08.31.20 MEETING MINUTES - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the Special Meeting of Council Monday, August 31, 2020 Page 2 Council President Schutt asked, discussion? r+ Mayor Bodnar asked, Council President, I have some comments I would like to make on tonight's legislation if that's okay? Council President Schutt replied, sure, absolutely. Please go ahead. Mayor Bodnar stated, thank you Council President, members of the Administration and members of Council. I appreciate your making time for this Special Meeting. We do have some important business to accomplish tonight. On July 20th, Council voted to place Ordinance 2020-12 on the ballot for consideration by the voters. The Ordinance calls for an increase in my compensation package and a more modest increase in Council's salary. As early as the First Read of 2020-12, there was some concern over increasing compensation in the midst of a pandemic. There was also hope that the COVID situation would improve and that our strength, planning and vision would enable our Village to navigate the pandemic successfully. While the latter remains true --we have worked long and hard to keep our Village safe and successful during this pandemic. The fact of the matter is that the dangerous and highly contagious virus still persists. We know that some day there will be a vaccine, but we do not know when. We also know that some of our largest employers are keeping their employees working from home. Residents have expressed concern that employees working temporarily from home can decide to pay municipal taxes to their home city rather than to their usual work city. There is an even greater concern over the potential impact to our economy if, at some point, those employees continue to work from home on a permanent basis. A few years ago, I hired an Economic Development Manager and I assure you that we have worked hard and will continue to work hard, to work with our business base toward our mutual success and benefit. That being said, we don't have a crystal ball and we cannot predict what the future holds. I and members of this Council have listened to the fears and concerns of our residents over the uncertainties that lie ahead, and I believe that the most appropriate thing to do at this time is to ask Council to pass legislation repealing Ordinance 2020-12. In other words, taking it off the November ballot. We can always decide to revisit the subject later when we are more certain of the future, but for now, I have heard the call to watch our spending and tighten our belts and we will do our best to heed it. Before I end, I would like to offer a few words of reassurance to all Villagers. On the day I took office, January 1, 2016, our General Fund balance stood at $12,282,277.00, a robust sum by anybody's estimation. In the five years since I began as your Mayor, our General