McHenry Times

Village of Algonquin Committee of the Whole met Nov. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

 1: Roll Call to Establish a Quorum

Present: Trustees, Jerry Glogowski, Laura Brehmer, Brian Dianis, Bob Smith, President Debby Sosine and Clerk Fred Martin.

Absent: Trustees Maggie Auger, John Spella

A quorum was established

Staff in Attendance: Tim Schloneger, Village Manager; Nadim Badran, Public Works Director; Dennis Walker, Police Chief; Michael Kumbera, Deputy Village Manager and CFO; Amanda Lichtenberger, Deputy CFO; and Kelly Cahill, Village Attorney

AGENDA ITEM 2: Public Comment

• Chris Kious, Kane County District 23 Board Member updated the Committee on Kane County upcoming events

• Chris Kempf, asked for a letter to vacate right of way on Minnehaha Trail

AGENDA ITEM 3: Community Development

None

AGENDA ITEM 4: General Administration

Mr. Kumbera:

A. Consider a Resolution Accepting the Algonquin Police Pension Municipal Compliance Report for Fiscal Year End April 30, 2023 

Pursuant to House Bill 5088, the Police Pension Board is required to report annually to the Board of Trustees on the condition of the pension fund at the end of each fiscal year for tax levy purposes. Staff recommends the Committee of the Whole forward this item to the Village Board for acceptance by resolution at their meeting on November 21.

It is the consensus of the Committee to move this on to the Village Board for approval.

B. Consider a Resolution Accepting the Actuarial Funding Report for the Algonquin Police Pension Fund for the Contribution Year May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024 

Presented is an independent actuarial report provided by Lauterbach and Amen for the Algonquin Police Pension Fund as of May 1, 2023. The fund is 81.46 percent funded (up 0.2 percent) from the prior year and the current funding policy remains 100 percent over a layered amortization period of 15 years. The Algonquin Police Pension Fund Board of Trustees is requesting that the Village Board levy an amount of $2,050,508 in accordance with the actuarial valuation results for the year beginning May 1, 2023. A copy of this request is attached to this memo.

Staff recommends the Committee of the Whole forward this item to the Village Board for approval by resolution at their meeting on November 21.

It is the consensus of the Committee to move this on to the Village Board for approval.

C. Consider a Resolution for the 2023 Property Tax Levy 

The proposed resolution establishes the amount the Village is requesting for its 2023 property tax levy. State statutes require that the corporate authorities of the Village pass a resolution estimating the amount of tax to be levied not less than 20 days prior to the adoption of the final levy, which is scheduled to be presented at the December 19 Village Board meeting.

For the 2022 tax levy year, the Village’s portion of resident’s tax bill was approximately 6.4 percent (with some minor variations depending on exact location of household). In FY 23/24, property taxes comprise 27 percent of the General Fund revenue, which includes the Road and Bridge tax levy, which is levied by the township level of government.

The Village, a home-rule unit of government, is not subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), however, the Village is required to comply with the “Truth in Taxation Law.” The law places requirements on the Village in the adoption of the 2023 property tax levy if the proposed 2023 gross property tax levy is 105 percent greater than the 2022 net property tax extension.

Property tax revenues are not used to support business-like activities that are accounted for in enterprise funds, such as the Village’s Water and Sewer Utility.

The recommendation for the 2023 Tax Levy is $6,430,000. This is an increase of $300,000 from the 2022 tax levy. The details are shown in Exhibit A which is attached. As the proposed levy is 104.89 percent of last year’s extensions, there is no requirement for a public hearing under the Truth in Taxation Statute. The recommendation does take into consideration several factors that will impact the FY 24/25 financial plan including:

• The actuarial contribution recommendation for the Algonquin Police Pension Fund which exceeds the statutory requirement with a 100 percent funding level by 2033.

• The proportion of state-shared revenues and their stability in the long-term.

• Operational and capital needs for the upcoming period.

• Growth in Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) from both property value appreciation and new construction.

Based on preliminary data obtained from Kane and McHenry County, equalized assessed valuation in the Village is expected to increase for the ninth consecutive year. The estimate of EAV for 2023 is $1,240,000,000 which is 10.3% more than last year which illustrates appreciation of real estate values and new construction. The assessors in each county use a three year history of property values including sales experience in determining the reassessment or current valuation. Assessments generally lag behind current market pricing by 18 months.

The estimated tax rate for 2023 would be 0.519 per $100 of EAV which is less than 2022. A draft resolution reflecting this data is also attached.

Staff recommends a resolution to be forwarded to the Village Board for approval at the November 21 Village Board meeting.

It is the consensus of the Committee to move this on to the Village Board for approval.

AGENDA ITEM 5: Public Works & Safety

Mr. Badran:

A. Consider Certain Vehicles as Surplus 

The following vehicles are proposed to be declared surplus as part of the Village's program with Enterprise Fleet Management. The program achieves the lowest total cost of operation by cycling out vehicles on a timely basis.

