up. Round of applause again for our site leads as they walk up to the front.

making things happen here in Aurora.

If any of the aldermen want to join us for the photo op, you're welcome to come on down. Now the real question is, how are we all going to fit in here? Some of you are going to be in the photo anyway. There's also, if you want to stand back there, there's another six inches back there. OK, well, first of all, I'll just begin by saying thanks to everybody who stepped up to volunteer in the community and help us out to pull together a lot of fun community meetings and events, many with DJs, live music, and entertainment. But also, I saw a lot of kids that got to play Over at Bardwell, we had a lot of senior citizens getting out and we had absolutely perfect weather. But I know that behind that came lots of work and organizing and volunteer efforts to put these events together. And so I just want to express my appreciation. And so the award or the representation, the Mayor's Award of Excellence reads, for serving as a site organizer, helping to make Aurora's 2026 National Night celebration a huge success. Thank you for your continued efforts to support community engagement, neighborhood pride in the city of Aurora. You are valued and you are appreciated. So let's give it up for all of our community volunteers who stepped up to lead today. I'm gonna take the mic out of the way so we can get a group photo.

try to get a little bit closer everybody so we can make sure we get you on one photo And a special shout-out as well to our Community Engagement Division staff. They're here, Ileana Rivera-Nunez, Austin Zepeda, Karina Suarez-Darden, and the Chief of the Department, Nicole Mullins, also here in attendance as well. Round of applause for city staff making it happen as well. Our next recognition here tonight is for a longtime community organization celebrating its 80th anniversary in Aurora and the greater Fox Valley area. They were formed on May 3rd of 1946. and have been entertaining residents for generations. They've performed multiple times over the years at the Paramount Theater, East Aurora High School, and West Aurora High School. They really are a staple here in Aurora's history. We're very excited to honor them here tonight. Put your hands together for the Lamplighter Barbershop Chorus. 80 years in Aurora. A special proclamation here. The mayor is going to read for them, and they also have a performance, I'm told, as well. So we're looking forward to that, too.

Okay, so this opportunity was brought by one of our Aurora police officers who participates in this organization, and I was not able to make your event that was not in Aurora, but I did want to make sure to invite you guys and appreciate your performances and give you an opportunity to share with the council and the rest of the community what you guys do here. And just wanted to recognize the Lamplighter Barbershop Chorus was first chartered May 3, 1946, as the Aurora Chapter of the Society of the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, and has since entertained countless residents of Chicago's western suburbs. And whereas this esteemed community organization has been at the forefront of Aurora's history, performing at the East Aurora High School, Paramount Theater, and West Aurora High School. And whereas the Lamplighter Barbershop Chorus has also performed at numerous city parades, local festivals, nursing homes, retirement homes, and more. And whereas the City of Aurora expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the Lamplighter Barbershop Chorus for its nearly 80 years of extraordinary contributions and steadfast commitment to the betterment of our city. Now, therefore, I, John Lash, Mayor of the City of Aurora, do by here recognize August 9th, the founding date of this esteemed community organization as Lamplighter Barbershop Chorus Day in the city of Aurora.

So let's give it up for the Lamplighter Barbershop Chorus.

I'm gonna set the microphone aside, take the photo, then let them perform.

Let's keep it to one, guys.

Let's keep it to one song here. We've got a long agenda tonight. Hello, neighbor.

Yes, everything's fine all along the line.

I've been working on the railroad all the lifelong day.

I've been working on the railroad just to pass the time away. Can't you hear the whistle blowing? Rise up so early in the morning. Can't you hear the captain shouting? Dinah, blow your horn, your horn. Dinah, won't you blow? Dinah, won't you blow? Dinah, won't you blow your horn? Dinah, won't you blow? Dinah, won't you blow? Dinah, come on. Blow your horn. I've been working on the railroad because I'm a railroad man. I've been working on the railroad as fast as I can.

Can't you hear the whistle? Woo, woo, woo, woo. Rise up. Man, I hate getting up.

And you hear the captain shouting, get to work, get to work. Yes, I'll be working on the railroad all day.

Live long days.

What a performance.

Happy 80th anniversary to the Lamplighters Barbershop Chorus. One more round of applause for their great work in the community. Two other pieces of news before I finish up my portion of the reports. A reminder that the city's 2026 special census is continuing here in Aurora throughout specific areas of the city. Residents who live in that special census area have already received two letters. They've also received a postcard with a unique 12-digit code. You need to use that code to get in online to fill out the special census. We'll take a look quickly at what NBC and Telemundo had to say about this important initiative right here in Aurora.

Aurora is launching a new initiative in hopes of getting a more accurate population count. The program is in partnership with the US Census Bureau. It comes after the city had a significant undercount in 2020. The report showed Aurora had lost about 17,000 residents and that led to the city losing over 4.3 million dollars per year in revenue. The initiative is targeting new construction and development.

We have to count people from mostly from east to west or west to east. And we have to do it in a manner that we're only counting mostly new construction. But there are some old sectors that we have to count because they connect.

Those who live within the boundaries of the special census will also receive mailings. Residents have through August 24th to respond.

Bien, avanzamos esta segunda media hora, Zuly, con un posible error en el censo que le podría estar costando millones de dólares a la ciudad de Aurora. Así es, María Berreyesa precisamente habló con funcionarios que aseguran que miles de residentes nunca fueron contados y ahora buscan demostrarlo con un censo especial.

Algo está pasando con la población de Aurora. Algunos residentes dicen que han notado cambios.

But I've also seen that a lot of people have gone on the basis that there's not enough security.

Others, on the other hand, are not so safe.

I haven't paid attention, but it's good that you ask me that.

According to the 2020 federal census, Aurora lost more than 17,000 residents. But city officials believe that the figure from six years ago from the federal agency does not reflect reality.

They said they weren't here, that they didn't exist.

This has led the city to lose more than $4.3 million in annual income, also affecting daily operations and services offered to the community.

It is affecting school programs, health programs, infrastructure, security. We have not been able to hire new policemen, we are short on personnel. It has affected many areas. That is why the city and the US Senate office launched a special census to update the number of inhabitants.

Although the process was planned to start in early 2025, The vice-mayor assures that the migratory operations in the region also complicated those efforts.

The combination with that, the organizations that were telling them, don't open the door because it can be ICE, that affected the count.

He tells me that the special census will focus on the new developments. como en este vecindario al oeste de la ciudad para obtener un conteo más preciso. Y en una comunidad donde casi la mitad de sus habitantes son hispanos, él insiste en que participar es clave.

His information is totally safe. The census cannot share the information with other federal agencies, immigration.

People can fill out the form online or wait for a census investigator to knock on their door. In Aurora, Maria Berrelleza, Noticiero Telemundo, Chicago.

So again, it's very important. Please fill out the special census as soon as possible. You can find more information on that via the web address there on the screen. That's Aurora.

Now the trees have been leveled everywhere. A little bit.

A reminder, Mayor, anybody who's here who was here for presentations, you're welcome to leave at this time. You're certainly welcome to stay as well, but there are going to be a lot of portions of the agenda. We talk about finances, get into the meat of it. So if you're here for a presentation and you want to head out, this is a good time to do so. Thank you.

Okay, good evening. I'm Linda Reed from the Finance Department. I'm the Comptroller Deputy Treasurer, and I'm here to do a presentation on the final audit reports for 2025. We originally presented our reports to the Finance Committee on July 30th, and I did a presentation along with our audit representative, Jim Savio from Sikich. He's not here tonight, but I've kind of combined his presentation from that day along with mine. So first thing I'd like to talk about is the audit timeline, just trying to give you an overview of what we did, how we got here. We start our audit planning in November. Our auditors come out for about a week in December to do some preliminary field work. My staff and a lot of the finance department does audit prep from January to March. The auditors come out for four full weeks in the month of April, and then after that we prepare the reports and those are issued by June 30th which is the requirement by the Illinois Comptroller's Office. So some questions came up at the Finance Committee like what is an audit and what does this tell us? An audit is an examination of our financial records to provide reasonable assurance that the information is free from material misstatement. It's not an absolute guarantee, it's just that it's REASONABLY ASSURED THAT IT'S NOT MISTATED. SICKAGE HAS ISSUED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION THIS YEAR AGAIN. THIS IS YOUR BEST POSSIBLE RESULT THAT WE COULD GET. IT INDICATES THAT OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE FAIR, ACCURATE, AND THEY FOLLOW ALL THE APPLICABLE ACCOUNTING RULES. A QUESTION ALSO CAME UP DURING FINANCE COMMITTEE OF TESTING. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY TESTING? SO IN THE PRELIMINARY AUDIT, THEY TEST OUR CONTROLS, WHICH CONSISTS OF OBSERVATION OF OUR SEGREGATION OF DUTIES. THEY DO SOME WALK-THROUGH TESTING WHERE THEY PICK A SAMPLE OF TRANSACTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM THROUGH OUR ACCOUNTING PROCESS. AND THEY DO SYSTEM CHECKS ON OUR COMPUTER SYSTEM. AND THEN AT YEAR END IN APRIL, WHEN THEY'RE OUT HERE DOING SUBSTANTIVE TESTING, THEY DO THINGS LIKE EXTERNAL CONFIRMATION, WHERE THEY SEND LETTERS DIRECTLY TO OUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONFIRM ALL OF OUR ASSETS AND OUR BALANCES. PHYSICAL INSPECTION OF ASSETS, THIS ALSO INVOLVES LOOKING AT COPIES OF CHECKS RECEIVED, CHECKS ISSUED, THINGS LIKE THAT. THEY DO REPERFORMANCE AND RECALCULATION OF ANY OF OUR CALCULATIONS, AND THEY ALSO DO ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES. SO THAT WOULD BE THINGS LIKE COMPARING TO THE PRIOR YEAR TRENDS, AND ALSO LOOKING FOR, BASED ON THE INFORMATION WE HAVE, DO THE BALANCES OF OUR REPORTS LOOK REASONABLE. SO LOOKING AT OUR AUDIT REPORT, THE TABLE OF CONTENTS IS BROKEN INTO THESE SECTIONS. THE FIRST SECTION IS THE INTRODUCTORY SECTION, AND THAT HAS OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHART, A LIST OF OUR PRINCIPAL OFFICIALS, AND A LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL FROM OUR CFO. THE MIDDLE SECTION IS OUR FINANCIAL SECTION, AND THIS HAS OUR INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORT, THE MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS, WHICH I'M GOING TO GET INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL AFTER THIS, AND THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. THERE'S A STATISTICAL SECTION THAT HAS TRENDS AND OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CITY. AND THE LAST SECTION IS OUR ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES, WHICH ARE REQUIRED BY THE SEC FOR OUR BONDS THAT WE ISSUE. SO TALKING ABOUT OUR AUDIT REPORT, IT'S 262 PAGES, SO JUST KIND OF GIVE YOU A ROADMAP OF HOW TO NAVIGATE ALL THE DIFFERENT REPORTS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN HERE. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS, THOSE ARE THE FUNDS THAT ARE TAX AND GRANT FUNDED, AND THESE FOCUS ON NEAR-TERM INFLOWS AND OUTFLOWS OF SPENDABLE RESOURCES. THE NEXT IS OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS. SO THESE ARE ALSO REFERRED TO AS BUSINESS TYPE. THESE RECOVER COSTS USING FEES AND CHARGES. AND FOR THE CITY HERE, THAT WOULD BE OUR WATER AND SEWER, OUR AIRPORT, PARKING, TRANSIT, AND GOLF. THE NEXT KIND OF FUND WOULD BE OUR INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS. THESE MANAGE AND ALLOCATE COST OF SHARED SERVICES. AND SOMETIMES WHEN WE'RE TALKING IN THE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS, THESE ARE THE RESERVES THAT NEED TO BE REPLENISHED DURING THAT PROCESS. THIS WOULD BE YOUR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE FUND, YOUR EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE FUND, AND YOUR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATED BENEFITS. And the last type of fund would be our fiduciary funds. These are assets managed by our government, but they're not our assets. So this would be things like the police and fire pension plans and our OPEB, which stands for Other Post-Employment Benefits, which is our retiree health plans. Those reports are presented to those boards, but if you want to see that, that information for those reports are summarized in our audit report for the city. SO TALKING ABOUT OUR MD&A, THIS IS MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS. THAT'S PAGE 32 OF THE PDF, IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALONG. THAT MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION ANALYSIS TALKS ABOUT OUR GOVERNMENT-WIDE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AND THIS GIVES US A BROAD OVERVIEW OF THE CITY'S FINANCES. TALKS ABOUT... THE STATEMENT OF NET POSITION TALKS ABOUT OUR ASSETS, OUR DEFERRED OUTFLOWS OF RESOURCES, THE LIABILITIES, THE DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES, AND THEN THE AGGREGATE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE IS THE NET POSITION. AND IN THIS EXHIBIT, THE GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES ARE NEGATIVE, THE BUSINESS-TYPE ACTIVITIES ARE POSITIVE, GIVING US AN OVERALL POSITIVE FOR OUR TOTAL GOVERNMENT OF A POSITIVE NET POSITION. THE OTHER REPORT THAT IS IN HERE IS THE STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET POSITION. THIS BASICALLY TELLS YOU HOW YOUR NET POSITION HAS CHANGED DURING THE YEAR. YOUR INCREASE COMES FROM YOUR REVENUES AND YOUR DECREASE COMES FROM YOUR EXPENSES. And then this slide here talks about our 2025 revenues. It gives you kind of a picture snapshot of where we get our money from. You can see from looking at this, property taxes make up 27% of our revenues. Other taxes are 37%, and then charge for services is 26%. AND THEN GIVING YOU A SNAPSHOT AND PICTURES OF OUR 2025 EXPENSES, YOU CAN SEE THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE BIGGEST COST TO OUR ORGANIZATION AT 45%. AND THIS FOLLOWS SECOND BY THE STREET DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS 13%. SALARY AND BENEFITS REPRESENTS THE GREATEST PORTION OF ALL OF OUR TOTAL EXPENSES. THAT REPRESENTS FOR 2025, SALARY AND BENEFITS REPRESENTED 41% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET AND 83% OF JUST THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET. JUST PUT THAT ALL IN PERSPECTIVE FOR YOU. TALKING ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND. JUST TO MAKE A NOTE, THE GENERAL FUND, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE AUDIT REPORT, IT INCLUDES THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS FUND 101, WHICH IS WHAT YOU HEAR ABOUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT GENERAL FUND FOR THE BUDGET. BUT IT ALSO, FOR ACCOUNTING PURPOSES, WE HAVE TO CONSOLIDATE IN EQUIPMENT SERVICES, THE HOTEL MOTEL TAX FUND, THE TRANSFORMATION FUND, AND THE 2022B TAXABLE GEO BOND FUND. SO JUST TO CAUTION YOU WHEN YOU'RE COMPARING NUMBERS FROM OUR AUDIT REPORT AND INTO THE BUDGET INFORMATION THAT STACY WILL BE PRESENTING, IT'S THE SAME UNDERLYING NUMBERS AS THE BUDGET, BUT IT'S A DIFFERENT PRESENTATION, A DIFFERENT FOCUS, AND A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. SO THEY CAN'T NECESSARILY BE COMPARED ONE FOR ONE. AND LASTLY, I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT WE RECEIVE THE CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING FOR 2024. THAT'S FROM THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. THIS IS INCLUDED IN OUR REPORT, THE CERTIFICATE. THIS IS FOR LAST YEAR'S 2024. WE HAVE SUBMITTED THE 2025 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR REVIEW. WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL LATER IN THE YEAR WHETHER WE RECEIVE THE AWARD. BUT THIS IS THE 27TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED THIS AWARD.

And to give you a little perspective on that, only 4,300 state and local governments received this award, which public safety levy for next year will increase approximately 8.4%. Within this presentation, there are several general fund major revenues. The graphs show a couple of them trending. For example, we've got state shared sales tax, grocery, and home rule, which is roughly about a 9 point, I'm sorry, 1.9 million over what we budgeted. Electricity use tax is another one that is trending upward based on our current projections at roughly 1.5 million. Income tax, we're looking at a 1.2 million increase. It's also noted, too, that building and permits, back in 2023, it was a high point. It has declined. down the past couple of years, we do show that there was a slight increase between 2025 and 2026, and we're estimating roughly about a $1.8 million increase in building and permits. It should also be noted that gaming tax revenue I left this estimate the same as what we budgeted because obviously the new casino just recently opened. The July revenue numbers have been reported to the state. We have not received those yet, but just as an example for what we received in July, or for July in August, is roughly a million dollars, which is about $480,000 more than last year at this time. Now I'll draw your attention to slides 17 and 18 of the presentation. We started 2026 in the general fund with a deficit of about $3.5 million. This slide represents where we currently are at as of June 30th. You can tell that we're 45% budgeted revenues and 45% of our budgeted expenditures. And currently it's about a million dollar deficit as of June 30th in the general fund. Now, for an overall perspective of all the way up through the end of 2026, I took the Revenues, major revenues projections from this presentation and also the other revenues that are in the general fund and incorporated into this particular slide. You can see that the major revenues just in this presentation alone equate to about 5.4 million, which is relatively small increase of about 2.6% over the original budget. Then if you take the whole general fund projection into perspective for revenues, it's projected to have a potential increase over budget about 3.5 million, which is about a 1% increase over the budget. Then looking at our 2026 general fund overall, again, personnel cost is about 84.3% of the general fund. And then going back to 2020 to 2026, this shows the historical trend of personnel costs versus the other operating costs associated with the general fund throughout the year, showing that that historically increases every year. Taking that one step further, this slide represents a forecast out to 2031. Now, we all don't have a crystal ball, so we can't exactly to the penny come up with a projection in terms of knowing exactly what we will receive, but this is, again, basic estimates on potential trends that could happen over the next several years. With taking this into consideration and some of the assumptions that went into this, the operation portion of the tax levy was left flat. Police and fire pension levy was increased at a rate of 8% every year. sales tax in the 2027 numbers was already programmed into the numbers that are presented but then going forward 2028 and beyond was estimated at a three percent increase we also have several labor contracts that currently go out to 2028, and then we also have a few that have not been settled yet. For purposes of that, we used a blended rate, so 2028 and beyond. It was roughly a blended rate of 3.5%. Some of the major factors that should be taken into consideration for the future would be employee and retiree health insurance costs. The 2027 amounts for insurance are currently budgeted at the 2026 level. We are in the process of updating that information. and it could significantly increase up to potentially 10% or more. This presentation, basically for this presentation, the insurance from 2028 was increased by 10% and then 2029 and beyond was increased for 5%. That was also done for property and casualty insurance as well. Based off of this forecast, if you look at 2028 as a reference, the difference between the revenues and expenditures is 19.2 million. If you go all the way out to 2031, the estimated gap between revenues and expenditures is 28.5. Again, this is showing that future expenditures are exceeding future revenues. Again, this is primarily just a roughly estimate to give you a bigger picture of the overall potential costs for the future and revenues. And we will be having later on within the next month or so an update with more realistic numbers for sales tax and home rule because, again, there is that lag of four months.

collection for that as well so most likely in september we will have a six-month result of prop of sales tax good thank you um are there any questions mr mayor alderman white thank you i appreciate it appreciate the presentation and going through this for all of us to see i'm glad you stopped on this slide and you explained it Honestly, I expected, being that we started with the deficit this year, that as we move forward that the numbers, the expense and revenue would come together. I see them widening. So am I looking at this as if we remain on track, our deficit will increase over this time? Is that what we're saying?

Potentially, if expenditures keep increasing and the revenues don't increase at the same proportionate rate, it will actually expand that deficit. In terms of with looking at different revenue sources, obviously with some of these, the major fund, major revenues, some are trending up. others are trending down you know just for example like cable franchise fees that one is going down we will have to be looking for other potential revenue sources and also looking at If you, to reduce the difference between those, you have to either reduce services, increase your revenues, which would mean property taxes, other revenue sources, and those types of scenarios.

And this is the general fund, correct?

This is just the general fund.

Okay, so how does the casino revenue plan this, or does it plan at all?

The casino revenue is in a separate fund, and that, like again, you will be receiving a monthly notification on the status of where that revenue is currently at. Right now, this, as of June 30th, We only had 50% of our property taxes incorporated into that, and obviously it's almost equal in terms of 45% revenue coming in and 45% expenditures for the various department divisions. Again, too, a lot of our, well some of our larger expenditures do come out in the third and fourth quarter, which then would coincide with receiving the additional property taxes in September.

Thank you. Does that answer your question? I mean, so just to answer, you know, one, I think the place we're at is we're still analyzing where we're going to be at going into the 2027 analysis. I haven't got any numbers about potential deficit yet, anything solid more than what was provided in the previous executive session, but we still don't have any solid numbers. And then I think looking at this slide and the discussions we had with Dr. Caputo, yourself, myself, we were looking at what is a long-term projection and how do we correct this over, Over the long term and I think you're still working on that plan as well Just to give you some sense of where we're at in the process and the budget process we started earlier this year to prevent the cram at the end that Has us all you know still having some questions, but needing having a deadline so Any other questions Okay, thank you Okay, next item on the agenda is mayoral appointments. Last clerk, please read the next item.

260437, a resolution authorizing the appointment of Lisa Garcia, Robert Dabney, James Reeves, Andre Marty, Brian Thomas, and Deja Wayne to the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council.

Is there a motion to approve this resolution?

So moved. Second.

Motion made by Alderman Garza and a second by Alderman Maciakos. Are there any questions or discussions regarding this resolution? Okay, there being no further questions, I'll ask the clerk to please call the roll. Herrera? Yes.

Garza? Yes. Maciakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Savelle? Yes. Banuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. Levinas? Zero, no.

Motion carries. This resolution is adopted. I'd like to congratulate Lisa, Robert, James, Andre, Brian, and Deja. Are any of you here today? Why don't you guys join me in the well real quick. We'll take a quick photograph.

There you go, sir.

Thank you. Thank you. You're the tall guy. Make sure they're pointed the right way. This concludes the mayoral appointments. If anybody does have better things to do and wants to take off, just here for the presentations, you're welcome to leave. You're also welcome to stay. We'll move right to public comment. Madam Clerk, do we have any members of the public wish to offer public comment?

Yes, we do.

Outstanding. Madam Clerk, will you please read the rules of public comment?

Pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, all persons shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established and recorded by the council. Under our rules, any person may address the city council for up to three minutes with a maximum of 30 minutes allotted for all public comment. No person other than the timekeeper or the chair for the purpose of maintaining order may interrupt a person recognized for public comment during his or her comments. Members of the city council shall not engage with nor respond to a speaker during the time set aside for public comment. Staff is directed to follow up with members of the public with respect to any concerns raised during public comment within the scope of the city's authority following the adjournment of this meeting.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Will you please read the name of the first person wished to offer public comment this evening?

Angela Collier.

Welcome, Ms. Collier. You have three minutes beginning now.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. I hope everyone's doing well, because I have a word for everyone tonight. One of the things about me is that I'm not a fortune teller, but when I hear from God, I do like to deliver the message. And that message is to take your city. How are you going to take your city? It's one citizen at a time. We have all the resources we need in this city. So if you use what you have, You can deliver a nation of people. If you don't use what you have, you're going to have other cities that are pulling your citizens to their city for housing. And there's no reason we should be allowing other people to go to other cities because they're homeless and in the street and in these hotels. I raised five kids in this city. As a single parent, I drove a 76-passenger bus for 15 years and went to beauty school. So I know you can raise your kids. And I've been married almost 20 years in this very city. So I know you can make it. I'm sick of Facebook. Facebook will not deliver this city. I'm sick of people not registering to vote. You registered and you still don't vote. And then you want to complain about everything. I'm sick of it. Get yourself together and pay your bills. Don't come to me when you're drunk and using drugs and you want me to pay your rent. It's not happening. Get yourself together and provide for your families and vote for your people, your leaders in your city. How do you think you're going to make it if you don't pay your bills? I am sick of it. Mayor, I am sick of it. I'm serious. We have all the resources we need. There's no sense of people in eviction court and the system is continuing them to come to court when they can't even serve the people that they're trying to get a judgment for. If it was you or me and they can't serve us, they're going to issue a warrant, right? So how is it that these landlords on the Section 8 program are getting away with taking the people's money, their deposits, and not returning it because they're using their P.O. box, when all you have to do is get their driver's license, take a copy of it, and make sure these landlords know that if you do not return this money to these families, we will assist them. There's no more excuses for this. Our city council is able to do more, and you are in the position we voted for you to be where you are. And so we expect more for you, from all of you. Thank you all. Have a good night. I've got to go eat me some taco.

Thank you, Ms. Collier. All right, folks, please read the name of the next person wishing off the public comment.

Ariel Root.

