Police Pension Fund Board - Regular Meeting

That all goes away.

I did not know that. And I have, so she's going to do a couple of proclamations. Okay, it looks like we have a quorum. I would ask that Chaplain Dave Zarambisky step to the microphone for the invocation, please. Oh, all right. Alderman Beach, I do not see Chaplain Zarambisky. Would you mind giving the invocation? Thank you. Hold on just a second, please. All right. Alderman Beach.

Father God, we come to you with humble hearts, thanking you for allowing us to speak to you in this way. Thank you for letting us serve this community. Thank you for the officials around this horseshoe, our mayor, our staff, most of our other people of our community who ask a blessing upon us this evening. Lord, be with those who are grieving today. Comfort their hearts. Thank you, Lord, for the agenda before us. Help us to speak about it from our hearts. That's what's best for this community. We're grateful for this time together. In your name we pray. Amen.

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We have several proclamations tonight. You're going to do yellow? OK.

Thank you, Alderman Ponte. Yes, we do have three proclamations tonight. First proclamation will be going to the national co-responder and crisis responders. If I could have you all step forward. whereas the collaboration of the rockford police department loves park police department winnebago county sheriff's office and rosecrans behavioral health has demonstrated exemplary dedication and commitment to the safety and well-being of the residents in our community And whereas mental health and substance use challenges can lead to homelessness, incarceration, and emergency room visits, which are more intrusive and costlier for communities than earlier interventions and connections to behavioral health services, And whereas the crisis co-response team was established to address behavioral health crisis within our community with compassion, expertise, and promptness. And whereas Rockford and the Loves Park Police Departments, along with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office, contribute skilled law enforcement officers who provide critical support and security during crisis situations. and whereas Rosecrans Behavioral Health delivers invaluable behavioral health expertise in crisis intervention, and whereas the funding from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board's one-half cent sales tax has been instrumental in supporting the efforts and sustainability of the crisis co-response team, and whereas the collaboration between these organizations have significantly enhanced the response to behavioral health crisis leading to better outcomes for our community now therefore i janessa neal as mayor of the city of rockford do hereby proclaim the week of september 14th 2026 to be national co-responder and crisis responders week in rockford illinois and encourage all citizens to acknowledge the tireless efforts of each of every excuse me the tireless efforts of each one of these departments slash organizations for ensuring our community safety, health, and well-being. Congratulations.

I'd just like to thank Mayor Neal for the proclamation and recognizing our unit. Thank you to the leadership of Rockford Police Department for allocating resources. Region 1 Planning Council and the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board for making this possible. Just a quick couple of stats about us. To date, since the last proclamation, we've served about 5,000 contacts in our community. 4,978 to be exact. Of those, only 2.6% have been involved in the criminal justice system, and that's down from 3.5% from the year before. So our co-responders are going to continue to tirelessly work to ensure that number continues to drop in the future. Thank you. Congratulations.

There you are. Yes. That's your gift.

Do I have Calvin Johnson, Nancy Crew? Here we are. Hello. All right. Now, whereas in an effort to honor the sacrifices of American service members who suffered or still suffer in captivity while on active duty as prisoners of war or remain missing in action, the president now signs a proclamation each year designating the third Friday of September as the Day of Recognition and Remembrance. The United States national POW slash MIA recognition day is observed across the nation. And whereas many ceremonies are now held around the nation on military installations, state capitals at schools and civic organizations to ensure that America remembers its responsibility to stand behind those who serve our nation and do everything possible to account for those who do not in return. And whereas marking the 31st year, the Winnebago County Veterans Association invites everyone to attend its annual Patriots Veterans POW slash MIA Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony on Friday, September 18th, 2026 at 7 p.m. at Lowe's Park City Hall Auditorium and on public access channels. Now, therefore, I, Janessa Neal, as Mayor of the City of Rockford, do hereby proclaim September 18, 2026 to be POW-MIA Recognition Day in Rockford, Illinois, and encourage all citizens to honor returned U.S. POWs and all Americans still captured, unaccounted for, and missing in action. Thank you.

Mayor Neal, thank you.

I've never seen you.

Oh, you're Mayor Neal. Oh, okay. Okay, I better say I live in Beloit. I'm sorry. I've never seen you. Thank you and the City Council for your recognition of the importance of this national holiday. To my left, Dave Davis, the co-chair of the committee. Further to his left, Bruce Jacobson, one of the original members that kept this event going for 30 years in Loves Park. Now it's transitioning over to the Winnebago County Veterans Association, and we're expanding it for all counties that touch Winnebago County. So this is a critical time in the life, the long span of this event. We appreciate the recognition, and just remember, we're here to talk to you today because they're not.

Thank you.

Thank you for your service.

Congratulations, gentlemen. Congratulations. Congratulations. You're kind of yelling for a mayor.

Do we have the members of SOMOS here? Whereas during this period, America celebrates Hispanic culture, histories, and contributions of the nation's population, whose ancestors came from Mexico, Spain, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. And whereas the starting date of Hispanic Heritage Month coincides with the Independence Day celebrations of Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, And whereas, additionally, the observation of independence of Mexico, Chile, and Belize are September 16th, 18th, and 21st, respectively. And whereas, the United States welcomed people from countries that helped create the nation we have today. And as Americans, celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month provides an opportunity to feel proud of the richness and diversity of the Hispanic cultures that are part of our history. Now, therefore, I, Janessa Neal, as mayor of the city of Rockford, do hereby proclaim September 15th through October 15th, 2026, to be Hispanic Heritage Month. in Rockford and urge all citizens to join me in acknowledging the president's and unique contributions of the Hispanic heritage to our community. Congratulations.

Hi, I'm Brenda Muniz. I'm chair of SOMOS. And on behalf of SOMOS, we are honored to accept this proclamation recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month. This month gives us the opportunity to celebrate the history, cultures, traditions, and many contributions of Hispanic and Latino individuals in Rockford and throughout our country. SOMOS is proud to help create a workplace and community where people feel represented, connected, and valued. We look forward to celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month through our upcoming events. These include an art display in the City Hall lobby. It will feature artwork from Barber Two-Way Language Academy students that work on this all school year round. And it will be displayed from September 15th through October 15th as part of an art contest.

Good evening, everyone. My name's Christina Hargrove, and I'm co-chair of SOMOS. So some of the items that, well, one of the items that Brenda mentioned was the art display. We also will have some additional events. On October 1st, we will be hosting a career day field trip with Lincoln Middle School students. Then on October 15th, we will have the art expo and contest. This is where, so the art will be on display for a couple of weeks, and then city hall staff will have the opportunity, members, to vote on the art. And then we will tally the votes, and then we have an event for the parents and the students to come that night, and we present prizes to first, second, and third. And these are sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. So there's one from each grade that will win a prize based on our votes. Yeah, this will be our fourth year, I think. Yeah, and they love it. We love it. So we'll also have the band from Barber as well. They'll come and play a few songs for us. We encourage everyone to participate in the art contest and to support the local Hispanic Heritage events held throughout our community that bring employees and community members together. Thank you to Alderman Salgado, the City Council, and the City of Rockford for recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and supporting the work of Somos. We appreciate this recognition and are proud to accept this proclamation on behalf of our group. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. Um, Mayor Neal, next we will have our public speakers. Each public speaker has three minutes. When your time is called, please step up to the microphone. The timer will go off when three minutes is concluded. So let's set up our timer here. Our first public speaker is Wally Haas.

Thank you. I'm here to ask for your support for the 815 Hunger Luncheon. It is scheduled, oh, oh wow. That got a little bit loud. It is scheduled 1130 to 1 PM at our Savior's Lutheran Church, 3300 Royal Street. You may remember this as the Mayor's Hunger Luncheon, which began in the 1980s and was revived in 2017 by Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara. Mayor McNamara has moved on to bigger and better things, but even before the announcement of his departure, Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Sciarelli joined the effort to help our friends and neighbors to put food on their families' tables. The luncheon is a climax of a six-week fundraising campaign for the nine pantries in the Greater Rockford Pantry Coalition. There is great need for food among the residents of Winnebago County, especially the elderly on fixed incomes and young families. Up to 90% of the people who rely on pantries for help are working, some with two or three jobs. Yet, still, they have trouble putting food on their families' tables. The money raised during the campaign is evenly distributed among the nine pantries in the coalition. For the smaller pantries, the money raised nearly doubles the amount of food they can provide to the people they serve. How can you help? You can attend the luncheon. Tickets are just $26. You can become a sponsor, or you can donate whatever amount fits your budget. If every person who is running for mayor or is rumored to be running for mayor were to make a sizable donation, we would easily reach our goal of $100,000. The committee thanks Mayor Neal for her support. Although she cannot attend the luncheon, she will provide a video message that will be played at the event. I hope all the candidates for mayor follow her lead and support this endeavor. Otherwise, I might have to run for mayor myself. That's a threat Alderman Bonney has heard me make a couple times. In addition to the Hunger Luncheon Committee, I'm on the board of a Carpenter's Place. I encourage you to shop at one of our thrift stores, 1715 Royal Street or 2512 South Alpine Road. The money made from the thrift stores goes to further Carpenter's Place's mission to provide the tools necessary for rebuilding the lives of the homeless and families in crisis. In the Bible, in Matthew, Jesus teaches us that whatever we do for the least of our brothers, we do for him. Please help those who are less fortunate than we are. Thank you.

