City Council - Special Meeting

We'll call this special meeting to order. Madam Clerk, please take the roll.

Mayor Miller?

Here. Alderpersons Clem?

Here.

Johnson? Here. Simmons is absent at the moment, but Parker?

Here.

Stacey? Here. Shadle?

Here.

Sanders is absent now, and Sellers is absent. We have a quorum.

Thank you. If you could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance led by Alderman Stacey.

Thank you.

Item number one is approval of the agenda. Is there such a motion? So moved.

Second.

Motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Clem. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion passes. Was there any public comment signed in for the special meeting?

I think I gave it to you all.

There was nothing on the second one.

I got put back out. Probably should have been. My mistake.

Okay, then we'll move on to item number three. Thank you. Which is the second reading of ordinance 202636. Could you please read this?

Ordinance amending section 104802 of the codified ordinances regarding charges for normal domestic strength waste and hours of operation for wastewater haulers. Manager Boyer.

Thank you, Your Honor. We brought this before council. We need to make some changes to Section 10-4802 related to waste haulers. We wanted to bump the fee from $40 to $50. And with 500 gallons, we want to go from $0.08 to $0.12 per gallon. Essentially, this is just recovering our costs associated with managing the dump station at the wastewater treatment plant. So staff recommends moving forward with this ordinance.

Thank you. Discussion? Madam Clerk, please take the roll.

Stacey. Aye. Shadle.

Aye.

Clem. Aye. Johnson. Aye. And Parker. Aye. The ordinance passes 5-0.

Item number four is the first reading of ordinance 20-26-42. Could you please read this?

ordinance authorizing the donation of certain personal property owned by the city. Tonight, we're looking at Pretzel City Kitchen's equipment. Thank you. Manager Boyer?

Thank you again, Your Honor. In 2025, we declared this kitchen equipment surplus inventory and council authorized me to sell it on an auction site. However, the yield program has approached the city and has requested that instead of auctioning this equipment to donate it to the Yield Program, and staff agrees, so staff recommends moving forward with the ordinance authorizing the donation of surplus Pretzel City Kitchen equipment to the Yield Program.

Thank you. Is there a motion to move this forward? So moved. Second. Motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Clem. Discussion on the ordinance? Seeing none, we'll move on to item number five, which is the first reading of ordinance. Oh, yeah, that Alderman Sanders came in at 722.

Thank you.

The first reading of...

I'm sorry, I was wanting to suspend the rules.

On what in particular? On number four. Motion made by Alderman Stacey for suspension of the rules.

I would second that.

Seconded by Alderman Shadle. Suspension of the rules is non-debatable and must pass by two-thirds majority. Madam Clerk, would you please take the roll?

Stacey? Aye. Shadle? Aye. Sanders? Aye. Sellers? Oh, what am I doing? Clem? Aye. Johnson? Aye. And Parker? Aye. The motion passes 6-0.

Then before you counsel is the final passage.

Stacey? Aye. Shadle?

Aye.

Sanders? Aye. Clem? Aye. And Johnson? Aye. And the ordinance passes six to zero.

Okay, we'll move on to item number five, which is the first reading of ordinance 202643. Could you please read this?

ordinance amending the master parking map to reflect improvements to Chicago Avenue, and I'll mark Alderperson Simmons present at 723. Thank you.

Manager Boyer?

Thank you, Your Honor. Two parking spaces were requested to be added to the overall parking map. However, in reviewing everything that we had, the whole map needed to be updated, and I'd be happy to turn this over to Director Sutman for discussion.

YES, IN 2023, THE CITY MOVED FROM A TEXT-BASED PARKING MAP FOR THE DOWNTOWN TO A DIGITAL MAP. THE OLD SYSTEM, WE DETERMINED, WAS A LITTLE CLUNKY AND HARD TO

make changes to.

