City of LaSalle Finance Committee met Aug. 10.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
Chairman Tom Ptak called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Chairman Ptak, Alderman Demes, Alderman Lavieri, Alderman Jeppson, Alderman Herndon
Absent:
Others present: Alderman Bacidore, Alderman Reynolds, Finance Director John Duncan, Deputy City Clerk Brent Bader, City Clerk Carrie Brown, Treasurer Virginia Kochanowski
A quorum was present.
The minutes of the Finance Committee held on July 27, 2020 were unanimously approved by the Committee after a motion from Alderman Lavieri and a second from Alderman Demes.
Alderman Jeppson had questions regarding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Economic Development Director Leah Inman was researching. Finance Director Duncan said the City was considering work that would qualify such as touchless features in bathrooms and other COVID- 19 related expenses. Alderman Jeppson asked whether sales tax loss or loss of revenue could be restored with the Act. Duncan said that they are considering allowing municipalities to claim money for those purposes but that they cannot currently receive money for those purposes. The City is looking into whether they can claim wages with the Act which could restore roughly $95,000.
Chairman Ptak had questions on bills to Connecting Point Computer Center. Finance Director Duncan explained that Connecting Point had been contacted multiple times over the past four to five weeks for an email server transition. The city’s email server was out of date and Connecting Point assisted in updating the server twice and then assisting with multiple issues that arose as a result of the server transition. Additionally, they’ve assisted with internet issues. They also have a minor role in the transition of the Aclara Technologies server from a physical device in City Hall to a cloud-based software that Aclara offers. The current meter reading server is from 2002 and has reached its end of life with some issues arising. Aclara hopes to have the transition process completed around October.
Chairman Ptak also brought up the expected visit of Mary Jo Credi of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry. She was unable to attend the later City Council meeting due to dealing with the fallout of a storm earlier in the day. Alderman Herndon said she would likely ask for a donation as other municipalities have given to the organization. Herndon said she explained the situation at the pantry is “getting worse and worse as the weeks go by.” When asked for his thoughts by Chairman Ptak, Alderman Herndon explained that he views the Pantry the same way he views the City’s donations to Illinois Valley Animal Rescue in that they both provide a service to residents. Alderman Demes, Lavieri and Jeppson expressed similar thoughts. Mary Jo Credi is expected to give a presentation at the next City Council meeting on Aug. 24, 2020.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:17 p.m.
https://www.lasalle-il.gov/sites/default/files/agendas-minutes/2020-08/8-10-2020_0.pdf
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