Thank you. Up next, we have Prophet Yusuf.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. In the book of James, the fourth chapter, the tenth verse, it says, when you bow before the Lord and omit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor. What I want to speak about tonight, head. toward my boss. When the now infamous American Airline Flight 77 barred into the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, 2001, 38-year-old police officer Isaac Hoopy was nearby, but outside the building. Immediately, he began helping people out of the burning building. But Officer Hoopy wanted to do more. Although he lacked protective gear, he ran into the Pentagon. Stop! Someone yelled at him, we got to get these people out. He shouted back. He knew people were in trouble, and he could not just sit by and be a spectator. Nearly suffocating on the smoke, Officer Hoopy heard the building cracking. He called out, is anybody in here? Is anybody in here from out of the darkness? He heard the cries, help me, help me. I'm over here. Wayne Sinclair and five co-workers were crawling through rubble and had lost all sense of direction. Then they heard Officer Hoopy's voice. When they cried out, Officer Hoopy responded, head. toward my voice, head toward my, Wayne said, Claire, and the others soon made their way out of the Crumlin' building. By the time it was all over, Officer Hoopy had saved 24 people's lives. Officer Hoopy, for his bravery and selflessness, responded during the attack. Officer Hoopy was awarded the Man-1-1 Hero Medal of Valor. Beyond his police service, the native Hawaii officer is also known for performing musical tributes, including singing at national events and memorials. Jesus rescued his own in very much the same way. When we are stumbling around in the darkness of sin or doubt, we frantically cry out, Jesus! Help me. Jesus hears us and calls us. Head toward my voice. When we choose to respond to Jesus' voice, we find purpose, we find direction, we find peace, we find safety, regardless of how lost we have been. Lord Jesus, give me ears to hear your voice always, but particularly in those times when I feel lost. I thank God for policemen. I thank God for firemen. I thank God for first responders. I thank God for veterans. And there are three men over there. I know them very well. I'm a veteran myself. I did 19 years, 11 months, 29 days, 1 hour, 10 minutes, 15 seconds in the United States. I did three tours in Vietnam, River Division, Thank you for allowing me to speak.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Ezra Farb.

Madam Mayor, good evening, everyone. I hope you are well. My name is Ezra Farb, and I'm a high school student and resident here in Rockford. Please, allow me to preface this by saying that I love Rockford. For all its flaws, it's incredibly hard not to feel some sort of connection with the city and its people. There's one flaw, however, that I can no longer ignore. Automated license plate readers owned and operated by Flock Safety are being put up all over Rockford. There are, of course, other companies manufacturing similar products, but I will not go into their specifics. For those of you who are unaware, Flock ALPRs serve as a more effective law enforcement tool. They are constantly recording, capturing every license plate and vehicle that passes them. This includes physical details about the vehicle, such as any cosmetic damage, stickers, et cetera. A very efficient way to locate criminals installing vehicles, I might add, but also a good way to track somebody you don't like. The real problem starts to arise when you consider how flock cameras are operated. They use proprietary systems as well as private flock AI models to sort and file captured images. All of this is to say that flock cameras, unlike most city cams or CCTVs, are not owned by this very council, the city of Rockford, or the police department. Flock still owns them, still has access to them, and still operates them. The police simply lease them out. With both the police and Flock having access to these systems, misuse is practically guaranteed to occur. Kentucky police officer Asad Zahir was arrested after using his department's Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend with over 2,048 database searches, according to CNN. Lindsay Isaacs was wrongfully charged and arrested with three counts of vehicular homicide, three counts of leaving a scene involving serious bodily injury, and one count of reckless driving. It took 13 days and several months for her attorneys to prove that the flat camera that placed her car at the scene was incorrectly utilized as evidence. Examples like these are a dime a dozen. So as you can see, an upstanding citizen like myself may be concerned about how these cameras are used. To complicate matters, there's always the threat of a private entity, one that is, might I add, acting wholly out of interest in its revenue, as all companies are, tracking and collecting our data. As of February 16th, 2026, Flock removed the following from their terms and conditions. Flock does not own and shall not sell customer data. Flock also added a clause that grants them the exclusive right to determine and control the method, timing, format, and medium to their data. This is all to say that we, the people, are now losing our right to travel freely and without worry that multi-billion dollar corporations are actively tracking our movements, watching where we go to school, who we hang out with, what political rallies we attend, and so on. The era of privacy and your business is gone, my friends. While Flock and other ALPRs do fill a specific law enforcement niche, these companies are not the way to go. Our data and our business, when used like this, is between the citizen and their government, not the additional hundreds of companies that get a little piece of your data. Flock is not the answer to your problems. Thank you, everybody, and remember that Flock is always watching.

All right, our next public speaker is Nikki Windstorm. Windstorm.

Good evening, Mayor and members of City Council. My name is Nikki Windstorm, and I'm a member of the steering committee for the proposed Tourism Improvement District. And although I recently left the hotel industry, after 13 years, I remain deeply invested in the success of tourism in our region. During my years in the hotel industry, I saw firsthand the impact that major events have on our entire community. When Rockford hosts a large tournament, convention, concert, or other regional event, the benefits reach far beyond our hotels. Visitors eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, purchase gas, visit local attractions, and support jobs throughout the region. These events also introduce people to Rockford who may not otherwise have had a reason to come here. However, attracting those events is extremely competitive. Communities across the region are pursuing the same opportunities and investing significant resources to win them. Having great facilities and hotel rooms is important, but it's not enough. Rockford must also have resources to market our community, prepare competitive bids, support event organizers, and create experiences that encourage visitors to return. That is why I support the formation of the Tourism Improvement District. This proposal is especially meaningful because it is requested and supported by the hotels themselves. Hotel leaders understand that the proposed additional 2% assessment can provide dedicated funding to attract events, generate more overnight stays, and bring additional business to our region. The assessment would be paid by guests staying overnight in participating hotels rather than a general tax placed on Rockford residents. Tourism is already a major economic driver in our area. In 2025, visitors spent nearly $550 million in Winnebago County, supporting thousands of local jobs and generating millions of dollars in tax revenue. Major events such as Ironman have shown what is possible when Rockford successfully competes on a larger stage. After 13 years in the hotel industry and now through my service on the steering committee, I know these opportunities do not simply come to us. We must pursue them, invest in them, and earn them. The Tourism Improvement District is an investment in Rockford's ability to remain competitive, attract more visitors, support local businesses, and continue building momentum. I respectfully ask the council to support its formation. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next public speaker is John Tack Brown.

What a coincidence to have the Hispanics here and have the veterans here. They arrested 2,100,000 Hispanics and deported 1,900,000 Hispanics. Last year, they didn't have a parade. We was always in a parade every year. Every month of September, you see they flash everywhere. But this year, you barely, hardly see any of them because they're living in fear. Looking at our veterans, I'm blown away seeing them sitting here. We are, and most of all, let me stop. April. If it wasn't for April, to sit me down and talk to me for an hour and a half. Said, Brother John, you all over the place. Won't you just pick three things because you got, you know we got, you got prostate cancer and if you're not here, who going to take over the things that you're doing? So she had me pick three goals. Them three goals was Camp Grant, our kids just being absent, and going to Juvie, and last but not least, our 24-hour daycare center. Just to let you know, the pie dishes have stepped up to the plate. Not only are they going to spearhead it, but we're going to have a monument at Edwards Park, and we're going to have a monument at the Roundabout. Do you all know that in 1949, that's when the Rockford— Bloom, because of Camp Grant, we had over a million Buffalo Soldiers in World War II and World War I that transferred through Camp Grant. We had over 200,000 and 500,000 POWs at Camp Grant. They were mostly Germans and Italians. If you look on the south side of Rockford back then, it was mostly Italians. Where do you think them Germans went? They didn't want to go back to Germany after World War II. They stayed here. The 6,000 workers stayed here. The art museum is spearheading it, where the middle school, high school, elementary school kids is going to do the drawing. The high school kids, we're looking at giving them $1,000. Guess what? I'm talking with the bank. The middle school and the elementary school kids, I'm not going to give them a basket, but they're also going to continue to work with them. They're going to make a $500 escrow account so when they turn 16 or 18 years old, they would be able to receive that money from a camp grant. We're looking at raising over $150,000 for a camp grant. Already, we are close to raising over $100,000 already been committed towards our goal. I'm still tickled pink because every board meeting I go into, they know me and I don't know them. And they love hearing me speak, but they want to see it on paper. So the projects are going to take care of the paperwork. The projects are going to take care of the funding. And our brother John Dorn is being the last guy. And we're going to use the city, the city, the last two weeks. I'm planting the seeds now. I ain't asking y'all. Thank you so much. Okay, I'm planting the seeds now for the last two weeks. In February, we're going to have the art. We're gonna have the art right here at the city hall so the peoples can come in and pick the picture and not Brother John. Thank you for allowing me to speak, even though I went on by three minutes.

