City Council - Regular Meeting

I would like to call to order the Tuesday, June 2 meeting of the Danville City Council. Roll call to establish some quorum, Madam Clerk.

Mayor Ricky Williams, Jr.

Present.

Vice Mayor Eve Ludwig. Present. Alderman Ed Butler.

Here.

Carolyn Detoy. Present. James Prashard.

Present.

Tom Hightower. Here. Barry Johnson. Present. Mike O'Kane.

Here.

Mike Poore. Present. Rick Strebing.

Here.

Sherry Pickering. Here. Tricia Teague.

Present.

Jaleel Jones.

Here.

Doug Ahrens. Here. John Cooper. Here. 14 present.

14 present. We do have a quorum. At this time, we'll have the invocation led by Alderman Barry Johnson, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Alderman Butler. Please rise.

Thank you. Thank you.

Let's all bow, please. Unto you, O Lord, do we lift our voices. Unto you, O God, do we exclaim praises to your holy name. Father, we thank you for providing us another month together as the City Council of Danville, Illinois. First, we would like to thank you for the hard work and relentless efforts of the staff members of this city. Thank you for all of their efforts to provide safety, comfort, and stability to the citizens of this fair city and the present support they provide to the mayor of the city and the council members. We ask that you will continue to be with them as they engage in activities that provide integrity, well-being, and financial strength to this community. Likewise, Father, we ask prayers for this council. Our petition is for you to grant us discernment, good counsel, and the wisdom to make decisions that positively impact our city and this community. As we go forward with this meeting tonight, let us continue to be mindful of the needs of this city. We ask that you give us positive insight as we review amendments, resolutions, and our appeals, and let us vote in a manner that will benefit our city. Please allow us to conduct business with the character and integrity that is pleasing and acceptable to your sight. Let us continue to engage in the affairs of the city with unyielding integrity, honesty, and truthfulness. Help us to find constructive solutions that will enable the positive growth of Danville. Father, help us embrace the needs of the citizenry with heartful sincerity. We ask you for help and understanding as we seek solutions that will provide strength and stability to our city. We also know that without your assistance to the matters at hand, our efforts will be fruitless or at least less powerful and less effective. For we know that Philippians 4, 6 through 7 states, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So, Father, on this evening, as you search the hearts, beneath our prayer, and find honesty, sincerity, and trustworthiness, and count it as good toward the uplifting and the upward mobility of this city. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you for your son. May you continue to bless Danville, and may you continue to bless the United States of America. This is our prayer. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Alderman. You have before you the minutes from the May 19th meeting. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Any discussion or debate? All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign. Thank you very much. You also have an agenda before you this evening. Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

So moved. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Any discussion or debate? All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign. Thank you very much. I do not have any proclamations for you. However, at this time, I would entertain a vote with a motion to concur with the appointment of Marlene and Nicole Pounce of the airport board. Is there a motion to do so? So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion or debate? Roll call vote, please.

That's a voice vote, Mayor.

I'm sorry. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign. Thank you very much. Are there any reports of boards, agencies, or commissions? Seeing none, I do have a number of items of information for you this evening. Number one, this Friday we have our summer luau for First Fridays. And Rhianna, do we have any tickets left?

We do. We have about 50 tickets left. So we'll be selling them all up until Friday morning. And then if you are still figuring out what you want to do with so much going on in the community over the weekend, you can stop by Temple Plaza and we'll still be selling tickets on site.