It read a lot like 50 feet from this intersection, 100 feet from that intersection. So we switched it to kind of this living map. What you're seeing up there is just a PDF of the map. We also have, it's not a public map, but it's an online map. And this is where city staff actually does the editing. So these are all the parking spaces and signs are documented here. And it's kind of a living document that's backed up and secure and all that good stuff. As Rob said, when the two handicap places were put in a couple of months ago, I think, or last month, we noticed that we never did the updates to Chicago Avenue. So last week or week before, we went in and just updated this map to be accurate as of today.

Is there a motion to move this forward? So moved.

Second.

A motion made by Alderman Clem, seconded by Alderman Shadle. Discussion on the ordinance? Alderman Stacey?

What difference would it make if it was changed or if it remained the same? It's still Chicago Street. It's still?

It's kind of, I think, just housekeeping. We had a map that is the official map, and it wasn't accurate. So we're just correcting that by updating the map to be correct. Alderman Stacy.

Is there a charge to doing this?

The only charge would be staff time. Me and the deputy director's time to make the changes and then our licensing we already have for the mapping software. Other than that, no.

You have the license or you have... We already have it for many other things.

So we just use it for this also. Alderman Simmons.

I would like to make a motion to suspend the rules and just go ahead and vote on this. You okay with that? All right. We have a second. We have a motion made by Alderman Simmons.

Is there a second? Second. Second by Alderman Johnson for suspension of the rules. Again, non-debatable and must pass by two-thirds majority. Madam Clerk, would you please take the roll?

Stacey? Aye. Shadle? Aye. Sanders? Aye. Clem? Aye. Johnson? Aye. Simmons? Aye. And Parker? Aye. The motion to suspend passes seven to zero.

And before you is the final passage for this ordinance.

Stacey? Aye. Shadle? Aye. Sanders? Aye. Clem? Aye. Johnson? Aye. Simmons? Aye. And Parker? Aye. And the ordinance passes seven to zero.

Item number six is the adoption of resolution 202689. Could you please read this?

Resolution authorizing an on-airport memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration, or the FAA. Thank you.

Manager Weyer?

Thank you, Your Honor. There's a little bit of new material in here, but I'm just going to hit it over the high level, and then I'll go back, go through the details. The City Free Port operates Alberta's airport, which includes a precision approach path indicator system. It's been down for a number of years, and it's been on the list of projects to get repaired in a sequence with a lot of the other capital improvements at the airport. Just as a reminder, whenever we do airport improvements, 5% is locally funded, 5% is provided by the state, and 90% is provided by the FAA. With that in mind, precision approach path indicator system serving runway 06-24 at Albertus has been inoperable for several years. The city, in partnership with its aeronautical engineering consultant Crawford Murphy & Tilly, is replacing the PAPI system and installing new medium-intensity runway lighting, or MIRL, on Runway 06. Before these improvements can be placed into service, the Federal Aviation Administration must complete a required flight inspection and commissioning. The attached non-federal reimbursable agreement authorizes the FAA to perform these services. The agreement authorizes the FAA to complete the technical review, flight inspection, and commissioning necessary to certify the new lighting system for operational use. The City is required to advance the estimated cost of the FAA's scheduled inspection. Following completion, the FAA will reconcile the actual costs of the services that are provided and reimburse the city. The estimated cost of this agreement is $20,000, 42.22, and the city will initially fund this expense as part of the project. However, the cost is preparatory work and is eligible for reimbursement by the FAA upon completion. Staff recommends approval of this agreement.

Is there a motion to adopt? So moved. Second. We have a motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Clem. Discussion on the resolution? Alderman Stacey?

So are you saying that this $20,000 will be refunded once the project is completed, or we stand a chance of getting funding?

Yes, it'll be reimbursed.

100%.

Yes, this is the prep work for the PAPI system. The total cost of the project, I don't have that on hand, but when we come back around to talk about the PAPI system, we will have that information for you at the time. This is basically an early inspection that we need to pay for and authorized to make you go forward.