Welcome, Ms. Root. You have three minutes beginning now.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Ariel Root. Aurora is my hometown. I was born and raised here, and I've been a city employee for 14 years. As you can see, I'm wearing my local 3298 shirt to bring awareness to the union and to the fact that we haven't had a contract since January of 25. Although there are many things within a contract that need to be negotiated, there are two things important to me that stand out the most, maternity leave and a wage increase. In January 25, my husband and I had a baby girl. As a long time employee, I was shocked to find out that the city only offers 10 paid days of maternity leave. Thankfully, since I have been a long time employee, I was able to use PTO, sick time, and an AFLAC plan to help with our mortgage and bills while going unpaid for 10 weeks. What should be a time to recover, heal, and nurse my baby was a time of stress and anxiety. I was also informed that while being unpaid after 10 days, I would owe the city money to pay for my health insurance benefits that come out of my biweekly paycheck. Not to worry though, it would be docked from my paychecks when I return to work. As you can imagine, it took a long time to recover. Union 3298 is a union of many women and we have an increasing number of young women and men working for the city. I'm not sure what 10 days of paid leave will do for young families starting out. You can't put a baby in daycare younger than eight weeks old and full-time daycare for a newborn is around $1,300 a month right now. That's a lot of money when you've gone unpaid for 10 out of 12 weeks and when you owe an insurance debt to your employer. Currently, the other labor agreements in the city offer between four weeks and 12 weeks of paid leave. And then lastly, I'm here to talk money. Everyone's throwing around percentages at the negotiating table, but no one's talking about what that looks like. I work in the police records department. We are B13 on the pay schedule, and we're one of the lowest paid departments in 3298. Right now, our union is fighting for us to get the same percentage over a four year period as the union 1514. That's a 4% increase every year for four years. 4% for records clerks is anywhere from $0.88 to $1.24 raise. That's $140 to $198 per month before taxes. Mayor Lash, I don't know if you remember me, but in the first employee town hall, you told me that a 4% raise was a luxury. And I told you in front of a room of 100 people that it's a necessity. And if anything, that's become more true. The annual rate of inflation in our country is 3.5%. Gas is between $4 and $5 a gallon. And we have people in records driving from Westchester to Blue Island to the police department every day. We deserve our $0.88. It's time to put politics, personal agenda, and blame aside and pass a fair contract. Thank you.

Madam Clerk, will you please read the name of the next person to share her public comment?

Josh Pfeiffer.

Welcome, Mr. Piper. You have three minutes beginning now.

Thank you. I want to speak tonight about optics as it relates to AFSCME's local 3298 and our ongoing struggle to obtain a fair and just contract. We're not asking for anything special, but rather we just want to be compensated at the same rate as our union brothers and sisters who have a current contract with the city of Aurora. The fact that we have been without a contract now for 18 months in itself demonstrates lack of integrity for the city of Aurora. The fact that this administration ran on a people-powered and transparency campaign, as well as a huge push for securing living wage compensation, for Aurora residents contradicts its efforts. Or just maybe this administration was talking about everybody except the City of Aurora's emergency dispatch telecom operators, the City of Aurora's court detention officers, those individuals from the City of Aurora who maintain our records, the City of Aurora building inspectors, the workers of the City of Aurora who are the face of this city, and some of the most patient people I know and our customer service representatives in water billing, development services, and revenue and collections. The members of Local 3298 who professionally represent the City of Aurora deserve a fair wage just to keep up with inflation. These members from the City go without while having to see and hear about new departments being created and departments adding staff at near or above six-figure salaries. Can someone please tell these 175 members how that's fair? You would have to have your head in the sand not to notice that there's a real problem existing here. It appears that an administration that over the years was so vocal about the rich being bad and how we need to do more for hard-working, struggling residents of Aurora forgot those statements when the majority of them that preached this made the six-figure club. Those are some optics I would not want to be seen through. We members of the Ask Me Local 3298 who represent the city of Aurora have been more than patient and suffering without a contract. which includes a cost of living expense, or cost of living adjustment, as well as important changes to improve the quality of life and workplace accommodations that we deserve. I was elected to serve on the Executive Board of Local 3298 to speak for our brothers and sisters. All of you seated before us know me and my efforts to help our veteran community and strive for their well-being. I don't want anyone to think for a second that I will not do the same for my union brothers and sisters seated behind me. of local 3298. If the city does not want to acknowledge the proper compensation for local 3298 with a fair contract, well this combat marine will fight with the same grit, tenacity, and determination it took to be a Marine to this challenge. As I address the City Council of the Aurora, Illinois, before this meeting is over, can someone please tell everyone sitting behind me, as well as the 200,000 residents of this city, why you are reluctant to offer these members of AFSCME Local 3298 a fair contract?

Thank you, Mr. Pfeiffer. I'll ask the clerk to please rename in the next place the motion to offer a public comment.

Jennifer. Jennifer Ullman.

Welcome, Ms. Ullman. You have three minutes beginning now.

Thank you. Good evening, City Council. My name is Jennifer Ullman, and I am the Vice President of Local 3298. I am also on the negotiation team, which has been diligently working toward a fair and equitable contract for the last 20 months. We have been presented with what we would consider insulting counter proposals throughout the process we the union have dropped all other proposals to finish this expeditiously we are separated by less than one percent why can we not get this done less than one percent that is approximately the difference between the union and the city for a new contract we are not asking for more than any what any other union has received AFSCME Local 3298 is integral to Aurora's connection with its residents. The members you see behind me represent those who help all living in this fine city, including those who have recently crossed into its borders. These are the residents that the frontline employees of our union respond to. Is 1% not worth the city's attention to its residents? Are they not worth 1%? Our membership is arguably the most diverse in classifications and duties of all unions. We range from engineers to facility service workers. We handle 911 emergency calls and 311 resident complaints and requests. Case in point, today's 600 calls for storm damage. We have accountants that help keep the city's books and getting ready for the audit. We encompass inspectors in the trades and fire as well as account clerks and customer service workers, excuse me, customer service representatives who manage the intake of monies at various locations. We are the conduit that allows the residents to feel heard and taken care of. it is time for us to be heard and taken care of did you know that our union membership has the highest percentage of women these are single mothers with one incomes and also those contributing to a two-income household most of which live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to take care of their families where is the city's support of them less than one percent that is all we are asking Overall, I would surmise our local members make less per hour on average than any other union whose four-year contracts were approved. Yet the city is asking us to rest the difference of the budget on our membership. Do you truly not feel women deserve the same fair and equitable treatment as all others? We believe the truth lies in what is being offered in negotiations. We can decisively say it is the opposite. One percent. One percent for fair and equitable treatment. We work hard in every aspect of the city to make sure your citizens feel respected and acknowledged. Now it's your turn to show you recognize that effort. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Herman. Please read the name of the next person to shout for public comment.

Jim French.

