12-10-2021 6:38pm

Reduced employee health insurance contributions approved at Roscoe Village meeting

The Stateline Mass Transit District depends on contributions from state and local government. The Village of Roscoe pays less than Rockton and South Beloit.

Trustees at the Village of Roscoe meeting on Dec. 7 continued to discuss the Village's budget for the new year.

Trustees approved a resolution amending the employee health insurance contribution for certain classifications of full-time employees of the Village to zero percent. Spouse and children will be lowered to six percent.

This benefit will include the Public Works Department and patrol officers of the Village Police Department.

Village President Mark Szula said the reduction would be considered a reward for full-time employees. The board voted down a similar proposal in 2019.

Trustees approved an ordinance establishing the 2021 property tax levy and endorsed the abatement of the 2021 property tax levy for general obligation alternate Bond Series for 2017 and 2018, specifically regarding the construction of the Village Police Department and Village Hall.

The third draft of the 2022 Appropriation Ordinance with a long list of potential purchases was discussed.

Some of the proposals were:

Software updates: initial fee - $1.900 and $900 monthly after that
Offering employees a $250 retention bonus next year - $6,500 total
Increasing the budget to create a Halloween Pumpkin event at Porter Park
Commissioning a downtown mural, estimated cost - $20,000
Land improvements, specifically islands in subdivisions - $12,500
A splash pad at Leland Park
Public Works equipment, specifically a chipper - $44,000
Salt building and public works building - $120,200
Porter Park expansion - $250,000

The final appropriation ordinance, which contains a complete list of projects and costs, will be available for viewing at the Village Hall this week, or at least by the meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 21. The list will be posted outside on the information board or can be viewed inside the building.

Trustees approved a request by Rock Valley Industries to raise their fee $140 for daily cleaning and maintenance of the Village Hall and Police Department.

A public hearing concerning the annual budget will be held at the Village Hall, Dec. 21, at 6:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend.

At the beginning of the meeting, Sharon Hecox, Executive Director of Stateline Mass Transit District (SMTD), presented an annual report and asked the board to consider raising the rate of contribution from $20,000 to $25,000 for 2022. Roscoe lowered the amount from $25,000 to $20,000 about three years ago.

South Beloit and Rockton pay $25,000, and Roscoe and Rockton Townships contribute $3,000 each.

Hecox said the transit service provides rides between Beloit and Rockford. “Ridership continues to grow despite COVID.”

SMTD is a government entity regulated by federal and state laws. Sixty five percent of the cost is contributed by IDOT.

Later in the evening, before ending the Committee of the Whole meeting, Village President Mark Szula brought up the subject of raising the SMTD funding back to $25,000.

Trustee Carol Gustafson suggested SMTD should re-think their model. “Roscoe people don’t use the services as much as other municipalities."

At the Committee of the Whole meeting, which followed the general Board of Trustees meeting, trustees discussed and recommended approval of a resolution to raise the compensation by $20 for Board member meeting attendance, beginning in 2022, for Liquor Commission, Police and Fire Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Three open code violations against Petry Construction were discussed. Petry has not paid violation fees accrued from August 2019. The fees total $5,200. Village Administrator Scott Sanders asked the Board to determine where they want to go from here. “Do we want to go to court to collect the fees, or drop the violation?” All six trustees agreed to proceed with attempting to collect the fees.

Trustee Tony Keene has been attending meetings virtually for the past six weeks. Keene announced that he is doing consulting work outside of the state, and will be attending meetings when he is home and virtually when he is away.

It was decided that the January 2022 meeting will be moved to Jan. 11, instead of Jan. 4.

The next Village meeting is scheduled for Dec. 21, beginning at 6:30. Residents are encouraged to attend.

This story has been revised to correct the date for the public meeting on Dec. 21 and to clarify that the budget for employee retention bonuses would be $6,500 in total, not per employee.