Awesome. Thank you so much. That's always a good time if you've not been yet. We also have Balloons Over Vermilion this year. It's going to be at a new site, which is Kennecott County Park, and that's going to be exciting. I think it gives them more opportunities to launch, which we all want to see the balloons, right? So that's a great thing. Also, every Sunday night at 7 p.m., now we have our municipal band concerts at Lincoln Park. They do a wonderful job, and they usually go until, I think, the second week in July. And then after that, Doc Ashton and his team are kind enough to continue playing through Labor Day. So awesome, good music going on every Sunday night in Lincoln Park. I'm also really thrilled to announce to you that we have our registrations for our own basketball league are live. You can go online on Facebook and sign up there. The youth leagues will be at Garfield Park on Monday nights from 530 to 830. There will be a sixth through eighth grade league and a high school league. Those games will be played simultaneously. At this league, we will have four event staff as well as a coordinator, and also we will have officers present. In precautionary measure, we want to make sure everybody stays safe and that we know that there's not going to be any nonsense. We're going to have some good, clean fun this summer, right? Then also on Wednesday nights, we are going to have the adult basketball league. So many people that... or let's say a few years younger than me to much older, we grew up playing at Lincoln Park, right? So that's why we decided to do the adult basketball league there. That will be on Wednesday nights from 5.30 to 8.30. So looking forward to having everyone out for those. You all know that we had a number of state champions this past week and track and field and I'm very excited to tell you that several of them are going to be with us at next council meeting so that they can be recognized and Looking forward to that. Congratulations. We had state champions at every school from Shalarm and to DHS and Northridge, so at all different grade levels. So congratulations to them. I was pretty excited. It wasn't a champion, but my own nephew went to state for the first time, and he and the relay team from Northridge ended up in 12th place. So again, they've got a long way to go, but they are young. Those are all the fun things. Unfortunately, we have a couple of challenging things. For those of you who have been paying attention, we had a young athlete, Mr. Jamie Rapier, who played baseball, who was hit incidentally, who was very struggling. We need to make sure that we remember him in our thoughts and prayers and are supportive of him and his family. as he continues to heal. So far, he is making progress. So let's just pray it stays that way. Then also another young lady there at Shalerman, Hart Williamson. You've probably seen the Hope for Heart signs all over town. She received her bone marrow transplant today. So let's make sure we remember her and her family and thoughts and prayers as well. Madam Clerk, at this time, do we have any petitions, communications, and audience comments? Yes.

We do. When I call your name, please come to the podium. You'll have three minutes to speak. Diana Schult.

Mayor and members of the City Council, I'm here again to highlight the issue of the semi-trucks blocking the road next to the Sigma facility. They must block the road to ingress into Sigma facility. That's the only way they have to get there. Sometimes they completely block the north and the southbound lanes. I was going through there the other night and a truck just turned like he was going to go into Sigma. They aren't even receiving them yet and it completely blocks the road. So this obviously is a problem for any of the residents out there, and it also could block emergency vehicles from getting to give someone the help that they need. I looked and the facility has been there since at least 2012. That's 14 years ago. I also heard someone on council one night say they didn't know if it could be resolved. I truly believe it can. I presented the problem and possible solutions to the council on several occasions. I appreciate Ms. Tigg for corresponding with me on my concerns. I appreciate Chief Yates talking to me after a council meeting about efforts to address the violators. This has resulted in a decrease in semis parking near Sigma on the road from my observations and other neighbors of mine. And Sigma also put up signs saying if you're parked here, you will be ticketed. So that's helped, but that's still not resolving the problem. So I do thank Mary Williams, who was able to speak with me briefly before the meeting this evening. He indicated he has a meeting with SGMA to discuss this issue. So thanks for continuing to work to resolve this issue. Thank you, Ms. Stilwell.

Cindy Nacco.

Good evening. I was really pleased at how quickly DC Fitness came down as it did pose a serious threat to our community. My concern is how these decisions are made. For six years, the property at 710 Grant Street, I used to pass it all the time on my way to the bank from the Symphony, has presented a serious danger to the community. It was a burned out building. The woman lives at 712 next door. She takes care of her property. She even mows the grass on that other property. I don't understand why nothing is being done about this piece of property. When I was on the town council, we had a burned out building, and it posed a problem for students walking past it. And we plowed it down, and we sent the bill to the owners, we put a lien on their property, I would suggest that you figure out how to do that here. Also for the salary of the mayor, I don't think that it should be increased. I think this is an elected service position and we have enough people filing for this office currently who are qualified. However, my suggestion would actually be to lower the salary of the mayor, to hire a true city manager who could manage our system here much better. We need professional help in this regard. We have the building blocks for a state-of-the-art community. We have a lake. We have beautiful recreational areas. But there is no plan. I've been here for now almost 10 years. We need a planning board. that works to set the stage for the future of our community to make it as vibrant as it possibly can be. It's a beautiful area. I'm tired of people saying negative things about this place. We have the building blocks. I do wish, Mayor, that when there is a real problem at the community college, you might want to address it. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Nacco.

Gloria Bolden.

Good evening, everyone. Good evening. I had a situation this weekend about my mail, where I formerly lived at on Jewel Street. And I went there. I was waiting for a package, but it never came. And I'm fussing that these people are supposed to send it. I could say something. I said, the Lord told me go to my old house. And there my mail was on the porch. And when I stayed there, I got a citation for bushes and overgrown lawn and stuff. I got this citation. And it was in my house, but they sent me the letter. So that's when I came to the board again about that. But as I went there Saturday, there is abandoned houses, bushes that is grown over the houses. Do the city works drive down that street anymore? They was driving plenty when I was living there. Is they ignoring this? If they are, are they ignoring this? There's a problem over there. They're abandoned houses and weeds, and it's just terrible. And something needs to be done. If you're tearing down houses, look at those houses that need to be torn down over there.