Alderman Sanders. Is that coming out of the improvement funding?

It'll initially come from the airport budget.

Oh, there is a budget out there? Yes. Oh, okay.

So the 25, I'm sorry. The $20,000 is just the inspection.

Yes.

And you don't have a total cost.

I don't. I have a round number, but I don't want to be incorrect slightly. So with that, I'd prefer just to present that to council when we get further down the road.

I don't think it's fair to bring this to the council without the total knowledge of what we're looking at. I mean, it could be $68,000.

It's certainly more than that, but we budgeted for that. Darren, do you happen to recall?

Oh, I was thinking about the fence.

Darren, did you want to speak to that? I believe the Pappy Light system replacement is about $250,000, which, again, it's 95.5 reimbursement. So that's where this cost of the initial inspection, we have to front that to get to the grant project. Right. And then you can reimburse the total cost, including the engineering into those renovations that that these funds will pay for. It's on the schedule. It's on the airport schedule of improvements.

Yeah, $95,000.

Any further discussion? And I believe, just to finish, I believe the Pappy Lights are budgeted in the airport budget for this fiscal year.

They are. I don't have that number handy, but they are in the 2026 budget.

There's no further discussion. Madam Clerk, please take the roll.

Stacey? No. Shadle? Aye. Sanders?

No.

Clem? Aye. Johnson? Aye. Simmons?

Aye.

And Parker?

Aye.

The resolution is adopted. Well, wait, do I have enough pause? Yes, I do. Resolution is adopted five to two.

Item number seven is adoption of resolution 202690. Could you please read this?

Resolution ratifying emergency runway light and regulator repairs at the Albertus Airport by Huey and Phillips, ADB Safegate Americas, and William Charles Construction Electrical Division.

Manager Boyer?

Thank you, Your Honor. A month or so ago, we had a lightning strike which disabled a number of different light systems at the airport, runway lights and so forth. Unfortunately, it was a situation where once we brought the... contractors in to repair it. They found one thing wrong, fixed that, and then there was also identified some other things wrong. So staff has already submitted this for insurance and received the total cost back, but because this is an emergency, we're bringing it for just a ratification from council to go ahead and pay these bills. So as I mentioned before, we've already submitted the insurance, and I don't know if I'm incorrect, did we already receive the payment for this? Okay, we've received $70,000, but it's in the process of being paid. So staff recommends moving forward paying these bills.

Is there a motion to adopt? So moved. Second. We have a motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Clem. Discussion on the resolution.

Alderman Sanders.

Yeah, well, after paying out all of these monies and looking for the resolution of paying these expenditures out there, uh how do we keep track of what have have we received in terms of back into the city coffer uh uh central bank uh system finance uh banking system how do we know what uh they're uh giving us back of properly uh submitting back to the uh city at all if any uh we say that uh so much is going to be brought back. How do we keep track of it is what I'm trying to get at.

Director Richter.

So we have an employee on staff that does all of our claims with our insurance company. So she knows how much has been submitted and we are in communication as far as how much I've received. So there are checks and balances to what is submitted to the insurance company.

And you will report back to council about the status of that, right?

If that's so desired, I can take care of that for you.

Oh, okay. I was about to use pointing at the mayor. No, council is requesting that. And that's why I want to leave it right there.

Stacey, did you have something?

Did we fix some lights out there already?

Manager, where?

Yes, we've had a couple of lightning strikes out there and we've had some repairs. I've got somebody from the FAA that's going to have a look at our grounding system, ensure that it's operating properly because apparently it's somewhat specialized to the airline industry.

Was it the ones that were fixed?

I don't believe these are the ones that we fixed before. However, we did have another lightning strike that took out some other lights, yes.

There's no further discussion. Madam Clerk, please take the roll.