Thank you, appreciate you. Appreciate all of the speakers. At this time, we will begin the, I would like to call the Code and Regulations Committee meeting for September 14th, 2026 to order. Clerk, please call the roll. Okay, thank you. The first item we have is a proposed landmark designation of 2520 North Main Street. Is there a motion to approve? So moved and seconded. Okay. It's been moved and seconded. It's been motioned and moved and seconded. Is there discussion? Thank you. Hearing none. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I missed you. Yes.

I just wanted to, as a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, the council's representative on the Preservation Commission, just take the time to recognize that This application is how historic preservation ought to work in Rockford, and the Preservation Commission has, I think, after the demolition of the Briggs Mansion and the Elks Lodge, is now committed to taking a more proactive role. If you read through the packet, you'll see that... the chairman, Amanda Becker, had to abstain on this vote because she prepared the application herself. And, you know, I think this is a Gothic revival home that was built in 1876. It's, you know, very... ornate, striking piece of architecture on a very busy thoroughfare in Rockford. remained in the same family, the Otis Eddy family, for more than 100 years until 1987 when it was purchased by Village Green and became for many, many years the Village Green's Furniture Showroom. And as we know by the next agenda item, it's now posed for a third chapter as multi-family or multi-unit residential. And so I think this is a great example of how things could and should work versus the hysteria and 11th hour scrambling that has occurred with some other historic properties that we've lost. So I'm really happy to see this come through. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there any other discussion? Alderman Durkee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a quick question. With the proposed use of this property, do numbers one and two conflict? As far as historic preservation, does that impair the landowner's ability to adapt and use this property for short-term rentals?

I'm going to have to defer to... Oops, you're in the red. Sorry, sorry. Mr. Capitella. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Alderman Durkee, no, it would not. It's two separate issues. The only thing that historic preservation would come into play here, they would regulate on the outside renovations of the building and the grounds. But what would happen on the interior would be up to the owner.

Any other discussion? Questions? I have a question. I didn't see the actual application attached in the report. And I also didn't attend the meetings. Is there anything you want to give us related to that?

I apologize for that. I know that it was provided, but somehow it did not make it onto the agenda. But I can assure you that the legal director will tell you that I did send it to upstairs.

Okay.

The application is very well done. The pictures that were provided and all the additional pictures show the, you know, the great picture on site that is the Otis Eddy homestead. It's very worthy of landmark status and these are the type of, you know, sites and structures that, as Alderman Bonney said, that we want to save. And it's great to see that the chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Commission decided, since she's a Northwest resident and has been her whole life, including being a school teacher at Auburn, decided that this this was going to be her way to make sure that the northwest side was had its landmark and in the sort of setting homestead and it it definitely meets you know three different criteria to qualify so thank you and then I had just one last question similar to Alderman Durkee perhaps it's one thing for the for

I know Amanda's last name. I just can't think of it right now. For the chair to put this forth, but has the applicant agreed to the landmark designation?

The applicant decided to take a neutral stance and was not going to either be in favor of it or oppose it.

Are there any conditions that come with this that might, you said that they shouldn't impede Are they prepared to do all the things to make sure that they?

Well, it will regulate the exterior of the home. It will have to stay in its original materials. They won't be able to do things like put up vinyl siding or things like that. It will have to stay with the wood lathe siding and it would have to be cleaned and painted and restored that way.

So can these two things coexist? Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. Alderman Thunberg, then Alderman Bonney.

Thank you, Chairman. As having what formerly was two districts, historic districts in the Third Ward, now with the remap there's one. So I'm somewhat pretty familiar with the historic designation status of a neighborhood. So just Help me understand then, so if we do this tonight, for example, and other properties going forward, would it be safe to say then that these properties moving forward would have to adhere pretty much, if not exactly, to a home that's in a designated historic district?

Whatever it's gonna meet the same type of regulations that have a home in a historic in a historic district would have to meet Okay.

Yes, thanks Thank you Alderman to Merck was happy to lose that historic district out of his award as I recall Just point of Clarification was that if the If the owner did formally object under our ordinance, approval would require 2 thirds super majority of the council, which is if anyone, as I know, the third ward alderman recalls the fight to save the chancery. And that did receive a majority vote. of the council for landmark status, but not a super majority, and it failed. But in this case, if the owner is not formally objecting, they don't have to be the applicant, but as long as there's no formal objection, then it doesn't trigger that part of our ordinance.

Thank you. Alderman Bell.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want clarification from that legal statement from our legal director to verify whether or not that's true.

I was not here during that time.

Attorney Hammer.

Yes, Section 113-35 of our Code of Ordinances requires a two-thirds affirmative vote of counsel if the owner is not in agreement with the landmark designation. Okay.

All right. Hearing none, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Same sign? Okay. That matter is approved. Next, we have 2520 North Main. Zoning Board of Appeals recommends approval for a special use permit for the single room occupancy consisting of 20 single room bedrooms with shared living, kitchen, and common space in a C3 general commercial zoning district. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second? OK. Was there a second? OK. All right. So is there any discussion?

Oh.

Alderman Frost.

I know I'm not on your committee, but on our desk tonight was a preliminary business plan that says professional extended stay housing related to this property. And it's about. Five and a half pages long, and I know it's just leaving committee, but before we get to council, I would like to address some of these items that are in there. So I know it wasn't on our agenda. But it was just presented tonight at 530, so I don't know who has had a chance to look it over now. But it gives more information about this project, which is the house we're just talking about making it a landmark designation. And then it's going to get chopped up and do basically an SRO, which in my time on this council, the city's worked hard to eliminate those single-room occupancy properties throughout the city. And now we're in it. apparently going to be making one and i'm just i'm a little bit confused about that but i guess we can wait till it gets to council if people want to pass it tonight did you want to um would you like anybody to address that or you're asking the committee to perhaps i mean i'm not on the committee so i'm not asking to lay it over but i just we just got this information tonight so maybe we prudent to take a look at it

All right. Any other discussion? Yes, Alderman Bonney.

Only clarification and what I believe would be true. These are two separate agenda items. If we were to lay over the special use permit request, that does not mean staff can confirm this, that we automatically then need to lay over the landmark application. And in fact, if the landmark status is granted and the special use permit is not granted, the landmark status stands for whatever development might occur there in the future.

Correct?

That would be correct. They're two separate items.

Any other discussion? I would like to give people an opportunity to take a look at this item number two, give them another round. I would like to lay it over. How... I would like to make a motion that we lay this item over. Second. Okay, it's been moved and seconded. Is there any other discussion about laying this over? Okay, seeing none, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? No. So, why don't we do a roll call? Okay, so the layover fell. Okay. All right, so with that being said, we'll just go ahead and take this in. All those in favor for item number two, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Same sign? I'm a no. So three ayes, one no. So this matter is approved. Next, thank you. Next, we have a resolution, Rufford Police Department Truck or Treat. This event is scheduled to take place on October 29th from 6 PM to 8 PM. Road closures will begin at 5 PM. This event will be held at the RPS 205 administrative building parking lot located at 5017th Street. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved.

Second? Okay, it's been, all right, is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Opposed, same sign. Okay, this matter is approved. Next we have the Earthrise 815 Sustainability Conference. This event is scheduled to take place on November 6th from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event location will be at the Embassy Suites Conference Center at 416 North Main Street. Is there a motion to approve? Yes. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Is there a second?

Second.

All right. Is there any discussion? Yes. Oh, red mic, yep.

I would like to just state that the cost would be, the cost that they're saving for the free parking would be about $8,500 that the city is proposing to waive. That was not on the memo.

Thank you. Any other discussion? Alderman Bell.

Thank you. Just want to ask, are there any other conferences or events at Embassy Suites that we covered the cost of the parking? Not to my knowledge, no. And is this the first request, or is this the second year of the conference, third year?

This is multiple years of the conference. This is their first time asking for parking fees to be waived for the sustainer.

And so my warden comes to this downtown. I don't cross over Chestnut to where Embassy is. Is the parking that we're covering here in the parking garages?

No, they are the lots directly adjacent to the embassy, two across the street and one, or all three of them are across the street to the west. Gotcha.

Is there any way we can look at maybe having these individuals park in a parking garage so that, and I don't know what date, November 6th is, is this a Saturday? It's a Friday. It's a Friday.

Parking is typically enforced on Fridays.