Welcome, Mr. French. You have three minutes beginning now.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, City Council. I probably don't need to say any more, but we'll go on anyway. My name is Jim French. I'm the president of Local 3298 and a member of the negotiation teams. I've requested assistance from you with our expired collective bargaining agreement before, and I'm asking it once again. We've been seeking a fair and equitable contract for quite some time. You may remember that I did come before this body once before, and I did urge you to encourage your staff members who are in negotiations with us to find a way to proactively settle our agreement. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and it's placed us all in a position, unfortunately, That does not look good for the city or for any of us. There's no reason the membership should be offered less or expected to receive less. Frankly, it's insulting. When the administration changed, we met with the new team. We expressed our desire to work with you. We informed you that we were aware of the other union agreements and we would be seeking a similar agreement. We were told at that time by the year chief of staff that the precedence had been set, and we all agreed that the expectation was understood by both sides. Additionally, when we were faced with layoffs, decrements, and VRIFs, we were told that any new positions created under the last administration would be eliminated. There are currently two departments that were created in 2024 that account for more than $3.5 million in the budget. Had the city followed through on cutting those positions as they told us, we wouldn't even be here. The city also hired an attorney to facilitate negotiations, a process that's always been handled by human resources. I can assure you this has not made the process better. She's told us many times that the city has an inability to pay, but has never provided us any conclusive information to support that. A year ago, we were told about a $30-plus million deficit, which was never materialized. We never saw it. We never saw any benefits from it or any deficits that came forward. We've inquired all about the budget status time and time again. We're told the budget can change from month to month. Not really sure how that works. Perhaps some of that casino money can be used to take care of this. To date, we've not requested anything from the city that's not already been provided to another local union in a current contract. Again, a fair equitable contract is all we're seeking. This has and is affecting current members and some pending pensions. That's a problem. Your staff is currently offering us less than a two-year contract at this point, which means that even if we accepted it, the new contract would expire in less than five months and we'll all be right back at the table. Does that make sense to anybody? As you have heard tonight, Local 3298 provides critical frontline staff in many divisions throughout the city. We facilitate much of the communication with the residents, as well as the daily revenue and compliance that occurs. We are the second largest bargaining unit in the city with 175 members. And suffice it to say, without our members of our local, the city does not operate the way that it currently does. We are requesting that the city provide Local 3298 a commensurate agreement, as they have already provided several other unions recently. We're just asking you to be fair and equitable. No more, no less, fair and equitable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. French. I'll ask Cliff. Please read the name of the next person to show up for a public comment.

Danny Suri.

Welcome, Mr. Sawyer. You have three minutes beginning now.

Good evening. You are having a bad month. So I just met these folks outside. These are 911 operators, frontline workers, all these people. Have you ever seen the movie Fight Club? What happens when they go on strike? I haven't even started to talk about you being silly this weekend. 18 months without a contract. I thought you were a pro-union guy. Another one of your campaign lines. Well, folks, the petitions have been submitted. We've looked at your objection, which is hysterical, but it's the process, so we'll go through the process. I gotta tell you, I officially saw the video debut of Alderman White and Alderman Larson. Willie, I'm gonna leave you be, because I've made you percolate when you see me DJ, so I like you. But you need a lot of work. Keith, you looked like you were a hostage video on the casting couch. That was bad. John. Maybe if you spent time doing your job, you would have got a contract for these people instead of walking around knocking on people's doors about this petition. You have any idea how stupid you look? I can't even be nice about it. You look like an actual, like a clown. You did. You're knocking on people's doors 7 o'clock, 8 o'clock at night on a Sunday while they're with their family because the mayor is showing up to verify signatures about a petition that one has nothing to do with him, but he's worried about his job and his appearance, so he's going to go harass people. Let me make this clear to you. This ain't about one person. It ain't about me. It ain't about you. It's not about you two. You weren't even elected, Mr. White. You were appointed. This definitively hasn't been about you. This is about 9,000 signatures. people that made a decision to say I want to get involved in something in Aurora and I would like to see a change in my community. The reward they get is the mayor knocking on their door freaking them out because everyone knows you have this vindictive streak. I've seen the screenshot of the text message you sent the fire chiefs when they wouldn't lower the flags, when you demanded that they wouldn't raise the flags, when you demanded that they stay raised. This is getting ridiculous. You're turning the city into a laughing stock on a national level. I'm sure that you're used to that in your own life. We'd prefer not to have to deal with it. There's 200,000 citizens here, and to help you out with your math based off what you said on the news, I told them last week, I'll repeat it to you here. You won 53% of the vote, you did. That makes up 7.8 of the total percent of the population, my guy. If you did math better, you probably wouldn't have been an out-of-work carpenter. For the last time, this is about 9,000 people. It is about the power of the citizens to bestow upon you, the government, the ability to govern, and not the other way around. So instead of going knocking on doors, trying to verify signatures, which you have plenty of comrades to do for you, why don't you work on getting these guys a contract and quit embarrassing us? Thank you, and I yield back my time.

Thank you, Mr. Sorey. I'll ask the clerk to please read the name of the next person wish to offer public comment. Welcome Mr. Bore. You have three minutes beginning now.

Thank you and thank you for giving me this opportunity. So good evening to all of you council members and good evening to Mayor Lesh. So my name is Abhishek. I own a home at 483 Watercress Drive in the Meadow Ridge subdivision. I'm speaking tonight for myself and for many other neighbors which are facing the same issue. So this is the current situation, which in our subdivision, where declaration currently limits leasing to 30% of the homes in the community, and that cap has already been met. I'm currently on the wait list with no time for the relief. For the past three months, I have paid my full mortgage about $3,300 per month with no rental income, even though I'm ready to rent right now, but cannot reason the rental cap. Other homeowners have faced the similar situations problem throughout year 2025 and year 2026 which are sitting with me. I am requesting the city to support a raise that is capped to a 49% and I believe it still protects everything that city objectives cares about. So the first is eligibility for the FHA and the VA loan. Even if we increase it to the 49%, it will remain intact. And the owner occupancy will not gonna, you know, no one will have an interruption of the financing part. The number two, changing the circumstances. As we all know, our HOA rule book or the cap itself has been written in June 2020, which was at the COVID pandemic time. And the circumstances have been changed a lot since then. And right now, the cap is forcing homes to sit vacant instead of being rented or maintained, and which serves no one. The financial hardship, as everyone knows, homeowners are on the waitlist currently, myself included, and under real financial strain, continuing to pay a full mortgage, no rental income to offset it. And clearly, there's no timeline when the relief will come. The help which we needed from the city, here is I'm bringing this issue to you directly. We have a HOA rule book which is having a section 2.15 declaration changing it caps requires two things. One is concurrence from the mayor's office attached reference 1.1 with my application and 75% homeowners approval via the voting. Our management company already requested this consensus back in September 2025, but I understand the request may not have laid out the core issue clearly and it is much more on the legal terminologies which they have presented to you and approval has not been granted. So attached again the reference 1.2 of your non-approval and the petition or the attorney submission which has been done. Without the city approval, our board cannot even begin drafting an amendment or collecting owner signatures, no matter how much support existing some residents. So my request tonight is very much simple.