Stacey. Aye. Shadle. Aye. Sanders. Aye. Clem. Aye. Johnson. Aye. Simmons. Aye. And Parker. Aye. The resolution is adopted 7-0.

And item number 8 is Auditor's Report, Fiscal Year 2025. Manager Boyer. Did you want to read that?

Okay. In that case, I'm going to ask Michelle Richter to do the presentation on this.

Thank you, Your Honor. The little background, the city of Freeport is required by Illinois law to have its funds and accounts audited annually. The city prepares its financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as established by the governmental accounting standards board. At the conclusion of the audit process, the City's independent auditors expressed their opinion on the City's financial statements and communicate recommendations intended to strengthen financial reporting and internal controls. Fiscal year 2025 also marks an important milestone as the city completed its first annual comprehensive financial report. While the annual audit satisfies regulatory reporting requirements, the annual comprehensive financial report provides expanded financial disclosures, historical trend data, management discussion and analysis, and statistical information that improve transparency and support informed decision-making. Staff intends to submit the city's inaugural ACFER to the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program, a nationally recognized recognition of excellence in governmental financial reporting. Lauterbach and Amen reported that the fiscal year 2025 financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the government activities, business type activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the City of Freeport. This represents an unmodified audit opinion, commonly referred to as a clean audit, and is the highest level of assurance an independent auditor can provide. The audit also reflects continued strengthening of the city's financial position. During 2025, total net position increased by approximately $21.6 million to $110.5 million, while the general fund ended the year with a fund balance of approximately $31.6 million. These results reflect continued investment in public infrastructure, sound financial management, and the city's commitment to long-term fiscal sustainability. The auditors also issued a management letter containing recommendations intended to strengthen internal controls and financial management practices. These recommendations represent opportunities for continuous improvement and do not constitute material weaknesses in the City's financial reporting. Progress since last year. The 2025 management letter reflects measurable progress in several areas. Business type inventory controls. A prior recommendation regarding inventory controls has been fully implemented. Annual physical inventories are now being completed and reconciled, and this recommendation has been removed from future management letters. Landfill closure fund. The landfill closure fund continues to require long-term attention. However, the city's funding strategy is producing measurable results. The deficit fund balance improved from approximately $5.16 million in 2024 to $2.73 million in 2025, a reduction of nearly 47%. Staff will continue implementing planned transfers over the coming years to improve the fund's financial position while meeting future landfill closure and post-closure obligations. We do have continuing areas of focus. The auditors identified several items management will continue to address. Information technology security, the auditors recommended a formal adoption of a information technology security and controls policy to strengthen cybersecurity through enhanced access controls, multi-factor authentication, staff training, secure backup procedures, vendor risk management, and incident response planning. Management will continue strengthening the city's cybersecurity program and formalize these practices. Fund balance policy compliance. Several reimbursement-based grant funds remain below the city's unrestricted fund balance policy due to the nature of grant reimbursement programs. In addition, the water department and landfill closure will continue to be monitored through future budget development and long-range financial planning. Budget monitoring. Several funds exceeded their adopted budgets during 2025. Staff will continue improving budget monitoring throughout the fiscal year and present budget amendments when appropriate to maintain compliance with the city's financial policies. Preparation of the City's inaugural ACFER represents a significant accomplishment by the Finance Department and supporting staff. Producing an annual comprehensive financial report requires substantially more analysis, disclosure, and financial reporting than a standard audit and reflects the City's commitment to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement. If awarded, the GFOA Certificate of Achievement will recognize the City for meeting the profession's highest standards for governmental financial reporting. Overall, the fiscal year 2025 annual comprehensive financial report and independent audit demonstrate continued improvement in the city's financial management practices. The city received the highest level of audit assurance available, successfully completed its first annual comprehensive financial report, resolved prior audit recommendation, and continues to make measurable progress towards strengthening its long-term financial position while enhancing transparency and accountability. Strategic plan alignment is responsive, efficient government, and staff recommends that the fiscal year 2025 annual comprehensive financial report and independent audit be received and placed on file.