Right. Was there any plans to have them or conversations about having them go into one of the parking garages that, I would say, like the one on Elm and Wyman? We can certainly move them towards that if you guys would like that. Do you think it would be cheaper on our end to discount the price of the parking garage there? Director Haggerty, I think it's shaking her head no. Sorry.

rates and the parking decks are actually higher uh so and and the the um capacity immediately surrounding embassy suites is really there for the convention center primarily so okay thank you um is there any other discussion so um alderwoman terena sorry i guess my question is are we

You've got to forgive me because I didn't think I had to read this one. Oh, there's nothing in here to read. Because I want to approve the event. I don't want to approve the parking. But is the parking included in this?

The event is approved from the hotel. They wanted a special event process just for the free parking. The event will happen regardless. The request is only coming through for the free parking and no enforcement on that day for those three parking lots.

So that's what we're proving is the parking, not the event. Correct. Okay. Thank you.

Alderman Thunberg.

Thank you, Chairwoman. How many people are attending? They're looking at 500 total attendees. And this is a one-day event? Yes.

Okay.

Could Director Haggerty give us, and this may be too late, give us an update on the parking fund? Basically, we're in the red, right?

Yes. So if council recalls, we began transferring funds from the redevelopment fund into the parking fund to cover the operating shortfall in that fund, understanding that the bulk of our parking assets are made available in the downtown area for businesses and tourism related functions. So that transfer is just under $1.6 million in 2026. So, yes, I would say the parking fund as it sits today does not generate sufficient revenue to cover the operations.

Okay. I know as a member of the RAVE board or as a representative of city council on the RAVE board, myself and Alderman Beach as well, each year we do look at the Jehovah's Witness fund. Convention, which is a multi-day event, draws thousands of individuals who also have, they spend monies with our hotels, restaurants, retail. So there is a direct economic impact of that conference. And one of the stipulations in the past with the Jehovah's Witnesses has been a request for us to waive parking. And we have. We've weighed the pros and cons as such and felt that the economic impact of that conference of that multi-day event surpasses what we would derive from parking fees so i think that with these requests coming for these smaller events one day events i think is creating a precedence that maybe we want to think twice about you know i think the you know there's probably plenty of

opportunities uh you know with walkability and bicycling and such for especially for an event such as this so thank you thank you um we will go with i believe um all the women were you finished last time i'm sorry and then we'll go with alderman bonnie and alderman bell okay thank you a couple questions uh what is the cost of parking for a day

Please. Do you know, Mr. Boone? Go ahead. If not, I have another question. $17. Okay, so $17. And then- I know that they want 500 people at this conference, but do we know how many people actually attended last year?

It was 2024 was their last one. We feel the 500's probably a little optimistic for attendees. We don't have an exact number, that's just their expectation.

Did anybody in this room go to that first one to speak to? Okay. Okay. Alderman Toonberg was out of town, so he couldn't make it. Okay, I just had those questions about the numbers and the costs. Thank you. Alderman Bonney.

Thank you. So 500 people are estimated to attend the events, but how many parking spaces are in the? 192 in those three spots.

They are planning on carpooling and looking at other opportunities for getting the rest of the attendees there. Who who's making the request the event organizer or the event organizer?

Yes, okay sustain Rockford is okay and They previously didn't make the request but his any organization holding an event at Embassy Suites ever Have we done this for any organization holding an event at Embassy Suites in the past? Not to my knowledge. No

Thank you, Chairwoman. Although I can't recall the specific events, I believe we have in the past approved either a waiver or worked with the event organizer to redirect them to other lots that might be lower pay lots. You know, Certainly, it's within City Council's purview to Approve the special event to allow it to come forward if you if you see that aligns with your overall goals as an organization And certainly Alderman Thunberg touched on the economic development goal. I I do understand that this is their 10th year anniversary So they're they're hoping that they would have a larger attendance than what they have had in the past but the 500 is an estimate and and As Marty mentioned, there could be carpooling or other transportation modes for individuals that attend. So just the best information we have at this time.

Alderman Bell?

Thanks. I think at this point, I'm a no on this, but I'll say, and we received a correspondence today about it, I don't think that we're in a position to incentivize, I mean, $8,500 up to $850,000 right now. So with Medic 4 being taken out of service October 2nd and then Engine 5 January 1st, I think we should...

look at how to how to use those funds to the 8 500 bucks to to go into the fire department rather than incentivize parking so i'll be a no on this one all right thank you any other disc oh alderman bonnie um are what are we are we approving anything with this besides the parking request it's just the parking request okay

All right, seeing no other hands, all those in favor, say aye. Opposed, same sign. Oh, I'm ready to call the call back. Is it time?

Can you do a roll call, though?

You want to do a roll call? Sure.

OK. No.

No.

No.

No. All right, that matter is denied.

Motion to adjourn. Oh, sorry. One last.

Got a campaign to run. All right. Number three, Festival of Lights. The light display will be located at Centissippi Park, 1401 North 2nd Street. This event is scheduled to take place on the following dates. November 27th through November 29th, or December 3rd through December 6th, December 10th through December 13th, December 14th through December 23rd, December 24th through December 25th, December 26th through December 30th and December 31st. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Second, okay. Is there any discussion? See none. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Same sign? All right. This matter is approved. All right. Can we get a motion to adjourn?

So moved.

Second. All those in favor? Oh, I set it so low. You all missed it. All those in favor, say aye.

Aye.

All right. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I don't know. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. um Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. All right, welcome. We're going to begin the Finance and Personnel Committee meeting. Sir Clerk, please take roll.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here. Here.

Present.

Thank you. First item is under information only. It's 2027 budget overview, and I believe we all have a handout on that. Is that correct? Yes. It's emailed, and there's a copy of it on your desk. I'll walk you through the slides.

And here, please stop making any questions. So our 2027 general fund, the picture that we're looking at today, is $226.4 million in revenue. And you can see the breakdown here. Wow. So this is close to half of our revenue mix.

Licenses, inspections, intergovernmental revenue, which includes the city's share of income tax and PPRT. Revenue charges for services, which is primarily garbage fees and ambulance transport revenue, and then transfers and miscellaneous income. On the expense side, we're looking at $232.3 million broken down through police and fire, about 75% of the total general fund, public works, community and economic development, support departments, and then that small sliver there is that includes the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, the Board of Elections, and the Workforce Investment Board. General Fund Elastic Revenue. These are our revenue sources that are most responsive to swings in the broader economic picture throughout our community. You can see here sales tax reflects a small increase. PPRT increases based on guidance from the Illinois Department of Revenue, as I mentioned last week during the monthly budget year-to-date report. Income tax revenue increases based on guidance from the Illinois Municipal League. That is, again, a statewide revenue source, so local economy doesn't necessarily dictate how that revenue source moves over time. And then we have a decline in our utility tax revenue plan for 2027. Highlights from the general fund we have the one-time cannabis tax revenue for 2026 is removed that was as just as a reminder 2.65 million dollars Ambulance revenue holds at 17 million dollars budgeted based on anticipated 2026 receipts I know that was a topic of discussion in our 2025 year-end results and There were a few things that contributed to the drop that we saw in ambulance collection revenue, primarily associated with some transition in billing software systems and a misinterpretation of some Medicaid language that resulted in a payback, ultimately, to Medicaid based on anticipated change in billing rates. So we believe we're on track to collect the $17 million in revenue in 2026 and anticipate holding that flat with unknown changes in Medicaid coverage as well as continued changes in the number of privately insured individuals utilizing the ambulance system. Income tax revenue increases just under $1.9 million based, again, on IML projections and historical actual receipts. I do want to point out that if the state had funded our share of income tax revenue at the rate originally promised of 10% instead of the just over 6% we currently receive, we would be collecting an additional 15.8 or budgeting an additional $15.8 million in revenue in 2027. Additionally, we have an increase in state shared PPRT of 750,000. That's based on, again, guidance provided by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Expense projections here where you can see here salary and fringe benefits are the majority of the costs that we see in the general fund. We are a personnel heavy operation and the contractual supply, other expenses, they are all in service of the people who are providing the services on a day to day basis. Expense changes in the general fund, again, almost entirely personnel related. Our pension contributions grow 2.6 million or 7%. Wages are budgeted at 3% overall growth, and that includes across the board increases plus step and longevity increases under the collective bargaining agreement. Excuse me, the collective bargaining agreements and our merit increases for our non-represented staff. Our health premiums increased 10% to cover increasing costs in that fund. And then we have increases in the fire personnel budget, $500,000 in overtime and $720,000 in severance pay for expected retirements during the fiscal year. The 2027 budget includes 1,183.5 total staff in the general fund. That's a reduction of two positions overall, and that's a reduction of two in the police department budget. Those are both civilian positions. So if you hadn't done the math already, the general fund budget position is a negative just under $5.9 million revenue and expense. Now we're not asking for any action on this this evening. As you're aware, we have convened a budget advisory group for the purposes of presenting some recommendations to city council. on how to achieve balance for 2027. That group has met twice and just scheduled the third meeting to review some options and start formulating some recommendations that will be presented back to city council. I just want to go briefly through the property tax levy. So just a reminder on the property tax process. I think it's a commonly misunderstood process, so making sure everyone understands. I try to explain it as often as I can so everyone understands. The first step is assessment letters get mailed by the Winnebago County. Those assessments are done by township-level assessors and then compiled at the county level. Then city council approves a levy. That is a dollar amount that we are asking for the county to collect to help fund city operations. That doesn't include the rate. That's just the flat dollar amount that we're requesting. The county then finalizes the EAVs after all of the assessment challenges. That whole process concludes and the county finalizes the citywide EAV, which becomes... the dividing factor in calculating what our total rate is. The tax rate is then calculated based on the levy request and the EAV, and then the county calculates and mails tax bills to residents. So as you're all aware, the city is just a portion of the overall tax bill. There's approximately 10 taxing bodies that appear on a city resident's property tax bill, obviously the largest being the school district. So our property tax levy calculations for our 2026 levy, which is collected in 2027, you can see here a flat levy for 2026 would result in an estimated rate today based on where the county currently estimates EAV to land. at 1.5920, so a pretty significant decline in the overall rate in 2026. And then if we were to take the maximum increase allowed under PTEL or the tax caps laws that apply in Winnebago County, The levy could increase just over $1.7 million. At that total levy amount, we're looking at a rate of 1.6494 or approximately a .09 decline, even with taking the growth allowed under tax caps. And just to provide some comparison, obviously, property taxes is a sore subject for homeowners in our community. And so we pulled together information from our comparable communities. And again, these are the communities we use for purposes of collective bargaining, where their property tax levy or their rate is. So that's the orange bars here on the chart and I added the actual figures at the top of each bar. And then the blue bar reflects the median home value in all of those communities. So you can see Rockford was probably at the bottom of that list for quite a long time. But with the increase we've seen in property values and in our community, we're third now, third from the bottom for median home value. You can see, too, the function, how the home value and the rate play off of each other so the higher the home values the higher your overall eav the lower your rate is because that the the base on which that total levy is spread is a bigger base so while we have an eight you know eight point eight rate um you can see median home values are much higher and higher rates in other communities And I apologize. The orange bars are the bill. The numbers at the top of the bar are the rates. So while Rockford's average bill or the bill for a median home is between $6,000 and $5,000 here, as you can see, a community like Elgin has a lower rate by almost $1, but their median bill based on their home values is significantly higher, over $9,000. And then property tax rate history, you can see how that has declined since 2015. That is a combination of city council's discipline and holding the rate, or excuse me, holding the levy flat. So not taking the growth in the levy overall in combination with increased equalized assessed valuations over time, as we've seen, have caused a significant decline in our overall property tax rate. You can see there about a 48% drop since 2015 or 1.6192. that the city's current rate of 1.7403, and that's only the city's portion of the property tax bill, is lower than any rate since 1982, which is as far back as my spreadsheets go. So I didn't search farther than that, but it is the lowest rate that we have recorded in the time that we've been keeping records on this. And that is the end of the presentation. I'm happy to answer any specific questions anyone has yet.