Thank you, Mr. Vora. I got your number. I'll give you a buzz. Thank you.

Thank you. Appreciate, sir. Thank you very much.

Let's clerk to please read the name of the next person. We'll start with public comment.

Brenda Lee. Thank you.

Welcome, Ms. Lee. You have three minutes beginning now.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Today is my third time up here. On July 28th, I read an email here from Ryan Dow explicitly threatening our housing voucher if I declare war. The retaliation was immediate. Within 20 hours of my public speech, Hesed House manufactured a $5,000 debt against my family. Karen Whitney sent that email to me. This is a coordinated attack meant to trick, sway, and silence a disabled grandmother who is protecting her children. I have been completely conflicted out of any local legal help. Prairie State Legal, UIC, NIU all partner with the Hesed House, so they cannot represent me. They are trying to isolate us. My family has been stranded at a hotel on Route 59 and Deal Road with zero support. I've asked for gas cards and basic food vouchers and received nothing. August 5th, we had a meeting where my AID caseworker volunteered to handle my case. Ryan Dowd was stating that they could do a soft transfer. Ryan Dowd also manufactured a housing crisis, claiming the hotel wasn't extending our stay. We would have to be out by checkout that very same day. Our stay had been extended for 60 days. After speaking to my AID caseworker, we decided a soft transfer wouldn't work. Deputy Mayor Casey called the hotel to see if me and my family was a problem. Ryan Dowd says that their plan is to move us back to a mass family shelter. Absolutely not. I did not manufacture this housing crisis, they did. The private closed door meetings are officially over. I will no longer walk into rooms where I am unprotected. If there is any updates regarding my housing, my voucher, or a hotel stay, it must be sent to me in writing. I am currently number 94 on Aurora housing waiting list. I ask Hesed House to continue to pay for a hotel stay as a housing remediation until my number is called so I could exit their system. I am demanding an external, no, I am demanding an independent external oversight. FOR THE STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATORS. MY FAMILY DESERVES SAFE, STABLE HOUSING. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MS. LEE. LET'S PLEASE READ THE NAME OF THE NEXT PERSON WE'RE SHARING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

ADAM PAULEY.

WELCOME, MR. PAULEY. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES BEGINNING NOW.

HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING TODAY? I'm here to remind all of our elected officials that your seats don't belong to you. They belong to the people that put you here, or in the case of one of our aldermen, the mayor that appointed him. The idea behind a recall is not directed at any person or any alderman. You're only sitting in that seat for a little while until you hand it off to somebody else. Your seats don't belong to you. What we are doing is we are creating the ability for people to have an additional area of recourse when they feel that their elected officials have done wrong or when they have lost confidence. And it seems that there's a lot of things that may be building. Your seats do not belong to you. They belong to the people that put you here. And don't you forget it. I yield my time.

Thank you, Mr. Polley. Last clerk, please read the name of the next person to withdraw for public comment.

Alex Arroyo.

Welcome, Commissioner Arroyo. You have three minutes beginning now.

Mr. Mayor, members of the City Council, and my fellow Aurons. As we know, we had a disaster hit Aurora on July 4th weekend, and the SBA has come to Aurora and declared this a disaster area. For residents of Kane County, Kendall County, and DuPage County, sorry Alderman Fugg, but this is a you qualify now for small interest or low interest loans from the federal government. If you have real estate damage, you qualify for up to half a million dollars. If you have personal property damage, owners and renters, you qualify for up to $100,000 in a small loan. The SBA is here in Aurora at the Prisco Center. every day now till the 22nd of August from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and their closed Sundays. If you cannot make your location, Elgin Township will be available to residents of Kane, DuPage, or Kendall Counties that were affected by the storms at the Elgin Township building August 17th starting next Monday. So September 1st, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., out of my glasses on, and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., also closed on Sundays. Representatives from SBA will be there to help people with applications. I've done it myself about 15 years ago. It's actually really easy. Just document, document, document everything and get three quotes from estimates for loans, repairs. But if anybody has any questions, I'll leave this letter at the table there and I'll leave some business cards. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and thank you, City Council.

Thank you, Mr. Arroyo. I'll ask the clerk to please read the name of the next person who will start for public comment.

May I?

Welcome, Mr. Warrer.

You have three minutes beginning now. Good evening, City Council. Obviously, watching through the mid-year report today, I think one slide stuck out with us very well, and that's the revenue and expenditures slide. As one number continues to rise at a normal slope, one seems to fall behind. That's our revenues. like to point back at the previous administration the amount of times where you know the idea was hey we're just going to increase the revenues and then that will in turn you know somewhat you know bend that gap between the expenditures and the revenue problem is we also handed out a lot of tax dollars in order to make those revenues. So what ends up happening is it's like that Three Stooges set or skit where it's like, hey, I have $20. No, you owe me $20. No, you owe me $20. It goes in a circle. We're realistically not doing anything. We're not bridging any gap. It may look nice on paper to have more money, but realistically, it's not there when we're giving it away. Another thing I want to point out, the recall petitions. They're in, 9,000 signatures. Congratulations to those people that went out and collected them. I know it's difficult. The one thing I'd like to point out, no matter what, whether we have disagreements, all 12 of you up there, including Mayor Lash, You have a chance every four years, technically every two, for two or three of you guys up there on the board to basically have the opportunity to vote you out. That is just part of the game. Whether we have disagreements, whatever, the electoral process is meant for a reason. The problem with this whole election recall nonsense, and I'll say it bluntly, It can be used as a weapon tool politically for future administrations down the line. I don't like something about you personally, what you're doing, how you're doing something. Well, we're just going to initiate a recall. You guys have the opportunity to impeach any sitting member if they do something illegal or something against the conduct of you guys up there as alderman and mayor. But if you're running a city and you could disagree with that, you know, oh, I think it should be done this way. Well, guess what? Every four years you have the opportunity at the ballot box to voice your opinion. And even better, you have the opportunity to get up, rise up, and run for office. A lot of you guys have done it. I've done it myself. It's not easy, but you got to be able to sit there and say, hey, if you want change, don't just expect for it to show up in your lap. Create it yourself. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ward. Last clerk, please read the name of the next person to offer public comment.

Ruby Gaskin.

We've got two minutes. We'll let you get through your three minutes, and then I'll conclude the 30. Welcome, Ms. Gaskin. You have three minutes beginning now.