Is there such a motion? So moved. SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION MADE BY ALDERMAN SHADELL, SECONDED BY ALDERMAN JOHNSON. DISCUSSION ON PLACING THIS ON FILE. ALDERMAN SANDERS.

YEAH. YEAH, I HAVE ALL KINDS OF COMMENTS TO MAKE ABOUT THE AUDITING SELECTIONS THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN USING TO have the auditing done every fiscal. I don't know this company. We don't know this company. But yet we're asked to go along with this company. Matter of fact, we probably need an auditor to audit the auditor. But here's the thing. When you recite that memo talking about monitoring, There's no, and I don't know who's doing the monitoring with the auditors, who's doing the monitoring and the oversight and the safeguards with auditors, but we just can't let an auditor just freely run throughout the city, financial departments and any other departments that handles the taxpayers' dollars. So my thing about it is there's no safeguard rails for council to do an oversight. And not only that, to have the discretion to choose auditors at his own discretion. I mean, if we keep letting the same auditor come in and do the auditing, who's directing and monitoring these people? We haven't heard about it. this kind of mechanism put in place. So my question is, who's doing the monitoring? Is it staff? Is it anybody other than council? I'm just curious to see who's in charge of auditing the the auditors or watchdogging over the auditors because this pattern seems to be the same thing for I don't know how many years that we don't talk about how many, what their tenure is and how long they've been here, been doing this because it might be a new change for a new, it might be a time for a new change for a new auditor, new auditors. We don't know if it's not being proposed to council in any kind of way if we supposed to just expect to accept any auditor's report. and I think that's what was being asked of us to do. So I think we need to reevaluate any reports of any auditors that we can't scrutinize and talk in more details about who's the oversight And who's controlling the monitoring system that's supposed to watch the auditors? Because as far as asking them to be transparent with us, we don't know whether or not they are or not. If they're monitoring themselves, if they're being transparent of themselves, then where's the safeguards for the citizens of Freeport? We've got to have due diligence as well. Right. Whoever this auditing agency is, we should be more up on top of it, and I just want to put that in place. I don't think we should accept the report until we get more understanding about what is in details about what they're auditing. and how the auditing reports are being submitted to the city council because we have not received one yet. And I've been here three years, and we should get an evaluation on auditors. All auditors are not out of the same branch. So, you know, I just wanted to put that out there.

Manager Boyer.

Alderman Sanders, I would submit to you that it's the council's job through the finance committee. And I would also mention that if you haven't broken it open yet, you received a hard copy last week, please feel free to go through it in a fine-tooth comb and let me know any concerns you might have based on the annual comprehensive financial report.

Any other discussion? Madam Clerk? Yes.

If I'm not mistaken, the audit is selected through a bid process, and the council approved that bid process that Michelle went through, and that's how the auditors were selected. And I believe we do that every three years.

Closer to five.

Five years. And it did change hands. So I believe this council did approve the people that are doing the audit currently.

There's no further discussion. Madam Clerk, please take the roll.

Stacey? No. No. Shadle Sanders. No Clem Johnson. I Simmons and Parker. I, the motion passes a five to two item.

Number nine is public comment.

I promise y'all last time seeing me till 2027. But I wanted to say like when I was downtown at Teddy Baker days, the guy on the stage, if you know him, John Black, he advertised a couple of times as sponsors. I noticed that one wasn't on there that should have been bold. The outburst should have been on there because the city gives them so much money, so much leeway after they've been, you know, probably flying. I don't know the discovery of the EPA. They have violated so many ordinances, rules, put so many citizens in danger. They are still in the building without a lease. I don't know why nobody's talking about it. Why is it a touchy subject? Maybe because it's Jody's people. But I don't understand why they don't donate. It probably would turn your stomach to know how much money they got from the city, and they have not given us a dime. As far as I mean, there was a name down there, sponsors, and I haven't seen them nowhere else. I've seen them cause more arguments and more havoc. They've created distrust because they were Their lack of professionalism and if you look into it, they have actually renamed their business a few times One time is because of the trouble they got in I'm gonna leave and not come back to this councilman meetings until 27 I pray to God that everybody be their own person and put the city of Freeport first and Try your best not to follow the robot status and do something to stand out, count. And I pray to God this is Rob's last little go around because he's misleading and he's not doing his job very well. Thank you.

