City of La Salle Finance Committee Met Feb. 8.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
Chairman Ptak called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Alderman Ptak, Alderman Demes, Alderman Lavieri, Alderman Jeppson Excused Absence: Alderman Herndon
Others Present: Alderman Reynolds, Alderman Bacidore, Alderman Crane, City Clerk Carrie Brown, Deputy Clerk Brent Bader, Finance Director John Duncan, Economic Development Director Leah Inman
A quorum was present.
The minutes of the Finance Committee held on January 25, 2021 were unanimously approved by the Committee by voice vote after a motion from Alderman Demes and a second by Alderman Lavieri. Each and every alderman has a copy.
Alderman Jeppson questioned multiple payments to Yiftee on the Paid Invoice report. Economic Development Director Inman stated that those were payments for Locally La Salle gift cards that were sold over the holidays. Finance Director Duncan explained that there is an offsetting revenue from the money paid by the people who bought the cards. Alderman Lavieri asked if there was any type of administrative fee charged by the company and if so was it absorbed by the city or the merchants. Mrs. Inman said that there is a small fee that the city paid to get the program up and running but she has a bank sponsor lined up to cover the next $500 worth of cards.
Alderman Demes questioned a $1,437.49 payment to Kittilson’s Garage. In regard to this charge, Finance Director Duncan pulled the invoice and determined this was brake work on a 2005 Chevy Silverado 2500, a vehicle for the Pump Station.
At the January 25, 2021 Finance Meeting, Alderman Demes had questioned a large invoice paid to Kittilson’s and asked Finance Director Duncan to investigate the charge further as he thought it was quite excessive. Finance Director Duncan said he spoke to Superintendent Bumgarner for further clarification and asked Superintendent Bumgarner to reach out to Alderman Demes. Alderman Demes said that Superintendent Bumgarner did email him with an explanation. It was concluded that the charge did line up with the work that was done on the hydraulic and brake lines.
Finance Director Duncan commented that the Ambulance Fund is now reflecting the rate changes that were implemented recently. He said PSI and our Fire Chief made some recommendations to increase ambulance rates to keep them at market level. Because of these adjustments and the partnership with PSI and the leadership of our Department Head we are on track for a good year in the Ambulance Fund.
In regard to the request for a Redevelopment Incentive Grant from Jose Felix for premises at 1114-8th Street, after brief discussion the committee voted to recommend granting the request. However, Chairman Ptak suggested that in the future we encourage applicants to get quotes from contractors within the Illinois Valley Area. Alderman Crane agreed and suggested that itemized bills should be also be included in the application for both labor and material. He also suggested we require three bids, instead of two. Chairman Ptak said he liked the idea of the itemized bill. Economic Development
Director Leah Inman said that she agrees we should encourage the use of local contractors, but for certain types of services it may be difficult to find three local contractors. The committee requested that she add some wording on the RIP Grant application encouraging applicants to get bids from local contractors. Alderman Lavieri suggested that we establish some type of timeframe in which the work must be completed.
There were no further questions or comments from the public.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
https://www.lasalle-il.gov/sites/default/files/agendas-minutes/2021-02/2-8-2021_0.pdf
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