Thank you, Mrs. Bolden.

That's all I have.

Thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to address the council this evening? All right, thank you. We do not have any zoning petitions this evening. There is one item I wanted to remind you of, and I'm glad I see the ladies in the back there. There is a summer feeding program throughout the city of Danville that you can sign up for. A lot of people are struggling with food right now. I will make sure that we post that on our city page tomorrow for you to make sure that everyone gets that information. But please take advantage of that. There's no reason, especially for any young people at all, to be going hungry. Ladies, thank you for the reminder. I appreciate that. And we will make sure we get that shared out to the community. There are no zoning petitions this evening. However, you do have before you the payrolls of May 22nd and 29th. Is there a motion to approve those? So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion or debate? Roll call vote, please.

Alderman Strebing?

Yes.

Turing? Yes. Teague? Yes. Ludwig? Yes. Jones? Yes. Arns? Yes. Cooper? Yes. Butler? Yes. Detoy? Yes. Pichard?

Yes.

Hightower?

Yes.

Johnson? Yes. O'Kane?

Yes.

Poore?

Yes.

14 yes.

14 yes. The motion carries. You also have before you the vouchers payable of May 26th and June 2nd. Is there a motion to approve those?

So moved. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion or debate? Roll call vote, please.

Alderman Pickering? Yes. Teague? Yes. Ludwig? Yes. Jones? Yes. Arntz? Yes. Cooper? Yes. Butler? Yes. Detoy? Yes. Bichard? Yes. Hightower? Yes. Johnson? Yes. O'Kane? Yes. Poore? Yes. Strebing?

Yes.

14, yes.

14, yes. The motion carries. At this time, we'll receive our Public Services Committee report. Chairman Streetman.

Oh, thank you. Puts us 11A. We have an ordinance amending the Danville City Code Chapter 96, alcoholic liquor and video gaming. I'll make the motion to approve and especially with the reading and ask for approval. I'll need a second, please. Second. Is there any questions on 11A's ordinance? Yes. Ms. Teague?

The class E, that's new, correct?

No, that's an existing. It's a club license.

So we're just adding a writer for E? Yes. OK, thank you.

Yes.

Any other questions on 11A? If not, roll call, please.

Alderman Teague? Yes. Ledwig? Yes. Jones? Yes. Ahrens? Yes. Cooper? Yes. Butler? Yes. Detoy? Yes. Pichard? Yes. Hightower? Yes. Johnson? Yes. O'Kane? Yes. Poore? Yes. Strebing? Yes. Pickering? Yes. 14 yes.

Yes, thank you. Puts us to 11B, a resolution to apply for the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant, AFG. I'll make the motion to approve and switch with the reading and ask for approval. I'll need a second, please.

Second.

Is there any questions on 11b's resolution? If not, roll call, please.

Alderman Ludwig? Yes. Jones? Yes. Arns? Yes. Cooper? Yes. Butler? Yes. Detoy? Yes. Pichard? Yes. Hightower? Yes. Johnson? Yes. O'Kane? Yes. Poore? Yes. Strebing?

Yes.

Pickering? Yes. Teague? Yes. 14 yes.

14 yes, thank you. What's this 11C? We have a resolution authorizing the renewal of the I Am Responding software agreement for the Danville Fire Department. I'll make the motion to approve and dispense with the regent and ask for approval. I'll need a second, please.

Second.

Is there any questions on 11C's resolution? If not, roll call, please.

Alderman Jones? Yes. Arntz? Yes. Cooper? Yes. Butler? Yes. Detoy? Yes. Pichard?

Yes.

Hightower? Yes. Johnson? Yes. O'Kane? Yes. Poore? Yes. Strebing? Yes. Pickering? Yes. Teague? Yes. Ludwig? Yes. 14 yes.

Yes, thank you.

Puts us to 11D, who have a resolution authorizing renewal of the dark trace security monitoring for the informational technology division. Item number 20. I make the motion to approve and dispense with the reading and ask for approval. I will need a second, please. Second. Is there any questions on 11D's resolution? If not, roll call, please.

Alderman Arns. Yes. Cooper. Yes. Butler. Yes. Detoy. Yes. Pichard. Yes. Hightower. Yes. Johnson. Yes. O'Kane. Yes. Poore. Yes. Strebing. Yes. Pickering. Yes. Teague. Yes. Ludwig. Yes. Jones. Yes. 14 yes.

14 yes. Thank you. Puts this 11E. We have a resolution approving a memorandum of understanding, MOU, between the City of Danville, Danville Police Department, and the United States of Veteran Affairs VA Illini Healthcare System. I'll make the motion to approve and dispense with the reading and ask for approval. I'll need a second, please. Second. Is there any questions on 11E? Resolution? If not, roll call, please.

Alderman Cooper? Yes. Butler? Yes. Detoy? Yes. Pichard? Yes. Hightower? Yes. Johnson? Yes. O'Kane?

Yes.

Poore?

Yes.

Strebing?

Yes.

Pickering? Yes. Teague? Yes. Ludwig? Yes. Jones? Yes. Ahrens?

Yes.

14 yes.

14 yes. Thank you. Puts us to 11F. We have a resolution authorizing the trade or trade-in disposal of unused police vehicles. I'll make the motion to approve and dispense with the reading and ask for approval. I will need a second.

Second.

Is there any questions on 11F's resolution? If not, roll call, please.

Alderman Butler.

Yes.

Detoy. Yes. Pichard. Yes. Hightower. Yes. Johnson. Yes. O'Kane.

Yes.

Poore. Yes. Strebing. Yes. Pickering. Yes. Teague. Yes. Ludwig. Yes. Jones. Yes. Arns. Yes. Cooper. Yes. 14 yes.

14 yes. Thank you. I remember 11G. I'll need a motion and a second to accept and place on file the Treasury report for March of 2026. So moved.

Second.

Is there any questions on 11G? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. 11H is to accept and place on file the city clerk's report. I'll need a motion and a second for that as well.

So moved. Second.

Is there any questions on 11H? If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Thank you. Any information? I don't have any tonight, Mayor, so...

Thank you very much, Chairman. At this time, we'll receive our Public Works Committee report. Chairman Thor.

Thank you, Mayor. We will meet here in these chambers next Tuesday, 6 PM. Everyone is welcome.

Thank you. And we have nothing else. Thank you, Chairman. Are there any items of information for the good of the cause? Yes, Chairman.

Center City Neighborhood Group will have their first meeting of the summer this coming Thursday, 7 p.m., Central Christian Church. This is a joint community group with Wards 1 and Wards 5. So.

Chairman, what time is that?

7 p.m. Thursday. Central Christian.

All right. Thank you. Any other items of information? All right. At this time, we have item 14, an ordinance setting the compensation for treasurer commencing in 2027 and ending in 2031. Is there a motion to concur? So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Before we actually vote on this, you all had a number of questions about this position, and I wanted to make sure that I gave our Corporation Council an opportunity item to answer those. So Council, Parker?

So regarding the question of if you choose to change the treasurer's position from an elected position to an appointed position. So the Illinois Municipal Code does provide a home rule municipality. the power to provide for our officers their manner of selection and terms of office as approved by referendum or as otherwise authorized by law, which could be an ordinance. They're changing from elected to an appointed position would not, in my opinion, be a change in the form of government that would require a referendum and preclude an ordinance. However, proceeding by referendum, there is no home rule preemption to the municipal code. which states that the positions of mayor, alder persons, city clerk, and city treasurer shall be elected. The city clerk position is already filled by mayoral appointment pursuant to our own ordinance. Nothing in Article 7, Section 12 prohibits a home rural municipality from adopting its own law or an ordinance. concerning which of their officers shall be elected or appointed. As I mentioned, we've already done that with our city clerk position. By referendum, looking at the Illinois Election Code, resolutions or ordinances initiate public question pursuant to law must be adopted not less than 79 days before a regularly scheduled election to be eligible for submission on the ballot at such election. The city would place the question or provide the question to be placed on the ballot clearly stated with the election date As I stated, that's 79 days before the election, which I believe is April 6th of 27, which means it'd have to be filed on or before January 17th of 27. After the question is submitted, the clerk would provide a certified copy of the ordinance or resolution, submit it to the local election authority, which is the Danville Election Commission here in Vermillion County. The commission reviews it and places it on the ballot. So it requires a simple majority vote to pass. If it passes, the city adopts an ordinance that abolishes the elected treasurer position, creates and redefines the office as appointed, which is by the mayor with the consent of the council. You cannot shorten a term of the current elected treasurer. This would take effect at the end of the incumbent's term. Are there any questions on how that would work?

Council, just a clarification. This could also be presented during non-municipal elections as well. So this could also go in November as well, correct?

It just has to be 79 days prior to the election. Correct. That was my question. Oh, OK.

If it could go on the fall election. So it's already in place. If it's voted into place, we would know the treasurer doesn't have to run for reelection.

Correct. As long as there are candidates that are running at that election, it can be, yes. It's got to be open to all the voters. I believe that... if that position is nonpartisan, then that would be sufficient as well.

Any further discussion? Yes, Mr. Butler.

Yes, I got a little question. Is this a new ordinance that somebody done dreamt up there for us to accept? Or is there a old ordinance that we have been abiding by in the past?

For the treasurer's position, no. This would be the city as a home rule municipality Creating an ordinance and submitting it if done by referendum Submitting it to the voters to determine whether or not they want to change the position from elected to appointed If done by referendum that that would be the process Yes alderman irons and in clarification if it were not to be done by referendum, can it be done by ordinance alone?

Yes

Yes, Mr. Butler. Yeah, so otherwise, what you're saying is then it could be changed.

Yes.

But tonight, just as a reminder, you're only voting on the proposal as set forth by Treasurer Heron. Any further discussion or debate?

Roll call. That proposal can change if we change the ordinance, though. I mean.

As long as it's done at least 100.

So we've got plenty of time to do that. Because right now, what requirements are there for mayor or treasurer? What requirements is there?

Whatever those are required by the state of Illinois.

which is nothing. There's no requirements.

Just simply, I believe that you have to be a certain age, have resided there for at least a year, and owe the municipality no money. Any further discussion? Yes, Mr. Butler.

Yeah, he just asked a question that it has to be changed before October the 8th, 2026. Correct. Yes, sir. Okay there. So we really don't have that much time No, sir.

Yeah Yes vice chairman, okay So the council can ask for a referendum. Can the public ask for a referendum?

Mm-hmm.

They can they can they can petition To do to have that same process I

And what does that take? Is there time on that?

There are. For the public to do it. I'll get back to you on that I you know I I was posing the question if this this council moved to do that I can I can look into the the time limits if the public wants to petition there's a different set of can I ask Doug question a couple years ago when we tried the referendum for the city manager

What was the, and that was by petition.

It's a similar process. You have to go out and collect signatures in the community of registered voters, petitioning to place that on the ballot. You go to the courts, they affirm that your petition is accurate and it's placed on the ballot as long as there's room on the ballot. Because there are limitations on how many referendums can be on a particular election.

And it's 92 days prior to the regular election, as opposed to the 79. So that's August.

Earlier.

Yes, Alderman Irons.

Obviously, I want to see it converted to an appointed position. I think there's others that feel that same way, too. I have, as I've stated before, I have no problem going with this kind of a salary as a transition into that segue, but it sounds like we also need to be taking action as a council to make that decision. And I guess the question becomes, do people feel the council should make that decision, or is there support among the council to do that?

And if not, then it sounds like the council would rather have a referendum to decide that Alderman it was my intention to bring it to both committees for discussion because we would still have time for you all to make that decision Unless the council please otherwise Yes, sir Yes, alderman.

Okay if it If it was pushed back till the November, not November, excuse me, the April election, you'd still be electing a treasurer, and that treasurer would serve for four years because it hadn't changed before then, right?

That's correct. If there's a candidate that's elected in that same election, it would take effect after that term.

So you're voting on this 14? You're voting on it right now?

Yes, item 14. Yes, sir.

Well, I'm going to be a no on this. And I like Chris. I always have liked Chris. You know, if he got beat in an election or anything by somebody who doesn't know anything about what they're doing, we're sort of screwed on this, because there's no educational requirements on it. That's why I'd probably support the ordinance making an appointed position. A 25,000 year increase, that bothers me a little bit. We're only giving 2% and 3% raises to the city employees. That's troublesome for me. But the main thing is, I'm an elected person on this council. And I talk to an awful lot of people, especially where I work, and I haven't talked to a single person in favor of either one of these races. So if I'm elected in this position, I'm representing them. I'm not representing how I feel about anything. So I'm going to be a no on both. And primarily the reason is because I am elected by these people, and that's what they want me to do.

Alderman Arns.