Are there any questions? Alderman Beach.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple of questions. Gary, thank you so much for this report. Back over on the general revenue issue. the federal fund revenue highlights. On the last comment, you said the state share of the PPRT increased 750. Is this what the state is trying to give us back to say we're sorry we took the 10%?

No. So this is not income tax. This is replacement tax, personal property replacement tax.

All right. Then back on that last comparable chart, as far as taxes go, If I'm reading this right, let's say this Elgin, where you've got the highest here, that looks like their home values at that high rate is around $350,000. Is that correct? Am I reading that right?

Correct. The median home value in Elgin is just under $350,000.

And they would pay tax on that of about...

Over $9,000, and their rate is 7.832.

So in Rockford, our rate, the average is a little over $150,000, and you're saying we're paying pretty close to $4,500.

It's over $5,500. $5,500. Correct.

Okay, well, that's quite a spread. Thank you.

Alderman Hoffman.

Thank you.

I think it's on page four, general fund. One-time cannabis tax revenue in 2026 is removed. What exactly does it mean?

It was a one-time revenue. That we took. We took out of the saved cannabis or the unspent cannabis funds that had accumulated. We used that. That's only available one time. So we used it in 2026 to balance the budget. And then now that revenue isn't available. It's not a recurring revenue. Thank you.

All right. Well, thank you so much. Oh, I'm sorry. Alderman Toonberg.

Thank you. One of the things that I'd just like to point out is I know in my nine years on council, it has been very important for myself, along with some of the other members that have been on for decades, longevity of time but that as property values have increased to lower our rate accordingly so ultimately we bring in about the same amount of revenue as we did for many years before correct I know that all of us hear it about the property taxes in Rockford and that has been something that has held us back i think in years before in part to becoming what we can become people choosing to live outside the city partly due to the property taxes so i commend city council and and administrations that have worked to try to keep our rate at least to be somewhat competitive to other municipalities. We're still high, but we've made a lot of progress. The issue is, as you pointed out earlier, is there's 10 taxing bodies. and not all these taxing bodies have done what we've done. Correct. But yet, who takes the brunt of it is the city of Rockford. I think many people think about property taxes and automatically think city of Rockford. My road should be paved with gold with the property taxes I'm paying. But realize that... We're one taxing body out of 10. And we've done, I think, a very hard job And we've done it, I think, well in the fact that we've held ourselves in check. And I wish that some other taxing bodies would have followed suit because that rate right there would be much lower to our taxpayers. So thank you.

All of them plenty.

Thank you.

let's start with just the one um backward on 2027 the general fund you that you talked about that little sliver under expenses yes that's uh board of elections uh the board of fire and police commissioners and the workforce investment board so the the board of elections is largely uh paid back by property taxes that are collected by the county. So the county gives us money to pay for our local board of elections every year. The Workforce Investment Board is strictly a pass-through. So we receive federal grant funds, and we pass them through to that organization. But under federal program guidelines, the local government has to be the recipient of those funds. So they get passed along. Net zero impact to the general fund everything that we spend is reimbursed And so then the the last piece there is the Board of Fire Police Commissioners And what is their budget like? It depends. The size of their budget is largely driven by the number of testing cycles or the eligibility lists for promotion or hiring that are scheduled to expire. They create the lists, and they're good for a period of time. So depending on how many lists need to be created, redone effectively in a year. That number can vary year over year. But I don't recall that I can tell you what their total budget is. The total for 2027 is $331,000. That's a really small amount. Yes.

Then when you go to the general fund deficit page, it says the budget advisory group. What types of things could they consider to help? What would be on the table?

Well, I mean, anything, really. And certainly if any aldermen have suggestions for items that could potentially be suggestions for the group to consider, we would love to have them.

Thank you. I just had a question regarding that. So a while ago, we approved to increase our award plan money. It's Is that already included or is that something that could be?

So the ward plan funds don't come from the general fund. That's designated revenue sources that are specifically for capital improvement. So that money could not be used to fix this problem. Alderman Beach.

I'll repeat what I said a few weeks ago to follow up with Alderman Toomber's comments, is that in a couple of years, about two and a half years, all of our property tax we're talking about here, a little over $48 million, will go to pensions. And that's really a problem. That needs a community discussion. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. All right.

Alderman Delgado. Yeah, just real quick. I am part of that budget group that we meet. So I wanted to ask you, Carrie, a little bit. Do you know... After we meet the budgetary group when we might have projections for five years for the next five years and then The other piece that I might ask is, you know I know at one point 2026 where we're gonna end up You know for the year would like to see what that number is and and I only say this because I know it's cumulative right um and we're below that 20 25 a reserve um it's a constant that i always bring up uh decisions need to be made um whether we like it or not um from that perspective and try to prioritize what our priorities are in order to make the right decisions as constituents that we represent tell us what those priorities are so just you know want to let everybody know that that's that's kind of the position that we're in that you know we have to make tough decisions ultimately yes I do appreciate property taxes going down a rate continuing to going down our values keep going up that's why your tax bill might go up you might say why you know my My tax rate keeps going down, but it's one or the other from that perspective. So yeah, I just wanted to ask those two pieces because it's something that we need to kind of hone in for the for the projection of the next five years. What's that trend showing? Obviously, you know, things can change, COVID can come again, and we could have some reserves from that perspective from the federal government that comes through, but ultimately, you know, we kind of have to look at those things. So just wanted to.

Yeah, so with our monthly budget reports, we do our best to project at that time where the fiscal year, we believe the fiscal year is headed. We'll have our August report probably at the next committee meeting. So happy to, you could certainly look at last month's, but we'll have an update in two weeks at the next committee meeting. Five year projection, we do every year as part of the budget process, but without understanding the steps that will be implemented to achieve balance here, it's difficult to make that projection. So if we make a permanent expense reduction or a permanent revenue change, those would carry forward into future fiscal years. So to make a projection based on a budget that's not balanced yet is not something that we would normally do. So I would assume that where we sit today would just get worse in the following five years. There's nothing to indicate that the revenue that we're collecting today is going to change dramatically. nor is there any indication that the things driving our expense increases is going to change significantly either. So I would anticipate that that gap would continue to grow.

