Payments addressed with fiscal year arriving for Village of Pecatonica

By Chris Johnson

Reporter

PECATONICA – On Tuesday, April 19, Trustees with the Pecatonica Village Board decided they would hold off on a decision to issue a contract for the extension of refuse collection until all the information has been received.

A request was posed for Trustees to consider allowing a new bidding process to commence.

With the fiscal year approaching, as May 1 nears, the Board is already looking at ways to have all the pieces in place, when the time comes to require it.

Annual reviews of employee performances are fairly commonplace in work environments.

There is no exception when it comes to village administration. Four department heads received the committee approved increases.

During an earlier meeting Trustees, in private session, determined how much the annual increase would be for the Public Works Director, Village Treasurer, Police Chief and Village Secretary. Previously, positions were paid a salary. The increases, according to Village President Dan Barber, were agreed upon by a Trustee vote.

“We talked about this during Executive Session, the majority of the board voted to do this. After our previous Clerk left, we switched it. It used to be salary. The next clerk was hourly. We are giving a $1.31 raise per hour. The Secretary will be paid at the new rate of $16.13 per hour.”

The Village Treasurer received an hourly increase as well, Barber explained.

“We decided the position will see an increase to $18.03 per hour. It effectively comes out to about a $.69 raise.”

The Police Chief and Public Works Directors salary increases were also presented for approval.

The right to spend the money, that has been budgeted, begins with the completion of a Public Hearing to discuss appropriations. Barber said this is something that has to be done and a Special Meeting will be held.

A decision, supported by the Zoning Committee, was approved by Trustees, to move forward with a plan for the construction of an eight-foot tall fence in an area surrounded by a village fence of equal height and barbed.

The variance was granted with the construction of the security fence, in a property in the 100 block of Taylor for a new cell tower access point.

Barber said there was some discussion, since a separating structure already is in place at that location.

“In conjunction with the approval authorizing the fence height variance, they are required to have security in place. They wanted to put barbed wire on top, we told them no to that. We already have that on ours.”

The vote by Trustees was unanimous in approving the request.

The Public Hearing to allow community access to the Village appropriations plan has been set to occur prior to, or following, the upcoming May 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting.