10-02-2022 11:52pm

What's happening in local government

Michael McGinnis Editor

Construction on the Roscoe Township Community Center, as of Sept. 15, 2022

The villages of Roscoe and Rockton will be holding meetings on Monday and Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, the Village of Roscoe is getting ready to request proposals for residential waste hauling services. They will also take final action to get a 2023 International Versalift Aerial Bucket Truck for the Public Works Department. The quoted price is $153, 857. Trustee Justin Plock says it would replace a "20+ year old manlift that is no longer safe to operate and will not pass certification." Plock adds that "new manlifts can cost upwards of $100,000." Public Works wants a bucket truck instead because it wouldn’t require a commercial driver's license. At previous meetings, trustees Carol Gustafson and Sue Petty were against the purchase, arguing that the price is high and would be used infrequently.

At the Village of Rockton meeting on Tuesday, trustee Justin York will present a resolution to terminate a wage deduction and repayment agreement. Trustee Scott Danielson will ask the board to approve trick or treat hours from 5 – 7 p.m. on Monday, October 31. Other items are being discussed in committees. The Administration Committee, which meets Monday at 5:30 p.m., will talk about 2022 water rates and parking spots at Al’s Main Street Tap. They also plan to authorize the purchase of candy for the “Main Street Trick or Treat” event on Oct. 30, but not to spend more than $350.

The Kinnikinnick school board at a Sept. 27 meeting approved a plan to offer E-learning options on snowy days instead of extending the school year farther into June. Kids will be given choices of several low-key assignments to do at home, perhaps with the invitation to "take a picture of what you did." Meanwhile, teachers will keep office hours available for students and families. School officials said the plan is a "nice balance between the traditional fun of snow days and learning without extending [the] calendar."

The Kinnikinnick board also approved their 2023 budget at the public meeting. No members of the public attended the meeting. For fiscal year 2023, their budgeted expenditures will be $26,442,784, while their budgeted revenue is $24,553,961. That leaves a shortfall of $1,888,823 - but still a fund balance of more than $25 million. Expenses will match revenue much better than in the previous year: revenues are expected to increase 7.2% while expenditures will rise only 1.6%. Four new staff will be added and the district says "mandated minimum wage increases continue to outpace revenues."

Roscoe Township received two grants to help pay for the Community Center. The Illinois DNR says they will send their money in the next few months. Meanwhile, the Township needs to pay Scandroli Construction for their work on the Community Center, which is more than half completed. The Township has kept $400,000 in certificate of deposits (CDs) at Blackhawk Bank. Now that the CDs have reached their term, the Township trustees voted at their Sept. 14 meeting to put half the money back into CDs but leave the other half in cash to pay Scandroli. Once they receive the payment from the Illinois DNR, they will replace that money in savings and put it back into CDs.

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