Macon Reporter

Village of Bethany Board of Trustees met Dec. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The regular board meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Jonathan Book, President. The following Trustees were present; Dave Doty, Jeannie Ruppert, Zakary England, Greg McLain, and Raven Allen. Brian Gill was absent.

A motion was made by Trustee Doty to approve the minutes from the November 9, 2023, regular meeting, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

A motion was made by Trustee Doty to approve the “Statement of Income and Expenses”, seconded by Trustee McLain. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

A motion was made by Trustee McLain to approve the “Banks and Checks Journal”, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Public – None

Greg Gustafson Water Improvement Project Update - The Electric pre-construction mtg and the detention tank replacement pre-construction mtg was held and work scheduled provided for each. Mr. Gustafson has the water restoration documents for the Village President to sign and the attorney needs to sign as well. RD is asking for documents to be sent to her for all the projects, and the state engineer will review. We are starting to receive drawings for the projects. Discussion was held concerning when to begin the work on the foundation for the detention tank replacement.

David O’Rourke Insurance Deductible Request - Mr. O’Rourke was in attendance. He wanted to add that he was unaware he needed to be at the last meeting. The last deductible was $2500 and the first time was $1500. Trustee Allen asked why this event happened again. Manager Risley stated the Village jetted out the line after the first event and there were roots. Mr. O’Rourke stated that he has put in a cap to help fix this problem. Mr. O’Rourke stated that he was told in the past that the Board would reimburse any deductible for residence with this issue. They informed Mr. O’Rourke that he was misinformed unfortunately. The Board will not take any action on this item.

Annual Tax Levy - With some communication issues the Village will only be able to do the 5% increase on the annual tax levy. Trustee McLain made a motion to approve the Village of Bethany Annual Tax Levy Ordinance #23-828, seconded by Trustee Doty. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Village Lighting Contest - 1=$100; 2-$50 and 4-$25; were the awards given in the past. Trustee Allen made a motion to approve the Village lighting contest awards as stated before in the way of utility bill credits, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Ordinance for Opting Out of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act - This is in response to the State of Illinois passing the law for employees to earn one hour for every 40 hours worked. As a municipality we are able to opt out of this due to the ordinance we already have in place stating that we have paid leave for our employees. Trustee McLain made a motion to approve Ordinance # 23-829 opting out of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Employee Christmas Bonuses - As has been done before the Board would like $100 clear for the employees after taxes. Trustee Allen made a motion to give all Village employees a net bonus of $100, seconded by Trustee Doty. Roll call taken: England-yes; McLain-abstain (conflict of interest); Allen-yes; Doty-yes; Ruppert-abstain (conflict of interest); motion carried.

Reports – Manager Shannon Risley, and Chief Nichols

Correspondence – None

Committee Meeting Dates - None

A motion was made by Trustee Allen to go into Executive Session to discuss contractual matters, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

With no other business to discuss a motion to adjourn was made by Trustee McLain and seconded by Trustee Allen. Voice vote taken, all ayes, motion carried. Meeting was adjourned.

https://www.villageofbethany.com/documents/116/MINUTES_12-19-2023.pdf