Any other public comments?

Council, I'll keep it short and sweet. Be careful. I'm all about donating to good causes and all that kind of stuff. But I want to tell you, be careful. Ask some questions before you just start doing a lot of this stuff. It would be a shame to find out that You do something good and that stuff is actually going to anything. I'm not just talking about this kitchen stuff today, but be installed in a for-profit sector of somebody. And I say that obviously because I'm aware of something. So I would ask you to look into that because it's not a good look when I don't even know what kind of kitchen equipment it is. But I know that our police... department is, you know, they're fundraising right now for a new dog. And I think that's, is that 15,000? 15,000 is what you guys are trying to get? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. So if that's something, if that stuff, if the value of whatever we're donating, you know, from here on out, if it's something that we can sell to a company that's looking for something... Great, let's get that new police dog. How amazing would that be? So just word of caution on that stuff. All right, thank you.

Tommy?

I wanted to tell you that Jody Mills, the best mayor, and Don Parker, we wanted to tell you, you did a good job speaking. And the cops do a good job standing around, come here today.

Any other public comment?

I would just like to say that I was at last Monday night's meeting, and the accusation that the chief of police did not handle herself well is totally misleading. If you guys were at the last meeting and you were here to see it all before the cameras were cut, you would have seen that she was given many chances, Alderman Simmons, to get up and walk out those doors as she was asked. And I thought the chief of police and the police officer that was here handled themselves very well. And it's very sad that the ones that are causing all the trouble are getting like... good job. You know, you guys are in the right when the ones that are trying to take the situation and get it under control are the ones that are being bashed. And so I think it was very, very misleading. And if you were not here at that meeting, you have no idea what was going on and you cannot talk about what happened at that meeting.

Can you state your name for the record?

Michelle Swalve.

Thank you. Any other public comments?

I wasn't gonna do this, but I'm gonna do this.

We're not gonna talk about not being at a meeting. When June 1st, this council attempted to have me censored, when Alderman Thomas Clem, nor Alderman Joyce Sellers, nor the chief of police was at the meeting. But that didn't stop nobody from saying what they said and doing what they did. I'm appalled by your comment. And they were not at the meeting. And I had... constituents that came here and spoke and said that was a lie. That did not happen. I don't know what meeting you were at, but that didn't happen at our meeting and it made no difference. Right is right and wrong is wrong. and you will reap what you sow, if not directly, indirectly.

Any other public comments?

I'm Brianna Simmons, for the record. I just want to say to the public, I think it's essential to kind of understand what you see beyond what you just see. So you might say that I wasn't at the meeting, by the way. But I did watch it, even though it was cut off, but I was able to watch what you were speaking on. I'm not saying the chief mishandled herself. She was only doing her job. But I think that you just have to understand all the things that go into play and just not be quick to be like, oh, they're wrong. They're right. That's not essentially the case. It's like she mentioned. with the whole entire not being at the meeting thing that was a big discussion on the council floor where everybody had an opinion about a meeting that they weren't even at so you just have to again like she just said be fair and just remember all the things that go into play and not just what you saw in 30 seconds if that makes sense you know what I mean um but I just wanted to say that to the community because I feel like it's just a lot of people just kind of taking certain parts or just not really understanding even the council as a whole which I you know, need some work. But yeah, I just wanted to say that to the community members. But that's it.

Any other public comment? I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Clem. All those in favor,