Certainly, not to dispute anything Alderman Cooper indicated, but one of our roles is also as a fiduciary responsibility over the finances of the community. And I'm sorry, just the history that this has gone through. It is not worth going back to risk. This is not worth... were potentially penny wise pound foolish if we reject this. Now, I'm counting on the mayor to deliver those to the committee. And I'm hoping that the council will vote to make this an appointed position. But I think either way, it needs to be at that kind of a number. And I think it's sort of a disservice to the candidate in there. If you already know the number is going to go up as soon as you leave, that just doesn't seem like that would feel right with myself. So I'll be in support of it. wholeheartedly behind getting it to an appointed position.

I would, yes, Alderman. Yes, so if we vote for this tonight, then it couldn't be changed until. The ordinance is passed. The ordinance is passed. If, well. Yes, what you're saying, and now the difference between in the cost of elected and appointed, there will be a difference in salary.

That would be your determination as the alderman, yes, if there were a difference. Yes, Alderman Arms.

But to clarify, if the vote is done and it's not decided to take it to referendum, the council makes the decision, it doesn't matter if we have voted in support tonight because the position will no longer exist come May 1 or whatever the rollover date. Is that accurate, council? I'm sorry. If we approve the salary tonight, regardless of what the number is, if the position is voted to be changed to an appointed position, the position will no longer exist after this term has ended.

Is that correct? Yes. Any salary change you make today does not go in effect until the next term. And whether you decide to make it elected or appointed, that would have to be addressed at that point.

Alderman Teague.

If we vote on the salary tonight and we make it an appointed position later, this salary does not affect that position because this ordinance is for elected officials. That position would be for an appointed official, at which point that position would become an employee and be subject to the wage chart. It has nothing whatsoever to do with how we vote tonight.

You're absolutely correct, Alderman Teague. I would just strongly encourage you, no matter what you do with a mayoral salary, this is critically important. You all know, had we not been good stewards of the taxpayer dollars and been able to divert money that we'd saved in surplus over to the roads, because we were put on the stop payment because of all the issues from our previous treasurer, we would not have been able to do any road work for two years. So it's critically important that we support this position. It's not about a person. Treasurer Heron has done a heck of a job, and I'm very appreciative and thankful for his character, for your diligence, for the way that you and your team have turned things around, for the way finance has helped you. But this is not about any of us. This is about the position and the future of the city. And as Alderman Aron said, we've got to make sure we protect the financial interests of our citizens. Because it could have been worse. We could have had all of our funds from the state of Illinois frozen. That would have included being able to even receive back our own local sales tax and such. So I just hope that we're very mindful of that as we vote. And I would ask you to support this.

The only thing I've got to say is I don't want to go back and see what ever happened again. And technically, if the state and the feds have been doing their jobs like they should have, of course, we had COVID in there.

Good thing.

We should have stopped getting payments back in 2017. In lieu of, we almost had everything cleaned up when they finally held back one and said, you've got the grant, but we can't give it to you until we got your final audit. They should have done that years ago, and they didn't. We could have been a world to hurt. With the COVID money that came in, we would have had to give all that back with everything with interest. Any small grant we got would have had to went back, and we'd had to pay it back. We didn't have the money in the coffers to do it. I don't think we can risk going back to somebody that gets voted in that really doesn't have a clue what's going on. I don't want to ever see that again.

That's all I'm going to take.

I can appreciate the situation that we were in previously with our previous treasurer. And I am very grateful for all of the work that has been done in the treasurer's office with our current treasurer and his staff to correct the situation. But I also know that an elected position is not a position that requires a certain amount of education or professionalism. What it requires is being able to gather enough votes. And like I said before, as it pertains to any elected position, Bozo the Clown could get elected because Bozo the Clown is popular and that doesn't guarantee that Bozo the Clown is going to do a good job regardless of what the salary is and so one of the so I feel like we're having this false equivalence conversation here saying that if we raise the salary then we're guaranteed to get a good person. We're not guaranteed to get a good person because the citizens choose. We would hope that the citizens would elect the best person, but that is not always the case. As we have seen in many other elections in many other municipalities, It is not always the case that the most educated person, the most qualified person, is the person that ends up in the position. Therefore, what we're voting on here has nothing to do with education or whether or not the person is qualified or whether or not the person is going to do a good job. We're not guaranteeing that. This does not guarantee that. The only thing that would guarantee that is if the position became appointed because if the position became appointed, then you could have specific education requirements around it and hire the best person. But we don't have the ability to hire the best person. The people get to select the person, whomever that is. We were lucky that we got the person that we have now. We may not be that lucky even if the salary raises to $90,000 a year. For that reason and for that reason alone, I am in agreement with Alderman Cooper in that this is too significant of a raise at one time for an elected position. So I will be voting no on this simply for that and because I have gotten significant feedback from people who are against it and as Alderman Cooper said, we represent the people and so therefore I will be voting in the interest of the people who have brought their concerns to me. I do believe a raise is, as I've said previously, I believe that a raise is a good idea, not this much all at once. What I had suggested previously as an alternative would be $5,000 a year every year, which is the trajectory that we have been on already with the previous version of this ordinance. Obviously, nobody else wanted that, which is fine, because that is how democracy works. So if this is what we're voting on, I will be voting no.