Thank you, Chairman, for allowing me to speak on your committee. Director Haggerty, do you know how much we receive from the 1% public safety tax?

We don't receive anything from the 1% public safety tax.

Thanks. And do you know how much is generated from that tax? I do not off the top of my head, no. Okay. Just a few questions from the conversations. I believe it was mentioned for the Fire and Police Commission's budget, $331,000 around there. Do you know how much is remaining in that pot of money? um for 2026 i do not um but they're included in our monthly report so you should be able to if you look at that for july it should be listed there perfect um maybe chief tile on this there was not a fall uh academy this time around right Okay. I mean, I just asked why, I guess. Why not? Why was that decision made?

For to not have a fall Academy this year yeah, so we were budgeted this year up front for the Overage to assist with the retirement wave that we were going to see due to the Viva retirements and so last year's FTE last year's or this year's budget was going to return us to a FTE level of 276 and Anticipating the retirements that we had we weren't going to reach that level by fall so we weren't in need of a fall Academy and

Do you know when the next one will be? Is that planned for next spring or summer?

We will probably be below that level or at that level in the spring, and so those discussions will be had probably early next year.

And then last thing, I forget the consistency of the budget task force meetings. When are those meetings?

uh we just scheduled one for next week um but they i mean it's sort of as needed and as information becomes available and ready for discussion so okay how many meetings have we've had two so far so the third one i just sent out the invitation for next week okay thanks appreciate it

All right, thank you. All right, moving on to committee reports. Number one is an approval of vouchers amount of $13,780,749.44. Is there a motion to approve vouchers? So moved.

Second.

Any questions or comments on vouchers? Alderman Thunberg?

No, I will reserve my questions for Director Haggerty this week. Thank you.

Okay. Seeing no questions, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item 2 is an approval of an IGA between the city and the county to replace sidewalks along West 8th Street near the public safety building. The estimated city contribution is $127,000 with the actual cost determined by measured quantities upon completion of the project. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

Any questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item three is an approval of an MOU between the city and the state for the Rockford Complete Streets Revitalization Project for Maintenance. Is there a motion to approve? So moved.

Second.

Any questions or comments for staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item four is the approval of addition of city-owned property located at 710 North Church Street to the city's Moda Owned Program between the city and the adjacent property owner, which is KMK Media Group. Is there a motion to approve? So moved.

Second.

Any questions or comments for staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item 5 is approval of a lease renewal with Comprehensive Community Solutions for office space located at 917 South Main Street at a rate of $900 per month. for a 12-month lease from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027. The funding sources are the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Funding previously approved for the Community Health Healing Center. There is no city match as required. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Any questions or comments from staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item six is approval of an IG between the city of Rockford in the Loves Park, South Beloit, Cherry Valley for an establishment of a Rockford Regional Tourism District. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

Any questions or comments for staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item seven is the approval of the formation of the Rock Regional Tourism Improvement District. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved.

Second.

Any questions or comments for staff or others? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item one is approval of a contract for two contract telecommunicators for Rockford 911 to Motivations in the amount of $92,763.82. The contract duration is for three months. The funding source is a 9-11 operating budget. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved.

Second.

Any questions or comments for staff? Alderman Beach.

Thank you, sir. Will the three months be long enough?

I'm sorry?

Will the contract for three months be long enough? Will we need more than three months?

Who'd like to? Chief?

Yep, I got that. We're going to start with a three-month period with this contract. It doesn't mean we wouldn't be able to extend that. But we are anticipating some of our lateral transfers that just came into our department to be up and operational by the end of the year. And so we're going to evaluate that in a three-month time and make sure that this has had the impact that we wanted.

So you don't think we should put in here the possibility of another three-month extension and get that over with right now?

I don't know if that's in your proposed contract.

Yeah, I think we would want to take some time to evaluate that, especially with what that would cost and what's available to us in our budget. So it's not a discussion I'm not willing to have. I think we could definitely look at that.

Thank you.

Sure. Any other questions? All those in favor? All those in favor?

For those, when I first, just FYI, when I first looked at this, it did seem somewhat pricey. But when you do look at the contract, it does include transportation costs, housing costs, stipends. So it does include quite a bit more than just a base pay for the individuals who will be in that 911 position. So just wanted to add that. Thank you.

All right. Seeing no further questions, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item two is an approval and acceptance of a Bureau of Justice Assistance JAG award in the amount of $284,745. This grant does not require a cost match. The grant term is from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2028. The grant funds will be used to purchase 17 portable radios for Rockwell Police Department and for the Winnebago County Purchase 14 portable radios. Is there a motion to approve? Any questions or comments for staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item three is an approval and acceptance of the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies Department of Human Services Employment Barrier Reduction Fund Award in the amount of $172,500. This grant also does not require a cost match to the grant term from signature date through May 31, 2027. It will provide funds used to cover expenses related to homelessness prevention, utilities, transportation, uniforms, tools, and other similar proposed expenses for eligible recipients. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

Any questions or comments for staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item four is an award of RFQ for architectural services, mechanical services, and appliances for the weatherization services to Comfort First, Geostar Mechanical, Total Plumbing, and Johnson Controls in the estimated total amount of $1.2 million based on unit pricing. The contract duration is September 30, 2027 with one possible one-year extension options. The funding sources are the DCO, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, and State Supplemental. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

Any questions or comments for staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item five was renewal of contract for the lead program partner for Youth Advisory Board to buy any dreams necessary in an amount not to exceed $50,000. The contract duration is from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The funding source is the Community Healing Center American Rescue Plan Act funds. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved.

Is there a second? Yes, sir. Are there any questions or comments for staff? Alderman Thunberg.

Thank you. We've worked with this organization in the past. Is that correct? Is it how long? About a year. Okay. When I read through it, it seemed like a lot of... Ideas, what they planned on doing. But I thought it, I mean, very long and sometimes repetitive maybe, just my own thoughts. But I didn't really see any proof in the pudding, any examples of... where they're helping these kids, unless I missed it, where they're helping, any results up to this point. It was what they just plan on doing. So we've been working with them over a year or up to a year. Can you elaborate a little bit more on this? Maybe I'm missing something or just to bring us up to speed. Thank you.

Yeah. So our Youth Advocacy Board, we just started our second cohort of youth. We launched in August with an orientation and a first meeting. We have 20 students or youth that are part of the Youth Advocacy Board. Two are returning from last year, and the hope is to bring on another youth as a program coordinator. Some of these funds will bring on that youth part-time. All the other youth are new youth members. So we are starting with a brand new cohort. And what's not in this proposal is our schedule for the year. We will meet twice a month. And every meeting has a topic. And some of you will be invited to attend those meetings and meet the youth and get to ask questions or learn from them. We also are inviting different community partners organization, school board members, members from the Winnebago County Board and as well as from the Rockford Park District Board to meet with the youth and explain to them what their boards are, what they do, what the purpose of the boards or council or committee boards are and how the youth could learn and uplift their voice to create change. The main goal of the Youth Advocacy Board is to prepare youth and give them leadership skills and opportunities to really learn how Rockford runs and how the county runs and work together across different middle schools and high schools to come together with solutions. We do have a curriculum already built for the rest of the year, and like I mentioned, it's not included in the proposal, but I could share that with you.

Okay, so are there other organizations out there besides By Any Dreams necessary that are up to this kind of task, or is it just this organization only?

I'm sure there may be other organizations. However, we already have been working with Buy Any Dreams Necessary. This will be a renewal agreement. So if we were to start with a new organization, we would have to start all over and build new relationships with a new organization. The director or CEO of By Any Dreams Necessary helped launch youth boards at Washington Park Community Center as well as the Park District while they were there. And those boards still exist to this day. And now the youth run them along with the staff at those locations. So the goal is in the future that youth are able to run the Youth Advocacy Board on their own with minimal support of the city and organizations, but it takes a lot of effort and time to structure a board and give them the tools that they need.

And there would be continuous Individuals coming in as individuals graduate, leave, etc. So I can see how that could take some time to keep that an ongoing situation. Okay. Thanks for helping me understand this a little bit.

Alderman Salgado. Thank you. I do have some questions here. Is this related to Chairman Chiarelli and the mayor meeting with these youth and kind of walking through what happens with city council and how it operates and same with Winnebago County? Or is that completely different? Because I know they have their leadership kind of forum that they bring in students. Is that related to that, or is that a complete separate piece?

