The Fairfield City Council met in regular session Tuesday night at City Hall and opened the session with the approval of minutes from last month’s meeting and the approval of September’s bills.
During the public comments section, Charles Vanway addressed the council over concerns with the mowing of Maple Hill Cemetery. Mayor Gary Moore assured Mr. Vanway that the city was doing the best that it could considering the unusual weather patterns the area has experienced this year.
Mayor Moore then recognized the Fairfield Rotary Club, who is celebrating its Centennial in the month of October. Moore then read a proclamation declaring October 14th through November 13th the Fairfield Rotary Club Centennial Month.
Mayor Moore then announced that after meeting with Fairfield Police Chief Ben Lewis, Wayne County Sheriff Chris Otey, Wayne County Judge Matt Vaughan and officials from S.W.A.N they have declared October to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The Council then moved on to awarding a bid for Chemicals at the Water Filtration Plant. The bid was awarded Brentag Mid-South, the lowest bidders for all chemicals except for citric acid. A higher bid was accepted for citric acid due to not having to purchase a minimum number of barrels.
The Council then addressed the Wayne County Mitigation Plan. Mayor Moore reiterated to the council that this is something that the council must approve in order to receive FEMA grants in the event of a disaster. The plan was approved with Alderman Reever motioning to approve and Alderman McKibben seconding all members of the council voting to approve.
A brief discussion was then held regarding the Tax Levy. Mayor Moore stated that there are two options for the tax levy: a 4.99% increase that will not require a Truth in Taxation Meeting; the other would be a 7.99% increase that would require a Truth in Taxation Meeting. The Council will address the tax levy soon, after meeting with the Finance Committee.
The next item on the agenda was the request from the Fairfield Police Department and Fire Department Pension Fund Boards. Mayor Moore stated that the actuaries had requested a contribution of $540,000 for the Police Pension Fund and $130,000 for the Fire Pension Fund.
The Council then moved on to the Financial Report stating that September expenses were $2,338,329.00 with September Revenue of $1,704,250.00 for a net loss of $634,079.00. Mayor Moore noted that the majority of the loss for the month was due to environmental expenses incurred because of the diesel fuel leak at the old electric plant that was caused by vandalism. It was stated that they are still in discussions with the Federal EPA and the Illinois EPA. Mayor Moore stated that there are still ongoing discussions about how to fiscally address the situation.
Mayor Moore then stated that the council will be changing the way that requests for funds out of the Business Tax District are handled. He stated that the first step will now be to come before the entire council and explain what they are doing and the cost of it, allowing the council to ask questions. The request will then go to the committee who will then make a recommendation to the council.
Under other Miscellaneous business it was noted that the Veteran’s Day Parade will be on Saturday, November 8th at 2 p.m. and that the Annual Fire Department Chili Supper will be held on Friday, October 31st at the Fairfield Fire Department. Serving times will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with both dine-in and carry-out/drive-up available.
After stating that there was no need for an executive session, the council meeting was adjourned with it being stated that the next council meeting will be on Thursday, November 13th due to the Veteran’s Day holiday.
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