I would just like to remind the council that we did a wage study four years ago. And all of the other employees, yes, this is a substantial wage increase compared to other employees. But literally four years ago, we did a salary study. And at that time, two years ago, we raised every employee in the city of Danville up to the minimum of their salary range. Some people, it was only 6% to 7%. But there were some people whose salaries doubled, so over 50% actually. And so we have already, we made sure, and I appreciate your support in that Alderman Teague and all of you who were on the council at that time. We made sure that we included all of our team members at that time. And we made sure that we got them all up to that minimum range. That was not done with the mayoral position. And I don't believe that that was necessarily with the treasurer either. And while it's absolutely true that you could elect, I would hope that we would not, I don't believe the people here would be unwise enough to elect Boza the Clown. It could happen. I do believe that if you have a lower salary, you're going to get less qualified candidates who apply for the job. I think that you see that over and over and over again. For example, think about it when we were hiring for our billing and collections clerks. At first, that salary was incredibly low, and our deputy comptroller could tell you we went through probably five to seven people. Then finally we raised it up, and guess what? We've had the same people consistently for a season. And so I do think that by raising the salary, you have a better chance of getting someone who's competent. And I would like to remind you all that thanks to your help and support, we included everyone, including our union personnel, our non-union personnel, Every position was brought to their minimum salary except for those who were elected. Roll call vote, please. Oh, I'm sorry. Alderman Butler. Yeah, well, I had one, too.

I agree. I think it was Doug. Now, what it says here that I think that it would be a disservice to our treasurer And I'm sure that Chris will, if he run again, he would probably make it. But the way it says here in the reading is we're asked that provided the salaries or other compensation for elected municipal officials must be set by ordinance, and such salaries or other compensation may not be increased or diminished so as to take effect during their terms in office. I have an issue with that. If we lock that in now, I think he's worth more than what he's getting now myself. Yes, sir. And, you know, especially when I've seen to where we agreed on $100,000 there for just an auditor or another person to come in to audit our books. A whole lot. And what's that? a month worth of work or two months worth of auditing, and we're paying them when they're getting the information from the treasurer or from the comptroller, I have an issue with that.

Alderman Butler, you bring up a great point. We did have to pay, as Treasurer Heron provided to you, we all had to pay a substantial amount of money to external agencies in order to get us caught up and corrected. However, what you're referring to as how we cannot change the salary during the term, That is required by state law. State law prevents us, and that's why we have to decide at least six months ahead of time, as you stated earlier, before October 8th. That's why we must provide it, because we cannot change it. Once it's set, after October 8th, we cannot make a change by state law for the entirety of the next term, for any of the elected positions, not only for the treasurer, but for the mayor, for the city council, et cetera. So that is a state statute. We cannot change it. And that's why I believe Treasurer Heron proposed an initial salary that would get him up to an equitable position, and then from there, a 3% increase per year. But that's a state requirement, and that's not anything that we can change, Alderman.

Yeah, OK. I'll just.

Because they don't want you to be able to vote yourself a raise, basically, right? Or the council will be able to vote yourself a raise in your office. So in that sense, it's a very good thing.

Yeah, because I think he deserved more than that. He done got us up to where we are now. And I think he done a hell of a good job of doing it. And I think he should be compensated for it through a salary.

Thank you, Mr. Butler. Roll call vote, please.

Vice Mayor Ludwig. Yes. Alderman Jones.

Yes.

Arns. Yes. Cooper. No. Butler.

Yes.

Detoy. Yes. Pichard.

Yes.

Hightower. Yes. Johnson.

Yes. Yes.

Sorry. O'Kane.

Yes.

Poore. Yes. Strebing. Yes. Pickering. Yes. Teague. No. 12 yes.