That's different. And the reason that it's different is because the youth that are part of the Youth Advocacy Board are youth that struggle with transportation and face other barriers. So we work very strategically with Buy Any Dreams Necessary. as well as comprehensive community solutions to really select youth that may not have opportunities or may not have the resources to get to meetings like the one that you mentioned. So a lot of our youth face really hard barriers and one of the main reasons that we went with Miami Dreams Necessary is because they understand that vision and mission to reach our hardest youth and most vulnerable youth. And the awesome thing about being renting offices at Comprehensive Community Solutions is that they also let us use their community spaces for our meetings. free of charge. So separate to the rent that we're paying for our offices, they're letting us use those additional spaces for free. And that is an accessible location. And some of the youth members that are part of the Youth Advocacy Board are also part of their program, and Comprehensive Community Solutions offers transportation. So we worked together with them to select several of their members that we knew for sure would be able to get to the meetings.

So I do have two more questions, if I may. The next question that I have, it's kind of related, both of these, but I know the Chamber of Rockford has the Rockford Leadership Program that kind of goes through, and they work on different projects throughout the community and so forth. So the question that I have, does this program do a similar thing where They work on different activities that have an impact for this youth advocacy board. I don't know if, I didn't read entirely the whole thing regarding to that. And second piece that goes along with that is similar to what the chamber does with Rockford Leadership. Is there a certification that of completion when they do this that translates into, say for example, it sounds like youth, so from my perspective, if they're high school students that they're able to use that as part of their resume building for that perspective. So it's a two-prong approach. One, are there any projects that they do help out in the community as part of this to help them develop that leadership piece of it Second of all, is there any certification that could be, you know, hey, congratulations, here's your certificate, that you could use that for, say, for example, your resume building and so forth. So those are the two questions that I have.

Yeah, great questions. The first cohort, we did graduate them and we had a ceremony for them. Alderman Tamir Bell helped us reserve the Veterans Memorial Hall for that celebration. And they did receive a certificate. And they know that if they are in need of a letter of reference, a letter of recommendation, or they could add the Youth Advocacy Board to their resumes. This is also not just the board. We also are intentional about building relationships and offering mentorship. So all of my team, the Community Healing Center, along with By Any Dreams Necessary, also serve as mentors. So we are also helping these youth apply to colleges, understand what loans and grants are, helping them apply to scholarships outside of the Youth Advocacy Board. outside of the times that we meet. So also some of them are community healing center clients.

Thank you.

Thank you for allowing me. Speaker, any committee? So I have been a part of YAB, I call it YAB with gab. I've been a part of YAB. I've been in front of YAB now three times. I went to the ceremony. I feel like I'm a part of YAB. So I just wanted to speak to the quality of the programming and just to say that I have watched the growth in the youth as they've progressed. Just saw them on Saturday at the at the Rise Teen Summit, and to see them leading registration, to hear some of the students talk about, I'm in college now at NIU, I saw one of the cheerleaders at the Rock Yard Fest, and she's like, that's Alderman Gabrielle Tarina. So they're paying attention, and they're building confidence in themselves, and I think it's I think that I've personally watched the students achieving the goals that the program has set out to do. So it was important for me to just let you guys know, if you want to have private conversations with me about my experience with it, I'd be happy to talk with you. But 100% want to advocate for continuing this program and continuing, by any dreams necessary, being a part of this, because it is quality. Thank you.

Alderman Tuber. What's the target age for this, or the age range?

The age range is middle school to high school.

OK.

Thanks. I'll move out. Thank you, Chairman, for allowing me to speak on your committee. I've benefited from organizations and programs like the Youth Advocacy Board, Washington Park Community Center, I believe, at the time that I was there. The CEO or president of this, by any dreams necessary, was the program director there. So I certainly can speak to, like all the women, Tarina said, the quality of the program. I just have a few questions about the funding source. Director Haggerty, do we know how much is left in the ARPA funds for the Community Healing Center American Rescue Plan Act funds? Sorry. Go ahead.

There was a specific amount allocated from ARPA funds for the community healing center approved by city council. So this would be a portion of that total overall budget that was approved already by city council.

Gotcha. So now at this time, we've approved the dollar amount. Now we're approving the contract.

Correct.

Thanks. I think we'll continue to say this throughout the year, obviously our current financial situation. I wanted to ask, are there any additional strategies to support this program long term? Should we move forward with this? I'd like to see this continue on year after year, but is there a strategy for long term financial support with outside organizations or entities supporting this?

Yeah, we are always seeking grants, either local grants, state grants, or larger grants to help support funding this project. We have not planned any fundraising or campaigning, but that definitely is an idea that we've had. So in the future, we are open to exploring that and also having the youth be part of that planning process and get their ideas.

Thank you. And then the last thing, unsolicited suggestion, I guess. What's the coordination process or strategy around convening these several different organizations like UQ at Washington Park Community Center, the Boys and Girls Club, Northwest Community Center, and I guess advocacy-focused organizations when it comes to our young people? What does that kind of coalition or collaboration look like with? Yeah. Are you guys bringing together other organizations as well with the students that you're serving? Or is it just the 20 that you guys have or are anticipating to serve?

For right now, we selected 20, and we are closing registration at the end of this month, so we still have one seat left. But we met some youth at the Rise Teen Summit this past weekend, so that may no longer be the case in a couple days. But the reason that we close it is because we want this to be, for the youth to be engaged throughout the entire program year from August to May. Keeping youth engaged after school for that many months is difficult across any program and any after school program here in Rockford will tell you that. especially middle schools and high schoolers. So keeping a group of youth that we are not only keeping them engaged but also their parents engaged is very important. But yes, we will be bringing in different individuals from those organizations to one, either co-lead a workshop or a discussion or a panel. Last year we brought in an older woman Tarina, along with Antonio from Alignment Rockford, and we also brought two Rockford Promise recipients, and we had a panel discussion, and the youth were able to ask them questions. So we hope to bring that back again this year.

Thank you. All right. Alderman Durkee.

Thanks. of questions what is so unique about this program for instance that it can't be done with district to have done by district 205 who we paid quite a bit of taxpayer money to do this why what makes this unique And next year, ARPA funds will be running out this federal fiscal year. They have to be spent, correct? 2026, we're done. So this, as far as funding, if they come back, this is going to be a general budget. So I'd like to know what makes this unique that it can't be done by either another larger umbrella organization or by District 205.

That's a great question for District 205. I know that they have made a lot of budget cuts recently to a lot of their after-school programming, including tutoring hours and child care programming. Currently, I don't believe that District 205 would even have funds to support a program like this. In the future, it may look different. But currently, we have seen them make cuts to program that our youth really depended on and benefited from. So having this Youth Advocacy Board is even more important because of that.

Yeah, because I actually, I think District 205 can do this and has the ability to do it. And I think they do already do a lot of things. You mentioned like applying and getting into college or other pathways, which is what they do. So it's, you know, nobody's discounting that they do good work. The difference is we have a smattering of these things all over the city that are funding are funded and it seems that it's getting time, especially given this, that we need to either consolidate them or rely on already funded and well-established organizations like 205 to do this. So that's my comment.

One thing too that I'll add is that we have met with the Community Foundation Youth Council that they're named In Youth We Trust. And they are a youth council that accepts grant applications reviews them and approves them so we we are in initial conversations with them and hope in the future that we could work together with them either by applying for a grant for the Youth Advocacy Board or working together to bring our councils together and and create a larger program that reaches more youth. But we are in the early, early conversations. And again, this is our second cohort. So our first year was really our pilot year. And we are just starting our second cohort. We're about a month and a half into our second cohort.

Thank you. Aldo Impronte.

Thank you. I love that we are investing in our youth. hearing about all these programs that are taking place within the city and even the programs that you're doing i mean it really interests me i think one of the things that we would kind of talk about this before maybe that i would like since there are so many programs i'm just really wondering um what we can do to better advertise them because a lot of students don't know that these things exist. And a lot of times you may be asking the school district to do the promoting and maybe that's not happening because it sounds like some of the students are benefiting from multiple programs, whereas we probably have a lot of young people who are not getting anything. So I'm just wondering, as it relates to collaboration or as it relates, is there, maybe not collaboration, but how are we even marketing your program to young people?

Yeah, that's a great question. When we did recruitment for youth advocacy board, we reached out to the schools and attended their back to school events, open house nights. We have connections with specific teachers or principals at some of those schools and asked if they had any events, parent nights that we could attend. So we did as much outreach as we could. and the youth that were selected were the ones that showed interest in the Youth Advocacy Board. And also too, I want to add that For us, it's very important that we provide this opportunity to youth that speak multiple languages. So we were also intentional about meeting with the district's bilingual department. And we were able to select a few youth where their parents only speak Spanish, and one youth on the board currently only speaks Spanish. So additional time needs to go to translating materials and translating all of our materials for the meetings so that our one Spanish-speaking youth is able to understand the meetings.

All right. There's been a motion and second. All those in favor indicate by aye. Aye.

the Winslow Council.

Thank you. Alderman Bonney.

Thank you.