I'm just coming to say I thank you, Mayor, Mike Seville. When we had the storm around July, 4th of July, you stood on your word. You took the trees down. They came down that Monday. You told me that Friday, that Monday, the tree guys was there taking them down. I have no problems with my cars anymore. Thank you. Mikesville, I appreciate you so much for being in that ward. Don't ever leave. We want you to stay. When I first moved into my house in 2005, I told you about the streetlights. You got those streetlights put bright, like I asked you to, because there are more seniors and single families over there that we need their protection. As far as if someone tried to do anything, we can know who that person are. Thank you guys so much. I appreciate you all. I have nothing bad to say about you. I just appreciate you guys. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Gaskin. We do have one minute left. There is one more public commenter. I'll ask the clerk to please read the name of the last person we're going to offer public comment.

Mary Fulks.

Welcome, Ms. Fultz. You have three minutes beginning now.

All right, three minutes or one?

One minute, five seconds.

One minute, five seconds. Okay, there's not a lot I can say in that time, but I will say this right here. I didn't come down to bash anybody. I came down to show that I appreciate everybody that's elected on this board. I appreciate my Aurora community, and I'm going to say it the way that I mean it from my heart. I appreciate community, period. I don't do the politics. It seems like it because I ran for the school board and everything, but when I ran for the school board, I was running for the community. When I see these people here and they come up and they make that plea and they're from a union like that, I appreciate them. cancer survivor, stroke survivor, diabetes. My car just caught on fire yesterday. I needed 911. My grandchildren, my children, we need you all to be able to do right by people like them. I just met them today outside. But I will say this. I got no problems with nobody. I don't. But I feel that people make problems where problems shouldn't be. Not here to bash anybody. Here to say that we all should be able to get along. We all can get along. We're getting along at community events and things like that. But what about when it comes to our livelihood?

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Phillips.

So I just want everybody to think about that.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Okay, this concludes the public comment portion. And next we'll hear both the consent agenda and direct to council consent agenda. Will the clerk now please read both agendas in full.

Mr. Mayor, go ahead.

Alderman White.

Was there anyone else on the list to speak?

No.

Okay.

260394, a resolution authorizing the acceptance of the low bid from Artlip and Sons in Aurora for the replacement of three rooftop units in the Aurora Police Department headquarters TAS facility in the amount of $297,430 and a 10% contingency of $29,743. 260410, a resolution establishing the maximum number of Class A package sales gas station beer and wine only liquor licenses unofficially related to the application from Supreme Station at 2130 West Galena Boulevard in Ward 5. 260414, a resolution to award East Benton Street sewer separation project located in Ward 2, 2H Linden Sun Sewer and Water in the bid amount of $1,527,260. 260419, a resolution approving a new lease with the Riverfront Playhouse for the space located at 13 South Water Street for a term of one year. 260429, a motion authorizing and directing Chief Human Resources Officer to execute a settlement agreement on behalf of the city on the workers' compensation claim. 24Q051562349. 260430, a motion authorizing and directing the Chief human resources officer to execute a settlement agreement on behalf of the city and the workers' compensation. Claim 25Q05M538539. 260431, a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute the local public agency amendment for federal participation with the state of Illinois in an amount not to exceed $62,000 and phase two supplemental number two engineering services agreement with HR Green and the city clerk to sign the appropriation of rebuild Illinois bond funds for Montgomery Road and Hill Avenue intersection improvements in an amount of $62,000. 260440, a resolution authorizing the execution of a contract to precision pavement markings in the amount of $185,443.15 for the 2026 Pavement Marking Maintenance Project. 260443, an ordinance granting a conditional use permit for educational services on the property located at 2001 Heather Drive. 260448, an ordinance amending chapter 49 of the code of ordinances by modifying the zoning map attached thereto to rezone property located at 134 South Glenwood Place from R1, one family dwelling district to P, park and recreational district. 260449, an ordinance granting a conditional use permit for educational services to allow a parking lot expansion at Freeman Elementary School on the property located at 134 South Glenwood Place. 260451, a resolution authorizing the acceptance of the lowest bid from Safeway Tuck Pointing in the amount of $108,700 with a 10% contingency contingency of $10,870 for exterior masonry restoration services for the venue at 21 South Broadway. 260452, a resolution authorizing engineering enterprises to provide professional engineering services for the clear wells number one and number two rehabilitation project for the water production division in the not to exceed amount of $245,363. 260457, a resolution to accept a VCA charities grant in the amount of $10,000 for a pack walk pilot program for adoptable animals at Aurora Animal Care and Control. 260464, a resolution to accept an ASPCA, the Rescue Effect Campaign Grant, in the amount of $10,000 for Aurora Animal Care and Control. 260477, approval of the minutes of the Tuesday, July 28th, 2026 City Council meeting.

Second.

Okay, are there any questions or motions to remove any items from either the direct to council consent agenda or the consent agenda? Okay, there is a motion to both the direct council's consent agenda and the consent agenda as read, made by Alderman Franco, seconded by Alderwoman Garza. If there's no further questions, I'll ask the clerk to please call the roll on both consent agendas.

Barrero?

Yes.

Garza? Yes. Masiakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Savelle? Yes. Banuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. Levinas? Zero, no.

Motion carries, the consent agenda and direct counsel agenda are both approved. Next I'll ask the clerk to please read the first item under unfinished business.

260434, a resolution authorizing the execution of a license agreement for the use of a portion of City of Aurora property for an outdoor dining area on an open space located approximately at 25 West New York Street between the Fox River and 29 West New York Street. So moved.

Is there a motion to approve this resolution? Second. Motion was made by Alderman Smith, second by Alderman Franco. If there's no further discussion, I'll ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Barrero? Yes. Garza? Yes. Maciakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Seville? Yes. Benuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. 11 yes, 0 no.

Motion carries. This resolution is approved. There's no new business, no reports moving to the bills. Agenda item 260490, the bill summary for large bill list. Is there a motion to approve and pay the bills? Motion to pay the bills. As presented, a motion was made by Alderman Franco, seconded by Alderman Seville. Are there any questions or discussion on the bills? Hearing none, the last clerk to please call the roll.

Ferreiro? Yes. Garza? Yes. Maciakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Savelle? Yes. Benuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. 11 yes, 0 no.

Motion carries. Bills are approved for payment. There being no further business coming before the council, is there a motion to adjourn this meeting?

Motion to adjourn.

Motion made by Alderman Smith, seconded by Alderman Franco. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. This meeting is adjourned at 726 p.m.