12 yes, the motion carries. Item 15 is an ordinance setting the compensation for mayor commencing in 2027 and ending in 2031. Is there a motion and a second to approve?

So moved. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion or debate? Alderman Arns.

The discussions that we've had, I think, have clarified where I'm at on this. I will be voting no. And as Alderman Cooper indicated, this is something where there seems to be a great deal of unification out in the community. And I am good with where it's at. And I do hope to be a potential recipient. So I will be voting no. Thank you.

Alderman Teague.

Since it hasn't changed in terms of what's being proposed, I will be voting no. I had said previously that I was going to abstain because I made that statement before any discussion had occurred and I did not want to sway the direction of the discussion as related to This specific salary or any other alternative salary that might be proposed, but since it has not changed, and I've already stated that I was not going to vote for it, that I would have been a no, then I will go ahead and vote no as well. And also, same as Alderman Arntz, could potentially be a recipient, and if it does increase, I would actually give part of it back.

Amen.

Alderman Butler.

I can concur with that as well. As far as all the candidates, I've heard, even yourself, Mayor, saying that getting a raise here doesn't make a difference with you is because you're doing well already. And I kind of think I would vote no as well for this.

Any further discussion or debate? I would simply remind everyone just about equity. We've worked really hard to be equitable for our staff and for all of our team members. This is not an argument about me, and this is not an argument about whether or not this salary is sufficient. Because if you can't live on $110,000 in Danville, something is wrong with you. Amen. I am in a unique position, though, that as a single man, who has no children and no debt except for my home, it's very easy for me to make that sacrifice. But I wonder if other people could make that sacrifice and would be willing to make that sacrifice if they didn't have a pension, a strong $100,000-plus pension, or if they didn't have other sources of income as far as grants and things from the state like that, you know. I think we have to consider that we've gotten every position up to the minimum except for the mayor's position according to the salary. I would say look at internal equity. The mayor is the 23rd highest paid person in the city of Danville despite the fact that he or she manages almost several hundred people and a $70 million budget. I would also ask you to look at and compare us to other communities. When you compare us to other communities that are exactly like us, Those mayors make around $100,000 a year, give or take. However, many of them do not have the same taxing districts that we do. So for example, they have several of them. The ones that are just like us, two out of five have separate fire districts. That means that their fire department raises its own money, it has its own board of directors, and the mayor doesn't oversee those personnel and that equipment. For us, that's almost 50 people and also millions of dollars of assets.

Two out of five have separate library districts.

Four out of five have separate park districts. Again, millions of dollars of assets and dozens of employees, and several of them Four out of five have separate transit districts. So that's our bus system. The mayor does not oversee that in that community. It's supported by a completely separate taxing body. You look at positions in our community that are comparable. The superintendent of schools makes almost twice what the mayor does. The president of DAC makes more than twice what the mayor does. You look at nonprofits. Nonprofits make approximately the same amount or the more than the mayor does with far less responsibility. So I'm not asking for you for a raise for myself or for any of these people that might be the mayor, but what I'm telling you is if we want to be fair, it demands an assessment and it demands another look because of the scope of responsibility that the person who sits in this seat oversees. The other thing that I would say is that you have to think about who can accept this position, right? For me, I was making $115,000 a year. So my first year and my first term, I lost over $160,000. Now, I knew that because I love this city. Again, I'm a single dude. I could do that, right? Now the salary is better. It is much better than it was, and I thank the Lord for that because it's more fair than it used to be, but it's still not where it should be, right? And I'm looking to the future. When you have somebody that doesn't have a great pension or somebody that doesn't have external resources from income from other sources, from grants or from their own personal business, you can greatly limit your pool by limiting the salary. So as we move forward, that's just something that I would like for you to consider. This is not about Ricky Williams. This is not about Trisha Teague, Doug Ahrens, or anyone else. This is about the future of Danville. And at a better salary, it's more fair, and you have an opportunity to recruit a higher candidate pool. So I would just ask you all to consider that as you move forward. We'll call Madam Clerk.

Alderman Jones.

No.

Barnes? No. Cooper?

No.

Butler? No. Detoy? Yes. Pichard? Yes. Hightower?

Yes.

Johnson?

No.

Okane?

Yes.

Poor?

Yes.

Strebing?

Yes.

Pickering? Yes. Teague? No. Ludwig? Yes. Eight yes.

Eight yes. The motion carries. At this time, having satisfied the agenda, I would entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign. Thank you. We are adjourned.