I just wanted to piggyback on what Dr. Durkee said. I'm pretty sure the Rockford School District budget, annual budget, approaches half a billion dollars. And so if they can't, you know, this idea that they don't have money for a $50,000 program, I mean, it's really all about priorities. And we just, I mean, we just voted down $8,500 in parking waivers because we're worried about our budget. And so, you know, I think we should be looking at all of these Programs that, looking at their sustainability and looking at whether or not they're duplicative or whether or not they're not better funded by another organization than the city. Thank you.

One question. Go ahead on the bell.

session okay uh well i i would just make a few comments to what was just stated yeah i think the 8 500 conversation was um about uh i mean we reallocated funds from a depleted um fund so to a depleted fund so i don't want to argue people versus parking spots however i do want to say just appreciate the work that you guys do i don't want this conversation to kind of cover up the work that you guys have been doing at the Urban Stronghouse and through your department. So I just want to say that. I want to bring this conversation to more about the cost, really. So I wanted to know the staff cost for this program versus the resources going into executing the program. Do you have those numbers?

Yeah. Give me one second. So the budget was part of the proposal. And I believe it's page 25 or 26. Part of the budget is going to personnel and fringe. And that includes their director, by any means necessary, director, and a program coordinator. And then the remaining budget will go to supplies and contracted services, as well as software subscription, guest facilitators, bookkeeping services, and other professional services. And then there also will be money for enrichment activities and program celebration expenses.

Thank you. Do you have the director and program coordinator dollar amounts?

So the Personnel total is $25,000, and the fringe is $500. Thank you.

And then last question. Is there a cost increase from last year to this year? Yes. Do you know the difference or the increase?

Yeah, the difference is because we are bringing on a part-time program coordinator who was a formal youth RMC board member last year.

And what's that cost difference, sorry?

The cost difference is around $23,500. Thank you. Alderman Tuneberg.

Thank you.

Yeah, I was going to say the cost breakdown is in the packet, and thank you for that. It is a significant amount is being spent on the administrative aspect of this. Right or wrong, I'm not saying. It's clearly spelled out in there with the specific dollar amounts. Okay. I would elaborate just for a second on Alderman Bonney's comment about, and that's I think a concern that we are, not necessarily concerned, but something we should be looking at going forth as we do try to tackle this budget is organizations, even well-run organizations, to make sure that we are not funding organizations or, let me take that back, that we're cognizant of trying to look for overlap in these organizations. And again, I'm not saying this one in particular meets that criteria or not, but that's something we have to be more cognizant to be going forth with these organizations. Secondly is, and I wouldn't expect an answer now, we talked about the city of rockford holding their levy flat and i would like to would like to know and maybe director hagerty has that information right now i'm sure it's available if we looked it up is for the last 10 years or so has the rockford public school system held their levy flat for the last 10 plus years. I think I know the answer to that, but out of those 10 years, how often have they taken the bump and have then increased the cost to our taxpayers?

Go ahead. Certainly. So I believe that for the significant amount of the time that we held our levy flat, RPS did as well, if I recall correctly, They started taking property tax increases within the last two years, but I would have to confirm that. But they were, and in doing some research on comparable property tax rates in our neighboring communities, RPSs, rate is lower than most of our surrounding school district rates currently.

Okay, that's good to know. I would still venture to say that with the size of their budget. This ARPA money is, there's a finite amount and it's going to run out at some point. So I would think that we would wanna entertain at least getting RPS involved in these programs that would be well-suited. Thank you.

Yeah, I agree with you. I would love RPS05 to be part of funding this project, but our youth also do live here in Rockford, and a lot of them do have jobs here as well, so they do contribute to paying taxes in Rockford.

I'd like to agree, by the way.

Thank you.

Alderman Bonney.

Thank you, Chairman. So my seatmate here referenced the parking waiver that we just recommended denial for going back to parking fund to relieve a deficit situation there, which is true. But he also argued in favor of doing that to address a funding issue in the police department, or I'm sorry, the fire department. And so I'm wondering if this ARPA money were not spent, this $50,000 were not spent on this program, if it, I mean, and we do need to spend the ARPA funds, could this money be redirected to the fire department?

Ms. Haggerty.

At any point, any of our ARPA funding could have been used to pay for operating costs in the general fund. Our recommendation was to never do that because it is a one-time revenue source and would ultimately just kick the can down the road for our structural budget deficit that we're seeing today.

But funding an organization like this for one year, and then, I mean, we're doing the same thing, we're just doing it externally, correct? Okay, thank you. I would, I mean, I would argue that if the fire department that the 13th Ward Alderman is so concerned about is an issue, then we ought to not be spending $50,000 externally when we could spend it internally. Thank you.

all right thank you i would just suggest uh with any item specifically this one that's being funded by arpa funds that we know are going to be disappearing is i know it's been talked about you know working with the school district but we have a bevy of of folks that are that could volunteer as well we keep no one's addressing volunteers in our community to get folks out to help with youth in a variety of ways. And there's several board members or retired board members in the city of Rockford that would probably love the chance to work with youth. And so I don't have any problem with the program, what you're doing. But I do have a problem paying someone to do it, right? I mean, without looking and seeking out help in the community where you could get a lot more skilled talent for free and people would be willing to do it. So the money's going away. I'm just making a suggestion. Thank you. All right, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Moving on, number six is an award a bid for residential snow removal and operations to regional snow services in the estimated amount of $1.5 million. The contract is for one year with four possible one year extension options. Annual price adjustments for CPI will be considered a contract new only. The funding source is the street department operating budget. Is there a motion to approve?

So. Second.

Any questions or comments? Alderman Tunberg.

Thank you. I saw that they were the only one of two companies that came for the bidding and the only one to actually bid out of the two. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Leatherby? That is correct.

At the pre-bid meeting that was mandatory for this contract, there were two vendors that showed up.

And you sent it out to, was it? 240 or something and two showed up. 241. 241. I'm sorry. That's why I'm not a gambling man. So we've had issues and again i think with it with a city of this size we're going to run into different issues but uh i know last year i had plenty of issues with streets just completely overlooked streets all around them except one street there for whatever reason um are we you know it just this is the only one that why is that out of 240, two show up.

Oh, the vendors that show up? I think the best answer for that is it's a very, very difficult contract to manage. I don't think most people realize what goes into administering a contract like this. So these are every residential street in the city. There's over 500 centerline miles of residential streets that are expected to be cleared from the public's expectation immediately after it snows. We know that that's not always possible. We know that it's going to take a small army of trucks and heavy equipment to make this happen. So our general rule of thumb is that we require from the contractor anywhere from 12 to 16 hours. to clear every single street start to finish. Now that doesn't even necessarily mean two passes down each street. The goal is a single pass at a minimum to clear down these streets, and it takes roughly 140 to 180 trucks, quite frankly, to make that happen within 12 to 16 hours. So that's a big ask. That's a big ask from any company that's acting as general contractor who's tasked with procuring all of those drivers and all of that equipment. So this is not a company that owns the trucks necessarily. They're not necessarily employees of the general contractor, but they are subcontracted level people who, for the most part, live within the city that are plowing city streets. So back to your general question, why was there only two that showed up and one that submitted a bid? I think it's the market showing who's available to do that and who's willing to do that.

And we've had a contract with them for the previous, was it eight years? Yes, eight years. Got that number right now. Maybe I'll go out and play lotto tonight. So, okay. Yeah, that's the answer to my question. Thank you.

Any other questions? All in favor?

I just think the third ward alderman should apologize for giving Mr. Leatherby such a hard time on his birthday.

All right. Any more statements or questions or tempting questions you'd like to ask Mr. Leatherby? Happy birthday.

Yeah, happy birthday.

Happy birthday, sir. Thank you. Seeing none, all those in favor indicate aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item 7 is the award of RFP for elevator maintenance services to Schumacher Elevator in the estimated annual amount of $50,000. The contract duration is one year with four possible one-year extension options. Annual price adjustments to CPI will be considered a contract renewal only. The funding source is the property operating budget. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Any questions or comments on the elevators? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? The matter passes. Item eight is award a bid for citywide multi-use path maintenance to DPI construction in the amount of $209,888. The contract duration is through November 2026. The funding source is the 1% infrastructure sales tax. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Any questions for staff? I just had one. This particular, it looked like there's two multi-use paths that are going to be maintained. So are others being addressed just bit by bit, year by year?

Yeah, we have a long range plan to address all of our paths and keep them maintained.

OK. All right. It said citywide, so that kind of threw me off. I was thinking we're getting a great deal here, but we're only going to get two, right? Yeah, two this year. All right. All right. Thank you. All right. Any other questions? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? Matter passes. Number nine is award of joint purchase contract grant management software to Vertosoft for a contract amount of $97,200 for a one-time implementation and $35,550 For year one, $37,328 for year two and $39,195 for year three. It's a one-year contract with two one-year extensions. The funding source are the finance department, operating budget, and grant funds. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

Any questions for staff? Seeing none, all those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. Opposed? Matter passes. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. All those in favor indicate by aye. Aye. All right, this meeting is adjourned.