Unit #: 102 Year: 2019 Make: Hyundai Model: Sonata

Unit #: 330 Year: 2023 Make: GMC Model: Sierra

Unit #: 331 Year: 2023 Make: GMC Model: Sierra

Unit #: 405 Year: 2019 Make: Hyundai Model: Sonata

Unit #: 205 Year: 2023 Make: GMC Model: Sierra

It is the consensus of the Committee to move this on to the Village Board for approval.

B. Consider an Agreement with Trotter & Associates for the Algonquin Shores Lift Station Upgrade Design 

A proposal was presented to complete the design to upgrade an 815-foot section of the Algonquin Shores Lift Station’s pressurized main. Initially, the Algonquin Shores Lift Station was constructed in 1980 to handle the capacity of the Riverwood Estates subdivision. The lift station was upgraded in 2000 when the Algonquin Lakes subdivisions began development to handle the increased capacity. In addition to the upgraded lift station, approximately 2,400 feet of new 10-inch pressurized main was installed at the intersection of Riverwood Drive and Stratford Lane.

However, the section of pressurized main from the intersection of Riverwood Drive and Stratford Lane to Souwanas Trail remained in place. The remaining pressurized main is a 6-inch diameter with several 90- degree bends and a 10-inch by 6-inch reducer at the connection point. Public Works staff believes that the existing 6-inch main needs to be replaced based on the condition of the pipe section removed during the Souwanas Trail Project at the future connection point. The attached photos show the sludge buildup on the interior of the pipe, limiting the design capacity of the pipe. Additionally, the sludge buildup is deteriorating the pipe, weakening the integrity and stability of the main. Staff believes several factors, including the diameter of the pipe, the age of the pipe, and the number of 90-degree bends, have created these issues. Staff is proposing to replace the aging 6-inch pressurized main with a 10-inch main from Riverwood Drive and Stratford Drive to Souwanas Trail to match the existing diameter of the main and minimize the number of 90-degree bends. The proposed 10-inch main will be installed via directional bore to reduce impacts to the residents of the subdivision and to avoid impact to the recently restored Souwanas Creek.

Staff is proposing to utilize Trotter & Associates to complete the design, given their knowledge of the Village’s wastewater infrastructure and experience with the Village.

Trotter is currently designing the upsize of the pressurized main for the Braewood Lift Station. Ideally, both projects would be bid together this winter for a spring construction. This would allow for the main to be installed before completing the roadway on Souwanas Trail.

Trotter’s proposal is in the amount of $41,600 for the aforementioned design services. This project is unbudgeted, but due to the condition of the pressurized main and potential failure, staff recommends moving forward with the design this fiscal year. Available funds from the construction of the Highland Avenue Water Main Extension project in the Water and Sewer Fund will be used to cover the design costs for this project.

Therefore, the Public Works Department recommends that the Committee of the Whole take the necessary action to move the proposal with Trotter & Associates, Inc. to the Village Board in the amount of $41,600.00 for approval.

It is the consensus of the Committee to move this on to the Village Board for approval.

C. Consider a Resolution Amending the Village’s Wetland Fee in Lieu for Wetland Mitigation During a review of fees charged by Pubic Works, it was discovered that our current $69,000.00/acre fee in lieu of wetland mitigation is no longer in line with current comparable agencies in our region. Under the board-adopted Kane County Stormwater Management Ordinance, the Village can opt to charge a fee in lieu for wetland mitigation for developments that choose to impact isolated wetlands as part of the development. A search of comparable fees showed that Lake County, IL charges between $114,000.00/acre and $181,500.00/acre depending on the specific watershed. DuPage County, IL charges $175,000.00/acre, and Kane County charges vary depending on location, but most recently charged $106,666.00/acre.

The fee in lieu for wetland mitigation is meant to act as a deterrent to incentivize developers to restore and preserve existing isolated wetlands whenever possible, but allows for a solution if isolated wetlands are impacted during a project and allows the Village to collect the fee in lieu for wetland mitigation in these situations. Fees collected in this manner are placed into a restricted fund that are then used to ecologically restore additional wetlands within the Village of Algonquin open space network.

Therefore, it is our recommendation that the Committee of the Whole take action to move this matter forward to the Village Board for approval of the Resolution Authorizing the raising of the Fee in Liew for Wetland Mitigation from $69,000.00/acre to $100,000.00/acre.

It is the consensus of the Committee to move this on to the Village Board for approval.

AGENDA ITEM 6: Executive Session

None

AGENDA ITEM 7: Other Business

President Sosine reminded all of the upcoming Miracle on Main, December 2nd.

AGENDA ITEM 8: Adjournment

There being no further business, Chairperson Smith adjourned the meeting at 8:01 p.m.

https://www.algonquin.org/egov/documents/1700662914_30139.pdf